The four men who comprised The Beatles weren’t agreeing on a lot circa 1973. But John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison all stepped up and helped out Ringo Starr on his 1973 album Ringo.
Each of them wrote at least one song for the project. Here’s a look back at four of those songs that helped to make the Ringo album so special.
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“I’m The Greatest”
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When you talk about near-Beatles reunions, “I’m The Greatest” is way up there. Not only did John Lennon write the song, but he also sang backing vocals. Meanwhile, Starr is on drums, and George Harrison plays guitar. Meanwhile, a pair of Beatle buddies, Billy Preston and Klaus Voorman, contribute organ and bass, respectively. Lennon wrote the song as a possible vehicle for himself. Reviving it for the Ringo album, he realized that the boastful lyrics would provide clever contrast for the self-deprecating Starr. There are plenty of meta references going on in the song, with references to Billy Shears, “boogaloo,” and Starr once being part of “the greatest show on Earth”.
“Six O’Clock”
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Paul McCartney steered clear of the “I’m The Greatest” session, preventing a total Beatle reunion on the song. But he made his presence felt on Ringo just the same. That’s Paul mimicking the sound of a kazoo during the solo on “You’re Sixteen”, Starr’s hit cover of the early rock song. And McCartney and wife Linda also contributed the melancholy, melodic “Six O’Clock” to the proceedings. Keen listeners could probably spot that this was a Macca song without needing the credits. The ups and downs of the tune are right in keeping with his balladic work. He and Linda also add some backing vocals to the track, while Ringo does a nice job inhabiting the sad sack protagonist.
“You And Me (Babe)”
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George Harrison was the most involved of the three ex-Beatles who helped out on Ringo. In addition to this track and the one still to come on the list, Harrison wrote the countryish “Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)” for the project. Mal Evans, another longtime Beatle associate, nabbed a co-writing credit on “You And Me (Babe)”, which rounds out the album. The lyrics, which Evans began, cleverly work in a couple of ways. You can hear them as a stoic sendoff to a former lover. Or you can imagine them being a message from a touring band to their fans on their way out of one city. Ringo’s thank-yous at the end of it lean into the latter interpretation.
“Photograph”
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Starr doesn’t get enough credit for writing some very good songs in his heyday. That’s partly due to the fact that he often struggled to finish the process. When that was the case, he often turned to Harrison, who ended up with co-writing credits on many of Ringo’s biggest hits. In the case of “Photograph”, it started when Harrison taught the drummer Starr a new chord to add to his rudimentary guitar skills. Give credit to producer Richard Perry, who lacquered the track with Wall of Sound-style production, right down to the castanets. Bobby Keys’ saxophone adds to the effect. And Starr delivers one of his finest vocals on this massive hit filled with bittersweet regret.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)