Ringo Starr responded to "terrible rumors" about John Lennon not singing on "Now and Then," the Beatles .
Earlier this month, Ringo and Paul McCartney released what would be the Beatles' last song. The song features AI-generated audio that brought back John Lennon George Harrison 's guitar . Ringo and Paul worked on top of this and released the song.
"Now and Then" began with a demo by John Lennon that reached his bandmates in 1994 when his widow, Yoko Ono, handed over the tape.
Starr had previously commented on the release, saying that recording it was like having John Lennon by his side. In a recent interview with AARP , Starr took a moment to address the rumors surrounding the song's creation. “There were terrible rumors that it’s not John, it’s AI, no matter what people say,” he said. “Paul and I wouldn’t have done it. It’s a beautiful song and a great way to finally close that door.”
The musician reaffirmed previous comments he made to Variety . “It’s not about AI,” he said. “It’s not like we’re faking anything. In fact, that’s John’s voice, Paul’s voice and bass, George [Harrison] on rhythm guitar and me on drums.”
Since then, the Beatles have topped the charts with "Now And Then," a milestone that came six decades after they secured their first number one hit.
This milestone means that McCartney and company now boast the longest period between an artist's first and last number one single – with the first being "From Me to You" in May 1963 (60 years and six months ago).
