3 Times John Lennon and Paul McCartney Wrote the Perfect Song for Ringo Starr To Sing

Ringo Starr’s solo career proved that he could write some excellent songs. But while he was with The Beatles, he lacked the confidence in that department to stack up against the work of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Lennon and McCartney made sure that Ringo’s voice was still heard. These three songs, written by the pair, proved tailor-made for Ringo Starr as a vocalist.

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“Yellow Submarine” from ‘Revolver’ (1966)

The early drafts of the song that would become “Yellow Submarine” read much darker than the finished version. A demo that was unearthed for a reissue of Revolver found John Lennon singing, in hushed tones, these lyrics: “In the place where I was born, no one cared, no one cared.” Nothing like the happy-go-lucky sea captain narrator who would eventually populate the song. That’s probably because there was no water vehicle involved in the beginning. Somewhere along the line, The Beatles decided to make it into a kids’ song. Rock bands rarely attempted such a thing. Paul McCartney came up with the concept of the “Yellow Submarine”. He and Lennon clearly had a blast making up the seaworthy sound effects in the instrumental break. Ringo Starr’s vocal also carries a lot of the weight, imbuing the simple melody with charm and wonder.

“With A Little Help From My Friends” from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Tired of every piece of music that they created being scrutinized to the hilt, The Beatles decided to record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the guise of an imaginary group. The gambit didn’t really deflect any attention. In fact, the album became one of the most closely studied in the history of music anyway. And they didn’t really follow the concept through past the opening and closing songs. But Ringo Starr did help put the idea across by coming on to the fake stage and delivering “With A Little Help From My Friends” as the crooner Billy Shears. Lennon and McCartney wrote the song as the kind of thing you might expect an entertainer like that to perform as a showstopper. And Starr rose to the occasion. He’s extremely lovable, engaging in back-and-forth exchanges with Lennon and McCartney in the verses. And he brings home the high note at the end for everything it’s worth.

“Good Night” from The White Album (1968)

The White Album, all four sides and 30 songs of it, gave The Beatles the freedom to do pretty much whatever they wanted as artists. But how could they possibly put the right closing touch on an album as disjointed as that? That task proved especially difficult because the closing song was coming right on the heels of the harrowing sound collage “Revolution 9” in the running order. The solution: Turn to Ringo. After all, if they were going to end things on a lullaby, who better than Ringo Starr to gently tuck the young ones into bed? In studio chatter surrounding early takes of the song, you can hear each member of the group giving Starr gentle instruction and kind encouragement for the vocals. He clearly took the advice to heart. But you could argue that Starr’s gentility and good-natured spirit would have shone through on his sweet track regardless.

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