Recording "We're On The Road Again", "Show Me The Way"

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Paul McCartney was in Los Angeles to record his upcoming album, “Egypt Station“. On a day off from studio time, on a Sunday, he joined Ringo Starr to contribute to his own upcoming album, by playing bass on two tracks. The reunion was publicized by Ringo Starr, who posted photos on Twitter the day after.

From Billboard, February 20, 2017:

It’s not every day two Beatles come together. But it happened Sunday (Feb. 19) when the surviving members of the Fab Four, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, connected in the studio.

Ringo’s publicist confirmed McCartney was there to contribute to Starr’s forthcoming album. “Thanks for coming over and playing Great bass. I love you man peace and love,” the Beatles drummer posted on Twitter with a picture of the pair at his home studio. […]

How did Paul wind up taking part in sessions for the new album?

Well, I just called him up and said, “I got this song called ‘Show Me the Way,’ and I want you to play on it.” Because he is a really good friend of mine, he said he’d come to L.A. for it. It’s about [my wife] Barbara. She shows me the way. I wanted it to be very personal. While he was there, he also played on “We’re on the Road Again.” That was very kind of him.

You two still sound great together.

He’s an incredible musician. He’s incredible at singing too and as a writer, but for me, as a bass player, he is the finest and the most melodic. It’s always fun when we’re playing together. I’ve played on several of his records, mainly in the Nineties. People keep saying, “Oh, it’s been so long.” It’s not been that long. We did the Grammys, we did that Beat­les show three years ago. So we are still pals, but we don’t live in each other’s pocket.

Ringo Starr, interview for RollingStone, August 10, 2017

They talk when they’re both in L.A. Ringo just asked him, ‘Look, I’m doing an album. Could you play on it?’ And Paul was so nice. He came by on his day off on a Sunday. And he worked hard, too. Those weren’t easy songs he played on. […] the bass on the ballad ‘Show Me the Way’ … that’s a difficult ballad. So he had to work on that a bit. We definitely put him through his paces. But the guy’s the greatest. (He’s) humble. He came in to help his friend on a Sunday when he had his day off. What else can you say? […] I think (Paul) was initially a little taken back by what Lukather wrote. It’s a little more sophisticated than some of the stuff Ringo’s done in the past. I think Paul was looking at and listening to it. He doesn’t read charts. He has his own notation. […] I’ve brought that up to Ringo. ‘I can’t believe Paul doesn’t read charts.’ He goes, ‘We’re all buskers.’ They just played, just played by ear.

Bruce Sugar, recording engineer – interview for Billboard, August 1, 2017

Last updated on April 11, 2021

Songs recorded

Staff

Musicians

Paul McCartney:

Bass

Production staff

Ringo Starr:

Producer

Bruce Sugar:

Recording engineer