Artists have used their work to express grief for many years. People like Maxim Vorobriev, Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres created art to remember their loved ones. Gonzalez-Torres said that love creates a space for other work to happen, and once that space is filled, it helps you see and hear more clearly, but Paul McCartney did debut The Beatles ‘Now And Then’ song live.
When Paul McCartney lost his wife, Linda McCartney, in 1998, he described his grief as overwhelming. He said, “I just couldn’t do anything, really. I was just grieving. I gradually got back into it; I just sort of wrote my sadness out.” This grief and love are reflected in Linda McCartney’s only solo album, Wide Prairie, which was released six months after she died from breast cancer.
Wide Prairie is a collection of Linda’s music from 1972 to 1998. Although the album started off joyfully, her death gave it more meaning. Paul said, “It’s sad because Linda died, but when we made it, it wasn’t sad. She was alive, and there are happy memories around it.”
The album features music that Linda recorded while she was part of the band Wings with her husband. Paul wanted a project where they could work together after the Beatles broke up. He said, “I just wanted to be with her.” Although Linda faced criticism early in her career, Paul defended her, saying she became a skilled keyboard player over time.
