Ringo Starr Gets the Band Back Together

A decades-old shoutout from John Lennon helped pave the way toward Ringo Starr's latest single—a Beatles reunion of sorts. Paul McCartney plays bass on "Grow Old With Me," which is one of the last songs written by Lennon. What's more, producer Jack Douglas inserted a guitar riff from "Here Comes the Sun" by George Harrison, "so we're all on it now," says Starr. The song is on his new album What's My Name.

Lennon recorded a demo of the song in 1980 as he worked on Double Fantasy, but it was never recorded for the album, per Reuters. "It was hard to listen to in the beginning because John talks about me, mentions me," Starr tells Billboard. Lennon is heard on the demo saying, "This'll be great for you, Ringo," per Reuters. "I love the song, and the emotion of him speaking to me," Starr, 79, tells the outlet. "He'd written other songs for me," but "I thought no, I'm going to do this one." (More Ringo Starr stories.)