Title:	Blackbird
Credits:	John Lennon - Paul McCartney
Recorded:	EMI Studios, London, 11 June 1968
Producer:	George Martin
Engineer:	Geoff Emerick
Location:	Anthology 3 - track 14, disc 1 The Beatles - track 11, disc 2

The Beatles began rehearsal sessions at George Harrison's home in Esher on May 20, 1968, during which they recorded a demo of 'Blackbird'. This recording has been bootlegged and can be found on "Unsurpassed Demos" (CD).

Paul McCartney recorded 'Blackbird' on June 11, 1968 with no other Beatles present. The song was completed in 32 takes (1 - 32), however, only 11 were complete. 'Blackbird' features Paul's vocal, double-tracked in places, accompanied by his acoustic guitar and a metronome. Chirping blackbirds were added to take 32 and six mono mixes were made, the sixth being "best." Both the stereo and mono mixes used for release were created October 13. One mix was made of each, the stereo being re-mix 1, the mono being re-mix 10 (there were no re-mixes 7 - 9). The bird sound effects are different on the stereo and mono releases. This track was released on November 22, 1968 on the album "The Beatles." A mono mix of this track without the bird effects has been bootlegged and can be found on "Unsurpassed Masters 4" (CD). Take 4 from the June 11, 1968 recording session was released in both the US and the UK on October 29, 1996 on "The Beatles Anthology Volume 3."

Several takes of this song (both complete and fragments) were recorded during a June 1968 rehearsal session. Thirteen of these takes have been bootlegged and can be found on "Gone Tomorrow Here Today" (CD).

During sessions for Mary Hopkin's "Post Card" LP - produced by Paul and for which Donovan Leitch wrote several songs - Paul and Donovan were recorded running through this song. This recording has been bootlegged and can be found on "Sunshine Superman," "No. 3 Abbey Road" and "N. W. 8, Abbey Road" (CD).

This song was included as part of a medley which aired on the TV special "James Paul McCartney" on April 16, 1973. This performance has been bootlegged and can be found on "James Paul McCartney" (CD). Two other "James Paul McCartney" rehearsal performances recorded in March 1973 have also been bootlegged and can be found on "The Making Of James Paul McCartney" (CD).

During the summer and fall of 1974 Paul and Wings were filmed in Nashville and London recording several songs for their unreleased film "One Hand Clapping." A performance of this song was included in this film, however, it has not been bootlegged. Paul also shot the unreleased film "The Backyard," originally part of "One Hand Clapping." The film, "The Backyard," included a performance of this song which has been bootlegged and can be found on "What A Mean Fiddler" (CD).

Paul and Wings performed this song at several concerts during their 1975 tour of Australia including the Entertainment Centre in Perth (November 1) and Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne (November 13). These performances, along with a different, unidentified performance from the tour have all been bootlegged.

Wings also performed this song at several concerts during their 1976 World Tour including Falkoner Theatre, Copenhagen (March 21), Fort Worth, Texas (May 3), Largo, Maryland (May 15) and Los Angeles (June 21). All of these performances have been bootlegged.

Another live version of this song was recorded during the 1976 World Tour and released on the triple album "Wings Over America." This album was released in both the US and the UK on December 10, 1976.

Paul taped an appearance on MTV's "Unplugged" television show on January 25, 1991 which aired in the US on April 3, 1991. This performance was released in the UK on May 20, 1991 and in the US on June 4, 1991 on the album "Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)."

Paul performed this song during the encore at his April 16, 1993 "Earth Day" concert at the Hollywood Bowl. This performance has been bootlegged and can be found on "Viva Las Vegas" (CD) and "Paul McCartney Destroys Anaheim" (CD).