A Look Back at John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr’s First Post-Beatles Collaborations With One Another

In 1970, the year the Beatles officially split, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were the first bandmates to collaborate. Starr played on several tracks on Harrison’s third solo album, All Things Must Pass. A year later, Harrison also co-wrote and produced Starr’s 1971 hit “It Don’t Come Easy.”

Years later, Starr played on Harrison’s fourth album, Living in the Material World, and Harrison did the same for Starr’s 1973 album Ringo, co-writing three songs, ”Photograph,” “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond),” and “You and Me (Babe).”

Ringo also reunited Harrison and Starr with Paul McCartney and John Lennon for the first time since 1970.

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‘All Things Must Pass’ (1970)

On Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, Starr plays drums on several songs, including “My Sweet Lord,” “Isn’t It a Pity (Version Two),” and the title track. Sharing drumming duties with Jim Gordon and Alan White on the album, Starr also played on “Wah-Wah” during sessions, produced by Phil Spector. In 1971, Starr played drums on “Wah-Wah” during the famous Concert for Bangladesh with Harrison. Decades later, he returned to “Wah-Wah,” alongside McCartney, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Lynne, during the Concert for George in November 2002, a tribute to Harrison, a year after his death.

“It Don’t Come Easy” (1971)

In 1971, Harrison produced Starr’s one-off single, “It Don’t Come Easy,” his first single, along with “Beaucoups of Blues,” after the Beatles broke up. Though Harrison wasn’t credited, he was also instrumental in writing and composing the song, which was an early hit for Starr, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Harrison also wrote Starr’s “Back Off Bugaloo,” released in 1972, but wasn’t officially credited on it until 2017. The latter track was recorded in London in 1972 and went to No. 2 in the UK and Canada and No. 9 in the U.S.

“Six O’Clock” (1973)

When Starr was working on his third solo album, Ringo, he managed to convince McCartney to get involved by saying, “You don’t want to be left out, do you?“ McCartney obliged and even delivered a song by a strict Wednesday deadline set by producer Richard Perry. Co-written with his wife Linda, “Six O’Clock” was written to suit Starr’s vocals; Paul and Linda also sing backing vocals on the track. “‘Six O’clock in the morning, You’ve just gone to sleep,’” said Starr, reading the first line of the song. “Paul wrote that. See, they knew me so well, they [the three other Beatles] would write songs that they felt I could get away with.”

“I’m the Greatest” (1973)

For Ringo, Lennon also wrote, sang backing vocals, and played piano on “I’m the Greatest.” Recorded at Sunset Sounds in Los Angeles in March 1973, it was the first time Lennon worked alongside Harrison and Starr since the Beatles parted. A nostalgic trip down memory lane, the piano-pop ballad is a coming-of-age story about growing up in Liverpool and being in the greatest show on earth (the Beatles), to becoming a husband and father, and finding his own path.

Photo: Chris Walter / WireImage / Getty