"Ringo" is a hit single for the Canadian actor Lorne Greene
in 1964.
The song's lyrics —spoken rather than sung— tell the story
of a Western lawman and his relationship with a notorious
gunfighter, Ringo, presumably based on the outlaw Johnny Ringo.
It has been pointed out that the song does not fit the known
historical facts of the life of Johnny Ringo; this did not
damage the song's popularity, as it shot to the top of the US
Billboardcharts on December 5, 1964. It also peaked at
#1 on the "Easy Listening" chart, where it remained at the top
for six weeks, and at #21 on Hot Country Singles chart. (The
fact the song had the same name as a Beatle didn't hurt.) The
song was written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair.
The 'B' side of the disc was an extended version of the
theme song of Greene's TV show
Bonanza, with lyrics that were never used on TV. Greene
also recorded a French version of the song, in 1965.
The song was parodied by Frank Gallop in his 1966 hit
single, "The Ballad of Irving"; by Dutch comedian Andre van
Duin in the 1980s ("Bingo"); and by Country Yossi and the
Shteeble Hoppers ("Shlomo").
The 2005 short film "Ringo", which used the song along with
public domain footage of John Wayne and Roy Rogers, won the
Short Film Award for animated film at the 2005 Seattle
International Film Festival.