Beatles duo Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunite to perform 'Let It Be' with Dolly Parton
18 August 2023, 11:21 | Updated: 5 October 2023, 13:19
Two of the Fab Four are back together!
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The Beatles' Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have reunited to record a song with the Queen of Country, Dolly Parton.
The two remaining Beatles have re-recorded their 1970 hit 'Let It Be' for Dolly's 49th solo studio album, Rockstar.
The track also features Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood and is just one of 30 reimagined tracks on the new collection of hits due to be released on November 17, 2023.
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Dolly has assembled an enviable name of guests to collaborate with on her upcoming album, Rockstar, and getting the two living members of The Beatles was definitely a major coup.
Starr and McCartney have worked together a handful of times in recent years, most notably on Ringo's 2020 track 'Here's to the Nights', and the former Beatles last performed together in Los Angeles in 2019, when Starr appeared as a surprise guest during the final show of McCartney's Freshen Up tour.
Dolly Parton - Let It Be (feat. Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr) (Official Audio)
The collaboration between the pair is a nod to the Beatles reunion that never was.
Tense relationships between the band's principal songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, meant it didn't happen before John was shockingly murdered in 1980.
However, the pair did reconcile beforehand and very nearly considered getting the band back together in a sliding doors moment which sadly never came to fruition.
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After their well-publicised spat came to an end, John and Paul became quite close, but by that point were far more focused on their own separate creative ventures to really put any concerted effort into a full-scale reunion.
Though The Beatles never got back together as a foursome, John, Paul, George Harrison and Ringo Starr did continue to work together and help each other out on their solo projects.
They've all remained close in the years since the Fab Four collectively called it a day, even getting back together (sans John) to record Lennon's lost demos 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love' in 1995.
It's been recently revealed by McCartney that they've recorded the "final" ever Beatles song 'Now And Then', with the assistance of AI in John and George's absence.
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Dolly Parton's decision to dip her toe into the realm of rock 'n' roll music stemmed from her induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
After initially refusing the invitation to join the hallowed pantheon of rock bands, she insisted that if she was going to accept entry then she'd have to prove her worth.
That's precisely what she's been doing with Rockstar, which sees Dolly cover rock music's most iconic songs alongside the rock royalty that wrote them.
My new ‘Rockstar’ single, “Let It Be” is dropping this Friday! This song is really special to me because I’m joined by @PaulMcCartney who wrote the song, along with @ringostarrmusic, @peterframpton and @mickfleetwood. Make sure to sign-up for my newsletter to be the first to hear… pic.twitter.com/teoBqKp0GH
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) August 13, 2023
The country music queen has already released a cover of Queen's 'We Are The Champions' and Heart's 1975 single 'Magic Man' alongside the band's singer Ann Wilson.
Other guests on her upcoming album include Sting, Debbie Harry, Stevie Nicks, Elton John, John Fogerty, and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.
Talking about the album in a press statement, Dolly said: "I’m so excited to finally present my first rock n’ roll album, Rockstar!"
"I am very honoured and privileged to have worked with some of the greatest iconic singers and musicians of all time, and to be able to sing all the iconic songs throughout the album was a joy beyond measure."
"I hope everybody enjoys the album as much as I've enjoyed putting it together!"
