Ringo (song)

"Ringo"
Single by Lorne Greene
B-side"Bonanza"
ReleasedOctober 1964[1]
Recorded1964[2]
GenreCountry[3]
Length3:14
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Don Robertson
Hal Blair
Lorne Greene singles chronology
"I'm the Same Ole Me"
(1963) 		"Ringo"
(1964) 		"The Man"
(1965)

"Ringo" is a popular song written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair. It was a hit single for Canadian-born actor Lorne Greene in 1964. It reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard charts on December 5, 1964, as well as garnering the same spot on the "Easy Listening" chart, where it retained the position for six weeks.[4] The single also peaked at #21 on the Hot Country Singles chart.[5] In Canada, it hit #1[6] on the RPM top singles chart on December 7, 1964.

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. Greene described the song as about "Johnny Ringo the outlaw", though the account in the song differs from Ringo's life.[7]

  1. ^ "Ringo / Bonanza - Lorne Greene". 45cat. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  2. ^ Bronson, Fred, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard Books, 1992, p. 161
  3. ^ Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "The Beatles - "I Want To Hold Your Hand". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 45.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 108.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 143.
  6. ^ 1964's Biggest Canadian Hits | Canadian Music Blog
  7. ^ Mary Campbell. "Hit Parade is Topped by Stone Age Presley." Brunswick (GA) News, December 16, 1964, p. 10.