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 ( along with his Wings bandmates , Linda McCartney and Denny Laine ) , 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 ( kept off the top spot by Kim Carnes 's " Bette Davis Eyes " ) , 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
murder
Murder of John Lennon
All Those Years Ago