Paul McCartney shares the story of working with Ringo Starr on their first duet together.
For their debut duet, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr traveled back to their origins. Paul talked about how he recently got back together with his old Beatles bandmate to record a duet for his new album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane. He described how they collaborated with producer Andrew Watt to create the song "Home to Us," which is about their common Liverpool upbringing.
"I saw Ringo and said I worked with this guy Andrew," according to Billboard, the 83-year-old gave an explanation at his album listening party in Los Angeles on April 16. "Ringo came over to Andrew's studio and played a little bit of drums."
As per Paul, there was a misunderstanding at that time that nearly ruined the trip. Paul said that Ringo was "a little pissed" because Andrew didn't think Ringo had contributed enough drumming material to complete the song. After Paul sent the drummer the demo to record vocals, the situation seemed to get even more complicated. However, Ringo simply sang the chorus, leading Paul to believe that Ringo didn't enjoy the song.
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Luckily, they were able to resolve their disagreement, and Ringo came back to add more drums. The outcome? A sincere homage to their homeland and their first-ever partnership.
"Even though where we lived was a little rough," Paul commented on the song. "It was home to us."
Additionally, "Home to Us" is another significant achievement for Ringo in addition to being the first time the musicians collaborated on a duet.
Paul laughed as he informed the crowd at his album listening session, "Ringo's never done a duet with one of the Beatles."
In addition, Ringo praised the song and emphasized the importance of the collaboration.
"Paul got the song and then put everything else on it. So, it was like in reverse—the drums were on first," he gave his explanation on Jimmy Kimmel Live on April 20. "But it's really great. It's amusing, and it's very real, 'cause that's where we come from."
Paul's 21st solo studio album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, will be available on May 29.