Almost as soon as The Beatles announced their official break-up, their fans began clamoring for a reunion. It never quite happened, of course, but there were a few occasions where, if you suspend disbelief a bit, a quasi-reunion took place. Ringo Starr’s 1973 album Ringo was one of those occasions.
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Starr’s three Beatle bandmates, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, all appear on the album as writers and performers. The album was a smashing success, in part because of those crucial contributions from the other three of the Fab Four, and in part because Starr proved to be a more engaging and versatile frontman than few suspected he could be.
A Starr Is Reborn
Like his bandmates, Ringo Starr became a solo artist upon the Beatles’ breakup, albeit, in his case, a bit more reluctantly than the others. His first two albums, both released in 1970, relied on tried-and-true material. Sentimental Journey saw Starr taking a crack at standards, while Beaucoups of Blues found him tackling country and western classics. While both albums were well-done, they didn’t exactly stake out a unique identity for him as a solo artist.
For the next few years, Starr concentrated on a movie career, but he also returned to his day job for a few singles here and there, songs which helped him find his solo footing. On “It Don’t Come Easy” and “Back Off Boogaloo,” Starr shed the comic persona which he so often embodied in The Beatles and delivered forceful, catchy hits. Harrison helped greatly in the writing and producing of both tracks, and these songs set the stage for when Starr would once again deliver a full-length LP.
That opportunity came in 1973 with an album simply titled Ringo. The title was apropos in that it was Starr’s turn to step out onto the front of the bandstand for a change. But he couldn’t have done it without, you guessed it, a little help from his friends, most notably three fellow Liverpudlians who knew a thing or two about pop success.
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“Greatest” Hits
The four members of The Beatles wounded each other with legal and verbal slings and arrows in the immediate aftermath of the breakup. By 1973, those initial wounds had largely scabbed over. As the four men concentrated on their own lives and careers, a lot of the initial rancor slipped away, and helping each other out on record was a possibility. That was especially the case for Starr, who played on both Lennon’s and Harrison’s immediate post-Beatles albums. McCartney was another case, as some bad blood must have still existed between Starr and him to lead to “Back Off Boogaloo,” which seemed to be a potshot at Macca’s solo music.
But when push came to shove, all three men stepped up in a big way on Ringo. Lennon wrote the opening track “I’m the Greatest.” He had originally imagined it for one of his own records, but he realized the combination of humor and chutzpah would play perfectly when coming from the self-deprecating Starr. Lennon also sang the backing vocals, while Harrison engirds the song with Abbey Road-style guitar arpeggios.
McCartney came through with some key contributions as well. He and wife Linda wrote the lovely “Six O’ Clock” and added the backing vocals for the track. Macca also pops up, in unique fashion, on Starr’s hit cover of the early ‘60s chestnut “You’re Sixteen.” That’s him making his voice sound like a kazoo for the “instrumental” solo.
[AS OF THIS WRITING: Ringo Tickets Are Available! – Get ‘Em Right Here]
It was Harrison who added the most value to Ringo in the end. He wrote both the countryish “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)” and (with Mal Evans) the bittersweet closer “You and Me.” Most importantly, he collaborated with Starr on “Photograph,” a pitch-perfect homage to early Phil Spector hits that still stands as Starr’s finest moment as a solo artist. Hearing Starr and Harrison delivering those broken-hearted harmonies, you couldn’t deny that this was a song at the level of their former group’s best
More Helping Friends
It should be noted that “Photograph” also benefits from some other A-list musicians helping out, including Nicky Hopkins on keyboard, Bobby Keys on sax, Jim Keltner on drums, and Jack Nitzsche as arranger. Luminaries like that can be found all through the credits on Ringo: four members of The Band bring their down-home authenticity to “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)”; the New Orleans-stroll vibe of “Have You Seen My Baby” could only have come from Randy Newman’s songwriting pen; Harry Nilsson delivers the soothing backing vocals on “You’re Sixteen”; and we haven’t even mentioned Marc Bolan, Billy Preston, Steve Cropper, Martha Reeves, and many more.
The cover of Ringo features this cast of thousands, Sgt. Pepper’s-style, assembled for a mock portrait. And there’s Ringo Starr, dotting the “I” of the title in front of them all, the ringleader of this genial musical circus. Out in front at last, and, even with his Beatle buddies around, the undisputed star of this show.
Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
