Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

In conversation with Consequence of Sound, former Journey and Santana vocalist Gregg Rolie had praised the Beatles as well as Ringo Starr.

Rolie’s mind first turns to Ringo when his interviewer questions him about recently released song ‘What About Love‘, a track which was inspired by Meredith’s experiences performing in the former Beatles drummer’s All-Starr Band.

“Peace and love,” his interviewer remarks. “You’re singing about something that is probably all around you on these tours.”

“Very much so,” Gregg replies,  “we actually jammed on ‘What About Love’ at a soundcheck. We do that a lot. He likes to just play. I love him for this.”

“And so we fooled around with it,” he continues,  “but then I took it home and I wrote the bassline. I just figured – you’re right, it’s his mantra. [Peace and love] has been his mantra for what? 50 years? I thought I would take it a step further, put a little harder line on it. But it is the same message.”

Given that Rolie’s work with Carlos Santana has in past stretched well past the 14-minute mark, he views this new song’s shorter two minutes and 53 seconds length as a tribute to the Fab Four.

“It’s the only song I think I’ve ever written that’s just under three minutes,” Gregg shares, “the Beatles write songs that are two minutes and twenty seconds and [they are] absolutely complete.”

“I find that amazing,” he enthuses, “I’ve always found that amazing about those guys. So that’s where that came from.”

The full interview here.