Dec. 5, 1964 - Taking the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 today was “Ringo,” performed by Canadian-born Lorne Greene of the “Bonanza” T.V. show. The song was written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair.
The song’s sole sung lyric is performed by a male chorus, while the verses are a spoken-word, first-person account of a Western lawman and his friendship with a notorious gunfighter, known only as Ringo.
The B-side of the disc contains a vocal version of the theme song of “Bonanza,” with lyrics that have never been used on the show. Like ‘Bonanza,” “Ringo” began as a track on Greene’s “Welcome to the Ponderosa” RCA Victor LP, released late last year. On the album, each track was supplemented with an introduction to each song, separately tracked, though these introductions were left off of the single releases.
There has been some speculation that a large number of teens have bought Greene’s new single in the expectation that is about Beatle drummer Ringo Starr. Last December, a special promotional recording by Greene was sent to radio stations to promote his LP, where he speaks of the album’s tracks, of which “Ringo” was the lead. On it, he talks about the probable confusion between his song character and the Beatles and the “wonderful drummer of theirs,” assuring listeners that it is not about the British musician.
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