George Harrison's widow gives Ringo Starr a set of handwritten lyrics
See what he thought of the touching gift.
-- George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, says she's planning to give a very special gift to Ringo Starr: a set of handwritten lyrics to a never-recorded song from the early 1970s called "Hey Ringo," which her husband wrote in honor of his Beatles bandmate.
Reportedly, the "Hey Ringo" lyrics were recently discovered in a piano bench, and a replica of the lyric sheet was included in the new expanded version of George Harrison's 1980 memoir, "I Me Mine."
Olivia Harrison told Billboard on Monday that she and Starr got to check out the lyrics for the first time at a special event on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles, where they celebrated the release of the updated memoir and a new vinyl box set of George Harrison's solo albums.
"Ringo had never seen [the lyrics] until [the event]," she recalled. "He said, 'Hey, I've never seen that before.' And I said, 'I hadn't either' … I'm going to get it framed and give it to him because it's really sweet."
She added, "It's like, 'Hey Ringo … without you, my guitar plays far too slow.' That was a big revelation and surprise. Ringo was totally surprised and really happy."
The song also includes the lyrics "Hey Ringo, there's one thing that I've not said / I'll play my guitar with you till I drop dead."
Starr told Rolling Stone at the event that he was very moved by the words. "He was my best friend," he said of George Harrison. "I had two other great friends and three brothers. We were pals."
"I Me Mine: The Extended Edition" is available now.