Ringo puts up a Beatles reunion

Unless somebody gets the permission from the members and their families to produce a show with hologram versions of The Beatles, then I believe that this instance will be the closest we will ever get to a reunion of the Fabulous Four all of our lives.

The man responsible is no other but the Beatles’ drummer himself, Ringo Starr. Like the other surviving member of the group, Paul McCartney, Ringo remains active in concerts and recordings. Now he has a new album coming up next month titled What’s My Name and in one of the cuts is the very first time that the Liverpool lads have reunited in a song recording after they separated 50 years ago.

Here is how it happened. One of the cuts included in Ringo’s latest is a composition by the late John Lennon titled Grow Old With Me. The song was written shortly before Lennon was tragically killed on Dec. 8, 1980. It was later released in the posthumous album Milk and Honey that also features Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono. Ringo remembered those Lennon songs and decided to include one of them in What’s My Name.

He narrates how the accidental reunion happened in a statement sent to the Rolling Stone magazine. “I sang it the best that I could. I do well up when I think of John this deeply. And I’ve done my best. We’ve done our best. The other good thing is that I really wanted Paul to play on it, and he said yes. Paul came over and he played bass and sings a little bit on this with me. So John’s on it in a way. I’m on it and Paul’s on it. It’s not a publicity stunt. This is just what I wanted. And the strings that Jack arranged for this track, if you really listen, they do one line from Here Comes The Sun. So in a way, it’s the four of us.” Here Comes The Sun is a George Harrison song.

So there you have it. A Lennon song, McCartney on bass, Ringo on vocals and a bit of Harrison in the music. I can already imagine die-hard Beatles fans downloading Grow Old With Me the moment it drops come Oct. 25 and then listening closely to hear McCartney’s guitar and that little bit of Harrison. And then the thought returns, couldn’t these boys have stayed together longer? Then things might have turned out different.

What’s My Name is Ringo’s follow-up to his Give More Love album from two years ago. It also features collabs with Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter, Dave Stewart, Sam Hollander, Gary Nicholson, Steve Lukather and others. Ringo, who was recently on tour with his All-Star Band, is set to launch a new book, Another Day in the Life soon.

More Beatles news. Tourists can now visit the Strawberry Fields Orphanage in Liverpool. This was formerly a Salvation Army Children’s Home located beside the house of Lennon’s aunt. As a kid, he would often go over the fence to play with the children and those memories inspired him to write Strawberry Fields. The place is now a quiet sanctuary where young people with learning disabilities are taught skills to help them find employment.

Speaking of Here Comes The Sun, Harrison’s beautiful composition, has a new stereo mix that was released along with a new video last week. The video sees the sun rising behind the Abbey Road Studios where the song was recorded 50 years ago. It includes previously unseen photos and footage shot by the late Linda McCartney. The release is part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the landmark album, Abbey Road.

Also part of the celebration is a new, truly grand mix of Something, another timeless and most affecting Harrison song, that is now available on Spotify.

As for McCartney, he is at present on the North American leg of his Freshen Up Tour for the album Egypt Station that has already taken him around the world. Did you know that he performed for free for over 400,000 people in Mexico? Well, only the likes of McCartney, one of the greatest entertainers of today can do that. He is also working on his first musical.

Happily for their fans, there is no end in sight for the Beatles.