"All Those Years Ago" | ||||||||||||
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UK picture sleeve
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Single by George Harrison | ||||||||||||
from the album Somewhere in England | ||||||||||||
B-side | "Writing's on the Wall" | |||||||||||
Released | 11 May 1981 (US) 15 May 1981 (UK) |
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Format | Vinyl 45 | |||||||||||
Recorded | FPSHOT, 19–25 November 1980, early 1981 (new lead vocal and backing vocals) | |||||||||||
Genre | Rock | |||||||||||
Length | 3:42 | |||||||||||
Label | Dark Horse | |||||||||||
Writer(s) | George Harrison | |||||||||||
Producer(s) | George Harrison, Ray Cooper | |||||||||||
George Harrison singles chronology | ||||||||||||
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10 tracks |
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"All Those Years Ago" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released as a single from his 1981 album Somewhere in England. Having previously recorded the music for the song, Harrison tailored the lyrics to serve as a personal tribute to his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon, following the latter's murder on 8 December 1980. The recording also includes performances by ex-Beatles Ringo Starr, on drums, and Paul McCartney, who overdubbed backing vocals onto the basic track. Released in May 1981, the single spent three weeks at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In addition, it topped Canada's RPM singles chart and spent one week at number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary listings.
"All Those Years Ago" was the first time that Harrison, McCartney and Starr had appeared on the same recording since the Beatles' "I Me Mine" in 1970, and the last time they would appear together until "Free As a Bird", in 1995. Other musicians performing on the track include Al Kooper and Ray Cooper. The song has appeared on the Harrison compilations Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989 and Let It Roll, and a live version recorded in 1991 with Eric Clapton was included on Harrison's Live in Japan double album. In 2010, AOL Radio listeners voted "All Those Years Ago" in sixth place on a list of the "10 Best George Harrison Songs". The track has been featured in the books 1,001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die, and 10,001 You Must Download by Robert Dimery, and Bruce Pollock's The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944–2000.