Following Lennon 's murder in December 1980 , Harrison modified the lyrics of a song he had originally written for Starr , " All Those Years Ago " , as a tribute to their former bandmate . Released as a Harrison single in 1981 , the track , which included Starr 's drum part and overdubbed backing vocals by Paul and Linda McCartney , peaked at number two in the US charts and number 13 in the UK . Later that year , Starr released '' Stop and Smell the Roses '' , featuring songs produced by Nilsson , McCartney , Harrison , Ronnie Wood and Stephen Stills . The album 's lead single , the Harrison-composed " Wrack My Brain " , reached number 38 in the US charts , but failed to chart in the UK . Lennon had offered a pair of songs for inclusion on the album – " Nobody Told Me " and " Life Begins at 40 " – but following his death , Starr did not feel comfortable recording them . Soon after the murder , Starr and his girlfriend Barbara Bach flew to New York City to be with Lennon 's widow Yoko Ono
Lennon 's murder
Murder of John Lennon
Ringo Starr