Ringo (album)

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Template:About Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Beaucoups of Blues1970Goodnight Vienna1974Studio albumRingoRingoCover.jpgRingo StarrTemplate:Start date5 March – 26 July 1973*Apple and EMI (London)

Ringo is the third studio album by English musician Ringo Starr, released on 2 November 1973 on Apple Records. The album is noted for the participation of all four former Beatles, and for its numerous guest stars, something which would become a signature for Starr on many of his subsequent albums and tours.

Ringo peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart, number two on the US Billboard 200, and topped the Canada RPM national albums chart. It has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

Starr released the standards tribute Sentimental Journey and the country and western Beaucoups of Blues in 1970. He issued the singles "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo"<ref name=Boys164>Template:Cite book</ref> over 1971–72, both produced by and co-written with his former Beatles bandmate George Harrison.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Both of these singles were big successes and would ordinarily have inspired albums to support them, but Starr declined to follow through, preferring to concentrate on acting during this period.<ref name=Boys162>Template:Cite book</ref> In early 1973, Starr decided that the time was right to begin his first rock solo album. He had already used Richard Perry to arrange one of the tracks on Sentimental Journey, so he asked him to produce the sessions.<ref name=Boys165 />

Recording

Recording started on 5 March 1973<ref name=FAQ34>Template:Cite book</ref> upon Starr's arrival in Los Angeles<ref name=FAQ139>Template:Cite book</ref> at Sunset Sound Recorders.<ref name=Diary /><ref name=RSE118>Template:Cite book</ref> Sessions were produced by Richard Perry.<ref name=FAQ139 /> Starr sent word to his musician friends to help him in his new venture and they all responded positively. Taking part in the sessions were Marc Bolan, four members of The Band (except Richard Manuel),<ref name=Boys165 /> Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, Nicky Hopkins, Harry Nilsson, Jim Keltner and James Booker.<ref name=Diary /> Additionally, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison all appeared on and composed material for Ringo.<ref name=FAQ34 />

"Photograph" had been written on 15 May 1971 while on a sailing holiday with his wife Maureen, Harrison and Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd, and Cilla Black. Starr and Harrison wrote the song with input from the others.<ref name=Diary>Template:Cite book</ref> The song was first recorded in late 1972 with Harrison as producer, during the sessions for Harrison's Living in the Material World album.<ref name=FAQ35>Template:Cite book</ref> The song was remade five months later, produced by Perry for its appearance on Ringo.<ref name=FAQ35 /> Harrison and Mal Evans were sharing a living space in Los Angeles when they wrote "You and Me (Babe)" after Evans asked Harrison to add music to a song which he was working on.<ref name=FAQ35 />

Template:Quote box Harrison dropped by on the sessions on 10 March to see what kind of material Starr had recorded up to that point,<ref name=Diary /><ref name=RSE118 /> saying that he was "knocked out by what you've done".<ref name=Diary /> He returned on 12 March and laid down backing vocals.<ref name=Diary /><ref name=RSE118 /> Starr, John Lennon, and Harrison appear together on Lennon's "I'm the Greatest",<ref name="Boys164" /> which was recorded on 13 March.<ref group="nb">Lennon previously recorded a demo of the song on 28 December 1970, after watching a repeat of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night,<ref name=Diary /> with the intent of recording the track himself.<ref name=RSE222>Template:Cite book</ref></ref><ref name=Diary /><ref name=FAQ140>Template:Cite book</ref> Ten takes of the song were recorded in a session lasting approximately 18 minutes.<ref name=Diary /> Both Lennon and Harrison were in Los Angeles for business matters with Capitol Records.<ref name=FAQ139 /> Lennon returned to New York on 14 March.<ref name=Diary />

British music magazine Melody Maker reported on 17 March that the session was a Beatles reunion. "Rumours flashed through Los Angeles this week that three of the Beatles have teamed up for recording purposes. John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr are all in Los Angeles with Klaus Voormann, the bassist rumoured to replace Paul McCartney after his departure from the group."<ref name=RSE118 /> Also recorded during this month was Randy Newman's "Have You Seen My Baby?";<ref group="nb">The track is sometimes titled as "Hold On".<ref name=RSE213 /></ref> it features overdubbed guitar by Bolan which was added at A&M Studios.<ref name=RSE213>Template:Cite book</ref> This group of sessions lasted until 27 March.<ref name=Diary /> The next day, Starr and Perry flew to England.<ref name=Diary /> More work on the tracks was done at Burbank Studios, The Sound Lab, and Producers' Workshop.<ref name=Diary /> On 16 April,<ref name=RSE118 /> Starr went to Apple Studio in London to record "Six O'Clock" with Paul McCartney<ref name=FAQ35-36>Template:Cite book</ref> and his wife Linda,<ref name=Diary /> as drug arrests kept McCartney from entering the US.<ref name=FAQ140 /> McCartney played synthesizer and piano and sang backing vocals on the track.<ref name=Boys165>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=FAQ36>Template:Cite book</ref>

After finishing "Six O'Clock", Starr asked his chauffeur to buy some tap dancing shoes which Starr would use on "Step Lightly".<ref name=Diary /> He then recorded "You're Sixteen" and "Step Lightly" with Nilsson;<ref name=FAQ140 /> McCartney also appears imitating a kazoo on "You're Sixteen".<ref name=Diary /> This second block of recording sessions lasted until 30 April, and overdubs were added at Sunset Sound Recorders throughout July.<ref name=Diary /> The album was mixed at Sunset Sound on 24 July.<ref name=Diary /><ref name=RSE118 />

