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The Beatles · S11 E5
Ringo the Starr
Photograph, It Don't Come Easy, You're Sixteen. Ringo proves he can carry a solo career with charm, wit, and help from all three of his former bandmates
It's autumn 1973, and Ringo Starr has two singles sitting in the US top ten at the same time. The drummer everyone assumed would fade first after the Beatles' breakup is outselling John, Paul, and George.
"Photograph" (Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band, live in L.A., 1992). Ringo's biggest solo hit, co-written with George Harrison during a trip to the South of France. It reached number one in the US and became the song that proved Ringo wasn't just the funny Beatle, he was a solo artist with real emotional weight.
The Only One They'd All Say Yes To
Nobody expected Ringo to be the one who got all four Beatles on the same album first. But that's exactly what happened with Ringo in 1973. John Lennon contributed "I'm the Greatest," George Harrison co-wrote "Photograph" and played guitar across several tracks, and Paul McCartney sent over "Six O'Clock." They never played together in the same room, but Ringo was the only person all three would say yes to.
Sources
Doggett, Peter. "You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup." It Books, 2009.
Madinger, Chip and Easter, Mark. "Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium." 44.1 Productions, 2000.
Photograph, Ringo Starr (1973)
Written with George Harrison during a holiday in the South of France, Photograph was produced by Richard Perry at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. George's twelve-string acoustic guitar gives the track its shimmering quality, while the arrangement builds gradually from a gentle verse into a soaring chorus. Listen for how Ringo's vocal sits right in the center of the mix, unadorned and unprotected. For a man who spent a decade behind a drum kit, the vulnerability is startling.
Sources
Madinger, Chip and Easter, Mark. "Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium." 44.1 Productions, 2000.
Badman, Keith. "The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970-2001." Omnibus Press, 2001.
TAP TO REVEAL: Which song on Ringo's album was originally written by John Lennon for himself?
Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Richard Perry produced the Ringo album here in 1973, calling in musicians from across the industry. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison each recorded their contributions in separate sessions, never in the same room at the same time.
Ringo's Solo Run
It Don't Come Easy, Ringo Starr (1971)
Ringo's first solo single and one of his finest. George Harrison co-wrote and produced the track, playing guitar throughout. The result is an effortlessly catchy anthem about the price of everything worth having, and it climbed to number four on both sides of the Atlantic.
It Don't Come Easy, Ringo Starr (1971)
"Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues, and you know it don't come easy." The lyrics read like a philosophy of resilience dressed up as a sing-along. George Harrison helped shape every line, though he refused a co-writing credit until years later. The words are deceptively simple, which is exactly what makes them work.
Which of Ringo's solo albums was the first to feature contributions from all three other Beatles?
In late 1973, John Lennon leaves New York, leaves Yoko, and moves to Los Angeles with Harry Nilsson as his drinking partner. What follows is eighteen months of chaos, front-page tabloid stories, and somehow, the Walls and Bridges album. Next: S11E6, "The Lost Weekend."
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