When music fans think of the iconic British-born band the Beatles and their songwriting chops, chances are images of John Lennon with his circular glasses come to mind. Or maybe it’s Paul McCartney’s mop top and unique-looking bass. Or it’s George with his guitar gently weeping.
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Indeed, last on the list is often the band’s pocket-perfect drummer, Ringo Starr. But here today, we are looking into two of the songs Starr wrote for the Fab Four. Yes, even though McCartney and Lennon may get all the songwriting attention with Harrison a close third, it’s Ringo who also helped bring some of the group’s songs to life.
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To wit, here, we dive into a pair of songs co-written by the now-83-year-old Liverpool, England-born artist.
1. “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)”
Written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
While McCartney and Lennon have their own solo Christmas songs that always surface during the holidays (see: “Wonderful Christmastime” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”), it’s this Christmas song from the group that contains all four members. It’s also one of the few Beatles songs to include writing credits from all four. The song was recorded for the Beatles’ fifth fan club Christmas record, Christmas Time Is Here Again!, in 1967. The track also contains vocals from the band’s manager George Martin.
Though the song was released in 1967, it was largely unavailable for years. At first, it was set to come out again in 1984 on the band’s then-new album, Sessions, but it never did. In 1995, the band released a shorter version but it wasn’t until 2017, some 50 years since the song originally hit ears, that the song came out on the limited-edition box set, The Christmas Records. On the song Lennon and McCartney sing in unison (over Ringo’s tight drumming),
Christmastime is here again
Christmastime is here again
Christmastime is here again
Christmastime is here again
Ain’t been round since you know when
Christmastime is here again
2. “Free as a Bird”
Written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Released in December of 1995, this song was written in 1977 by John Lennon before he died in 1980. The group resurrected the track nearly two decades later and released it in 1995, some 25 years after their breakup. The remaining three Beatles then worked on the track together, incorporating their parts over the late Lennon’s. Yoko Ono, Lennon’s widow, provided the former Mop Tops with the material. After the song’s release (along with the B-side “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)”), it hit No. 2 on the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the song, Lennon sings,
Free as a bird
It’s the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I’ll fly
As a bird on wings
Whatever happened to
The life that we once knew?
Can we really live without each other?
Where did we lose the touch
That seemed to mean so much?
It always made me feel so
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
