Your Complete Crazy-Talk Transcript

Brian Raftery | June 27, 2007 9:39 am
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Last night, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison, Giles Martin and some guy from Cirque du Soleil appeared on Larry King Live. During the chat, King was his usual full-on-boob self, and at one point even referred to Starr as “George.” As a public service, we’ve isolated all of King’s questions and comments from the program’s transcript, and we encourage you to scan through and re-enact random moments with your friends and co-workers. Moments like these!:

KING: Do you guys, frankly, pinch yourselves? KING: I mean, do you — do you get up in the morning and say, jeez? KING: No, I mean — you know what I mean?

KING: This was — was this your baby, Olivia?

KING: What do you think George would have thought of it?

KING: What would John have thought, Yoko?

KING: Do you feel their presence?

You never remarried, right?

KING: And, again, we’ll be meeting Paul and Ringo in a little while. And then at the end, they’ll all be with us, a kind of reunion of The Beatles.

Do you feel, Yoko, that The Beatles have kind of surrounded you, that you’re forever identified as a Beatle?

KING: Even though there were breakups and ups and downs?

KING: Yes.

Olivia, how do you handle this?

They see you, they think Beatle.

KING: So you don’t look at it in any way as it — there’s a down to it?

KING: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will join us shortly.

When we come back, more talk with Yoko and Olivia, who loved and lost John and George.

You’ll also meet the founder of Cirque du Soleil.

Don’t go away.

KING: One of the great songs of all time.

Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison remain with us.

We’re joined now by the genius, Guy Laliberte. He is the founder of Cirque du Soleil.

What does that song mean to you, Olivia, by the way? HARRISON: Well, it’s just an expression of love really, isn’t it?

KING: It’s one of the great love songs.

KING: Beautiful melody and lyrics.

Did every one of The Beatles like that song, Yoko?

KING: It worked out, too?

KING: You didn’t know that?

KING: All right, Guy, how did this all come together?

KING: And did he come up with this idea?

KING: Did the process begin there…

KING: … And was it underway when George passed away?

KING: Yoko, you had to sign off on this, didn’t you?

KING: Did you have any questions?

KING: He says yes.

KING: What was it like, Olivia, the first time you saw it done?

KING: Were they easy to work with, Guy?

The truth.

KING: Well, let me tell you the audience, it pays off. If you’re in Vegas you must see Love. I mean it’s incredible.

You’re all going to see it again tonight after the show.

When we come back, Paul and Ringo.

Don’t go away.

KING: Anyway, we’re celebrating the one year anniversary of Love, the Cirque du Soleil presentation of The Beatles here at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

Joining us now, Paul McCartney, the former Beatle. His latest album is “Memory Almost Full.” I love that title. It’s holding at number three on the Billboard 200 List and he’s gotten some tremendous reviews. And Ringo Starr, the other former living Beatle. Ringo’s EMI catalog goes into global digital release August 28th, a career spanning collection of Ringo’s best solo recordings — “Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr,” will be released on the same date.

The only two men who can say, living men who can say I was a Beatle.

Do you guys keep in touch?

KING: You talk often?

KING: What do you make of this?

What do you make of this whole thing?

KING: Of this, yes.

KING: Were you surprised…

KING: When you first saw the show, The Beatles and Cirque du Soleil, what did you think?

KING: When you first heard.

KING: Did you like it right away, Ringo?

KING: What did (INAUDIBLE)…

KING: Do you guys, frankly, pinch yourselves?

KING: I mean, do you — do you get up in the morning and say, jeez?

KING: No, I mean — you know what I mean?

KING: It’s getting risky.

KING: (LAUGHTER).

KING: Come on, you changed the world.

KING: Yes.

KING: It grows.

KING: You joined them after they were…

KING: You made them?

KING: Ah!

KING: Were you — all of you friendly?

I mean did it…

KING: Big in Germany.

KING: Did you think…

KING: Did you think The Beatles would make it, make it?

KING: No, you — really…

KING: Big at home?

KING: When it took off and you — that first trip to the United States, what was that like?

KING: And what a story.

Where were you when — when John passed?

KING: Did somebody call you?

KING: George, where were you?

KING: Ringo.

KING: Ringo, where were you?

KING: I was getting to (INAUDIBLE) George.

KING: Was George’s passing expected?

KING: Because you knew how sick he was?

KING: Oh, you did?

KING: Look what I have written. It says here…

KING: We’re back with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and a mandolin!

KING: That commercial for that record with you in a kind of cartoon figure walKING. Was that your idea?

