On July 7th, his 76th birthday, Ringo Starr, along with his wife Barbara, as is their annual tradition, brought their message of peace and love to Hollywood with a street party in front of Capitol Records, featuring many of his famous friends. At the stroke of twelve noon, he raised his peace sign and urged his fans and friends around the world to do the same thing, and to celebrate the vision of a world beyond war, a world where we all give peace a chance.
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Along with Ringo was legendary film director David Lynch, as well as Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard, Richard Lewis, Edgar Winter, Benmont Tench, Howie Mandel, Ed Begley, Jr., Steve Lukather, Jim Keltner, Greg Bissonette, Joe Mategna, Joe Walsh and many others.
To launch the celebration, there were performances of Ringo’s famous songs, including one by Dave Stewart with the singer Jon Steves, who gave us an incendiary version of “With A Little Help From My Friends.” It fused the sweetness of Ringo’s version with the fiery soul of the Joe Cocker rendition. They followed that with the exultant “No No” song, during which Ringo danced up to stage and joined in.
Ringo greeted the big crowd of friends and fans, and then passed the mike around to his friends to let them say happy birthday, or peace or love, or any combination thereof.
“Ringo’s vitality,” said his friend and fellow musician Van Dyke Parks, “and his interest in others, and athletic approach to making this a better world – with peace and love his signature – is totally uncommon. He needn’t prove anything. He already has. This makes him a role model. When most guys as seasoned as he are resting on their laurels, he’s creating new works, with emphasis on mutual empowerment.”
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