All Those Years Ago - George Harrison (1981) 9/2/23

After the Beatles broke up in1970, there were several occasions when some of the Fab Four--mostly George and Ringo--would reunite for a song or two. (Example: George produced and played guitar on Ringo's 1971 hit, "It Don't Come Easy.")

This does NOT count a handful of songs that were recorded while the group was still together but released as singles later under the Beatles name. (Example: 1976's "Got to get You Into My Life."

Of course, the murder of John Lennon in 1980 ended any hope of the entire group getting back together, but in 1981, the three remaining Beatles collaborated on today's Great Song: "All Those Years Ago."

George had originally written the song for Ringo in 1979, but Ringo wasn't happy with the finished product. It was in a key he wasn't comfortable with, and he didn't really like the lyrics--which initially had nothing to do with John. He did, however, think his drumming on the song was spot on.

So George took the song back, and after John's death, he rewrote the lyrics, erased everything on the original track except Ringo's drumming, and recorded his own lead vocals. He then invited Paul to sing back up, which he did, gladly. He also brought along Linda, as well as Denny Laine from his other group, Wings.

Together, they put together a fitting tribute to John, that (under George's name) went straight to #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart and #2 on the Hot 100! It also topped the Top 40 in Canada.

Note: Paul & Ringo recently teamed up with Dolly Parton for a cool new version of "Let It Be." Mick Fleetwood and Peter Frampton are also featured on the track. ('ve included a link below),

And later this year, one final Beatles song will be released featuring all four Fabs. (Paul was able to use new A.I. technology to clean up John's vocal which was only available on an old cassette). I'm looking to hearing it.

But back to "All Those Years Ago" by George Harrison, with Ringo Starr, Paul & Linda McCartney and Denny Laine: a Great Tribute to John Lennon, and a Great Song of 1981! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNL40ql4CYk

Dolly, Paul, and Ringo (2023):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXW-p4nKdDA

Tomorrow: Speaking of Mick Fleetwood...