The film Greenberg includes a scene in which the character Florence, drunk on champagne, sings along to the song which Greenberg included on a mix-CD for her.
Harry Shearer uses a looped sample of "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" for the "Apologies of the Week" segment of Le Show, with emphasis on McCartney saying "sorry".The song was used in the episode " He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" of the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses, where the character of Uncle Albert leaves home.New York Philharmonic Orchestra – orchestral arrangement.Marvin Stamm, Mel Davis, Ray Crisara, Snooky Young – brass.Hugh McCracken – acoustic and electric guitar.Paul McCartney – vocals electric guitar acoustic guitar piano bass & xylophone.The song appears on several solo Paul McCartney compilations: the US version of All the Best! (1987), as well as Wingspan: Hits and History (2001), and on both the standard and deluxe versions of Pure McCartney (2016). "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" appears on the Wings Greatest compilation album released in 1978, even though Ram was not a Wings album. This gave him eight consecutive years (starting with " I Want to Hold Your Hand"), leaving Lennon behind with only seven years. On the US charts, the song set a milestone as the all-time songwriting record (at the time) for Paul McCartney for the most consecutive calendar years to write a #1 song. In a contemporary review of RAM, Jon Landau of Rolling Stone gave "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" a negative review, saying the song is "a piece with so many changes it never seems to come down anywhere, and in the places that it does, sounds like the worst piece of light music Paul has ever done." Cash Box said that the song "is bursting with fine melodies and interesting musical changes certain to please both AM and underground programmers." Although some fans praise it as "one of his most playful and inventive songs" others criticize it for being "exactly the kind of cute self-indulgence that they find so annoying about his post-Beatles career." Mason himself considers it "churlish" to be annoyed by the song, given that the song isn't intended to be completely serious, and praises the "Hands across the water" section as being "lovably giddy." Īccording to Allmusic critic Stewart Mason, fans of Paul McCartney's music are divided in their opinions of this song. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies. Paul McCartney won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists in 1971 for the song. Paul has described the "Uncle Albert" section of the song as an apology from his generation to the older generation, and Admiral Halsey as an authoritarian figure who ought to be ignored. "He's someone I recall fondly, and when the song was coming it was like a nostalgia thing." He also stated that "I had an uncle – Albert Kendall – who was a lot of fun, and when I came to write ‘Uncle Albert’/‘Admiral Halsey’ it was loosely about addressing that older generation, half thinking, What would they think of the way my generation does things? That’s why I wrote the line ‘We’re so sorry, Uncle Albert.'” Paul also told an American journalist, "As for Admiral Halsey, he's one of yours, an American admiral", referring to Fleet Admiral William "Bull" Halsey (1882–1959). Paul said "Uncle Albert" was based on his uncle. Linda's voice is heard in the harmonies as well as the bridge section of the "Admiral Halsey" portion of the song. The song is notable for its sound effects, including the sounds of a thunderstorm, including rain, heard between the first and second verses, the sound of McCartney's voice with a "telephone" effect heard after the second verse, and the sound of chirping sea birds and wind by the seashore. "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is composed of several unfinished song fragments that Paul stitched together in a similar manner to the medleys from the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.