VOA常速英语:Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney Reunite on Ringo's Latest Album, 'Y Not'

Former Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney have reunited.  Well, at least for a couple of songs on Ringo's latest album, "Y Not." 

It seems like old times when you hear Ringo Starr playing drums and Paul McCartney on the bass for Ringo's "Peace Dream."  The tune has another Beatles connection; it was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1969 "bed-in" for peace during their honeymoon at a hotel in Amsterdam.  McCartney also sings harmony on the Ringo Starr original, "Walk With You."

Like Ringo's previous star-studded solo albums, his 10-song collection "Y Not" unites an impressive list of musical collaborators.  In addition to McCartney, the album features vocalists Ben Harper, Richard Marx and Joss Stone, blues-rock veteran Edgar Winter on saxophones and vocals, and guitarists Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart and Billy Squier.

Born and raised Richard Starkey in an inner-city section of Liverpool, England, known as "The Dingle," Ringo sings about his working-class upbringing on the track "The Other Side Of Liverpool."  In it, he describes the city, which was also home to his three Beatles bandmates, as "cold and damp … only way out of there, drums, guitar and amp."

In support of "Y Not," Ringo and the current edition of his All-Starr Band launch their 2010 tour in Niagara Falls, Canada, on June 24.  Ringo will celebrate his 70th birthday with a concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on July 7.