KING: It’s really is a great spot. And the album is doing great, right?

KING: You couldn’t drum with him on that?

KING: You would have used him though.

KING: Let’s get up to something ….

KING: Let’s get to something current. How are you doing, Ringo?

KING: Life treating you well?

KING: Everything good, the wife good?

KING: The wife is gorgeous, too.

KING: And you live in California, right?

KING: Oh.

KING: I knew that.

KING: With the swells.

KING: And Paul, how are you adjusting to what was tumultuous times?

KING: I mean, that had to be rough.

KING: Still rough.

KING: That’s fair enough. But life is — aside from that …

KING: Musically, neither of you has to keep on going, correct? You don’t need it financially?

KING: What do you mean?

KING: I love what I do.

KING: So the drive is not for — how much the record sells? It’s how well do they like the record?

KING: Do you still get a kick hearing the music of The Beatles?

KING: Like when we come back…

KING: They were a good group.

KING: So when you watch the show tonight, and that music comes on and you’re watching the dancers and the gymnasts. And — you still get a kick out of hearing …

KING: Central glue, wait a minute, the drums are the key to The Beatles.

KING: What does that mean?

KING: What do you think you’ve meant in this scheme of things? You came through in the ’60s. The world changed. Do you feel The Beatles were part of the impact of that change?

KING: You know I can’t tell you …

KING: We’ll take a break and bring all four on, the widows and the living.

KING: I want to tell you something. No, in all seriousness, I don’t get emotional on this show.

KING: This is really incredible.

KING: Sitting around you guys. You changed the world.

KING: Incredible.

KING: You ought to be.

KING: We’ll be right back …

KING: … all four of them. Don’t go away.

KING: And we’re in the revolution lounge.

KING: Here in Las Vegas with Ringo and Paul. I said that they will all be gathering with us in the next break, but we wanted to show you a little package first and get their reaction to it.

The Cirque Du Soleil’s production of The Beatles is a unique entertainment experience. But behind the mind-blowing on-stage magic, a lot of dedicated creative energy.

KING: What makes the way these songs are done so special?

KING: Everything that happens has to fit the song that’s playing?

KING: Can we hear a little sound?

KING: Let’s listen.

KING: See you tonight.

KING: What is that called?

KING: We could be twin brothers.

KING: What do you think of all that behind-the-scenes stuff?

KING: When music is remastered, as they were showing us, Mr. Martin, what does that mean to you as a musician?

KING: So it’s improving it?

KING: Modern technology.

KING: How do they do it? We don’t know.

KING: We’ll be back with Paul, Ringo, Yoko, Olivia and Guy. All next. Don’t go away.

KING: You know, this is historic. They are all together. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison and Guy Laliberte, the founder of Cirque du Soleil.

A couple of questions as we swing around for each.

Is it hard, Olivia, to look at George?

KING: So it’s — mixed emotions?

KING: Yoko, what’s it like to look at John?

KING: Do you get nervous about every performance, Guy?

KING: You’ve got, what, how many Cirque du Soleils going now?

KING: I mean, like you sit up at night and think, oh, he’s going to fall?

KING: Ringo, do you have to play drums a lot? Do you have to keep in shape?

(CROSSTALK)

KING: And when you’re drumming…

KING: … do you know how good they are singing?

KING: You played for the singer?

KING: What made the Beatles, Paul, musically special? What did they do that people weren’t doing?

KING: You can’t plan that, though, can you?

KING: Guy, is it — was it difficult to stage to that music?

KING: I bet.

KING: With a bunch of little kids from England.

KING: Did George miss the group?

KING: Did John miss it?

KING: These guys weren’t.

KING: We’re running close on time, because we have a big finale coming up here. Oh, we have got a production — a production finale. We’re all going to go out, we’re going to be next to the theater, the show is going to begin. By the way, we had a quick vote on our Web site, CNN.com/larry

KING. We asked you to pick your favorite Beatles album. What won?

KING: “Abbey Road” won, followed by “Sergeant Pepper,” and “The White Album” came in third.

KING: “Abbey Road” won, followed by “Sergeant Pepper,” and “The White Album” came in third.

Tomorrow night’s guest is Paris Hilton. You may have heard of her. Head to our Web site, CNN.com/larryking, and you can send an e- mail for Paris. You can also send a video mail. Send a timeline and participate in a quick vote. It’s all on CNN.com/larryking.

The whole crew and I are heading for the theater. Don’t go away.

KING: All right. Well, we’re back stage. The whole crew is here. Right?

CNN LARRY KING LIVE [CNN.com]