Kisses on the Bottom

A year prior to recording the album, jazz producer Tommy LiPuma and an unnamed keyboardist tried out some ideas for five days with Paul McCartney at McCartney's home studio in East Sussex. Around this time, an unknown McCartney original was recorded, with the help of engineer Geoff Emerick. The songs that McCartney would work on were voted upon democratically; McCartney commented, "I pulled up some [songs] from my memories, when I was a kid and we had family sing-songs, which was the original inspiration for the whole idea, I said to Tom, 'Let's look at these ones. This is the kind of era I want to look at.' Tommy himself suggested some; a girl in my office; [...] Diana [Krall] suggested some. Then I played Tommy a couple that I'd written, and he said, 'Whoa, that's a great idea,' so we selected a couple of those. [...] We all made suggestions, and we took all those suggestions to the studio." The version of "My Valentine" recorded during the album sessions, as well as the original 1983 vocal version, remain unreleased. Some songs were from McCartney's childhood, in which his father, Jim, would often be playing on the family piano. with overdubs added at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Hog Hill Mill Studio in Icklesham and Abbey Road Studios in London. The album's title comes from the lead track "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter", originally a hit for Fats Waller in 1935, The disc was helmed by LiPuma, who had previously worked with Miles Davis and Barbra Streisand, among others. The album is mostly standards, with two originals written in the same style ("My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts"). McCartney plays acoustic guitar on "Get Yourself Another Fool" and "The Inch Worm", but otherwise contributes only vocals. Assistant engineer Brian Montgomery told author Luca Perasi that McCartney "played acoustic guitar during the basic tracks of a few songs (I believe three or four of them)." The vocals were recorded "using a Neumann U47 tube microphone and a Summit TLA100 compressor." ==Release and promotion==

Kisses on the Bottom was released in the UK on 6 February 2012, and a day later in the US, on LP and CD. The CD version was originally released in two editions: a standard 14-track edition, and a 16-track "Deluxe" edition. A streaming free live performance was hosted by iTunes on 9 February 2012. McCartney performed live from Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, where much of the album was recorded. People tuned into the show by accessing iTunes on their PCs or Macintosh computers. The live performance was later released as ''Paul McCartney's Live Kisses'', directed by Jonas Åkerlund, airing on PBS' Great Performances in September 2012. The performance was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 13 November 2012. In an interview with Billboard, McCartney said that he did not rule out the possibility of a tour for the album with the musicians who played on it: "We haven't really talked about it yet. People have plenty of ideas and suggestions. I'd like to see how it goes live, just how much we enjoy it. If we all enjoy it, then we've got to think about taking it out." after its debut at number 28. "My Valentine" also reached number 23 on the Japan Hot 100, number 27 on the Billboard Jazz Digital Songs chart, and number 23 on the Billboard Rock Digital Songs chart. "Only Our Hearts" debuted at number 84 on the Japan Hot 100. ==Reception==

Kisses on the Bottom rates 62/100—meaning a "generally favorable" reception—at Metacritic, who compiled data from 26 professional reviews, sixteen of which were "mixed". AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said McCartney "cut faithful, loving versions of songs he's always sung", and deemed his two original compositions—"My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts"—to be "quite good". ==Commercial performance==

Kisses on the Bottom peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 5 on the US Billboard 200. It also debuted at number 17 on Billboards Jazz Albums listings, before climbing to number 1 the following week. In addition, it hit number 2 on the Billboard Tastemaker Albums chart, just behind Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth, and number 5 on the magazine's Digital Albums chart. ==Track listing==

Deluxe edition The deluxe version of the album includes two additional tracks (including "Baby's Request", a rerecording of a Wings song from the Back to the Egg album), a download code for access to an exclusive live show available from McCartney's website a week after the album's release, and longer liner notes and expanded album packaging, including three postcards. One of the bonus tracks, "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)", was released as a vinyl single titled Christmas Kisses (backed with the previously released "Wonderful Christmastime"), on both red and green vinyl, and peaked at number 25 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ==Personnel==

Personnel per standard edition booklet. ;Performance • Paul McCartney – vocals; acoustic guitar on "Get Yourself Another Fool" and "The Inch Worm" • Diana Krall – piano, rhythm arrangements (except on "Only Our Hearts") • Tamir Hendelman – piano on "Only Our Hearts" • Stevie Wonder – harmonica on "Only Our Hearts" • John Pizzarelli – guitar • Anthony Wilson – guitar on "The Glory of Love" and "My Very Good Friend the Milkman", rhythm guitar on "Get Yourself Another Fool" • Eric Clapton – guitar on "My Valentine" and "Get Yourself Another Fool" • Bucky Pizzarelli – guitar on "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" • John Chiodini – guitar on "Only Our Hearts" • Robert Hurst – double bass on 1–4, 6–9, 11, 13 • John Clayton – double bass on "The Glory of Love", "My Very Good Friend the Milkman" • Christian McBride – double bass on "Get Yourself Another Fool" • Chuck Berghofer – double bass on "Only Our Hearts" • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums on "Only Our Hearts" • Karriem Riggins – drums • Jeff Hamilton – drums on "The Glory of Love", "My Very Good Friend the Milkman" • Mike Mainieri – vibraphone on "Home (When Shadows Fall)", "More I Cannot Wish You", "The Glory of Love", and "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me)" • London Symphony Orchestra • Alan Broadbent – orchestra conductor, orchestra arrangement • Roman Simovic – concertmaster • Andy Stein – violin on "It's Only a Paper Moon" • Eddie Karam – orchestra conductor • Assa Drori – concertmaster • Johnny Mandel – orchestra arrangement, orchestra conductor, rhythm arrangement • Ira Nepus – trombone • Chloe Arzy – children's choir • Evyn Johnson – children's choir • Makiah Johnson – children's choir • Michael Johnson – children's choir • Delany Meyer – children's choir • Ilsey Moon – children's choir • Sabrina Walden – children's choir • Sasha Walden – children's choir • Scottie Haskell – children's choir conductor ;Production • Tommy LiPuma – producer • Paul Du Noyer – interviewer • Al Schmitt – engineer, mixing • Elliot Scheiner – engineer • Brian Montgomery– engineer, pro-tools • Steve Genewick – engineer, pro-tools • Fernando Lodeiro – assistant engineer • Marcus Johnson – assistant engineer • Sam Okell – assistant engineer • Kris Burton – assistant engineer • Gordon Davidson – assistant engineer • Paul Pritchard – assistant engineer • Eddie Klein – assistant engineer • Keith Smith – assistant engineer • Jamie Kirkham – assistant engineer • Doug Sax – mastering • Sanwook "Sunny" Nam – mastering • Shari Sutcliffe – music contractor, project coordinator • Mary McCartney – cover photo • MJ Kim – additional photographer • John Hammel – images • Jonathan Schofield – art conception • Matthew Cooper – design • Nancy Jeffries – A&R • Scott Rodger – project manager • MPL Production Team: • Lisa Power • Ruth Birch • Claudia Schmid • Rebecca Church • Billie Temple • Toby McColl • Kat Holder • Richard Miller • Jess Whiteley ==Chart performance==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications and sales==