On This Day, Dec. 5, 1974: Paul McCartney and Wings release ‘Band on the Run’

On This Day, Dec. 5, 1974…

Paul McCartney and Wings released their third album, Band on the Run, which became a huge hit and to this day remains McCartney’s most successful non-Beatles album.

The album produced two hits, the title track and “Jet,” and went to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K.

The cover depicted McCartney, his wife Linda, and guitarist Denny Laine posing with actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee, British boxer John Conteh, U.K. broadcasters Michael Parkinson and Clement Freud, and English entertainer Kenny Lynch, all dressed as escaped convicts.

To celebrate the anniversary, McCartney released a special 50th anniversary edition of the album in February.

The reissue reentered the Billboard 200 at #156, and landed in the top 10 on three other Billboard charts: the Top Album Sales chart, where it reentered at #5; the Vinyl Albums chart, where it debuted at #7; and the Tastemaker Albums chart, where it hit #6. It also debuted at #37 on the Rock & Alternative Albums chart.

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