Release

According to a report in Billboard magazine in late September 1973, RingoTemplate:'s release was delayed while work was being completed on the album artwork.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Apple/Capitol Records released Ringo on 2 November in the US,<ref group="nb">US Apple SWAL-3413<ref name=RSE185>Template:Cite book</ref></ref> and on 9 November by Apple/EMI in the UK.<ref group="nb">UK Apple PCTC 252<ref name=RSE184>Template:Cite book</ref></ref>

The original cassette tape and 8-track versions of the album, as well as a small number of early promotional copies of the vinyl album, contained a longer version of "Six O'Clock".<ref name="FAQ36" /> All of the stock copies of vinyl version of the LP, including both the original pressing and the 1981 LP re-release of the album, as well as reissues in various other formats over time, contained the shorter version of the song.<ref name="Ref-1">Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975 (New York: Ballantine Books, 1975), 268</ref><ref>Perry Cox & Joe Lindsay, The Official Price Guide to The Beatles Records and Memorabilia (New York: House of Collectibles, 1995), 235.</ref> The record label on the original stock pressing of the vinyl album incorrectly lists the running time of "Six O'Clock" as 5:26, which may have led some to mistakenly assume that the original pressing contained the long version of the song. The label on the reissued vinyl album correctly lists the running time as 4:06.<ref name="Ref-1" /><ref>Labels on Apple Records SWAL 3413 & Capitol Records SN-16114.</ref> At the time of release, various reviews and press articles of the day stated that the longer version was "snuck" onto the tape duplicating masters at the last moment; this may have been done for the benefit of 8-track versions of the album, to make program two of the tape (on which the song appeared) the same approximate length as the other tracks. Artwork for a quadrophonic version was produced, but was never released.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Additionally, the original artwork lists the second song, written by Randy Newman, as "Hold On" which was later corrected to "Have You Seen My Baby" in following pressings.

When Ringo was reissued on compact disc, the album included three bonus tracks: Starr's 1971 hit single "It Don't Come Easy" and its B-side "Early 1970", as well as the B-side to "Photograph", "Down and Out".<ref name="RSE141">Template:Cite book</ref> The CD was released in the UK on 4 March 1991,<ref group="nb">UK Parlophone CDP 7 95884 2<ref name=RSE184 /></ref> and in the US by Capitol on 6 May.<ref group="nb">US Capitol CDP 795637<ref name=RSE141 /></ref><ref name="RSE141" /> On some CD reissues "Down And Out" is inserted into the album as the fourth track (between "Photograph" and "Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)"). On the US CD, "You and Me (Babe)" begins crossfaded over the end of "Devil Woman," even though the original album, and the UK CD, had these songs separated by silence. Strangely, the longer version of "Six O'Clock" was not added as a bonus track to the reissue of this album, but instead appeared on the reissue of Goodnight Vienna.<ref name="FAQ36" />

Singles

On 24 September, "Photograph" was released as the album's lead single in the US, backed by "Down and Out".<ref name="RSE118" /> Starr filmed a promo clip for the song at his Tittenhurst Park residence, although the film's only screening was on a single episode of BBC TV's Top of the Pops, which has since been lost.<ref name="Diary" /> The single was issued a month later in the UK, on 19 October.<ref name="RSE119">Template:Cite book</ref>

"You're Sixteen" was released as the album's second single, backed with "Devil Woman", in the US on 3 December.<ref name="RSE119" /> In late December, on the 28th, "Photograph" went gold in the US.<ref name="RSE119" /> "You're Sixteen" acquired gold status in the US on 31 January 1974,<ref name="Diary" /> and was released in the UK on 8 February,<ref name="RSE119" /> reaching No. 4.<ref name="Diary" /> In the US, the singles from Ringo "Photograph" and Starr's cover of "You're Sixteen" both went to No. 1.<ref name="FAQ35-262">Template:Cite book</ref> On 18 February, "Oh My My" was released as a single only in the US, backed with "Step Lightly".<ref group="nb">US Apple 1872<ref name=RSE260>Template:Cite book</ref></ref><ref name="RSE119" /> After the singles became hits, Lennon sent Starr a telegram: "Congratulations. How dare you? And please write me a hit song."<ref name="Boys165" />

Reception

Template:Music ratingsPropelled by the international success of "Photograph",<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and speculation regarding the former Beatles working together on the same project,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the album reached No. 1 in Canada,<ref name="CAN">Library and Archives Canada. Template:Webarchive</ref> No. 7 in the UK,<ref name="UKchart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, denied the top position by Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ringo peaked at No. 1 on America's other albums charts, however,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in Cashbox and Record World.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album was certified gold in America on 8 November and in Britain a month after its release there.<ref name="RSE119" />

Ringo was critically well-received.<ref>Rodriguez, p. 143.</ref> Loraine Alterman of The New York Times described it as an "instant knockout ... [a] sensational album".<ref>Michael Frontani, "The Solo Years", in Kenneth Womack (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK, 2009; Template:ISBN), p. 266.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his review for Rolling Stone, Ben Gerson said that, on one hand, Starr's limited artistry and the abundance of star guests made the album "rambling and inconsistent", yet in terms of "atmosphere", "Ringo is the most successful record by an ex-Beatle. It is not polemical and abrasive like Lennon's, harsh and self-pitying like Harrison's, or precious and flimsy like McCartney's, but balanced, airy and amiable."<ref name=RollingStone>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Track listing

Side one

  1. "I'm the Greatest" (John Lennon) – 3:21
  2. "Have You Seen My Baby"<ref group="nb">Titled "Hold On" on the album cover and record label.</ref> (Randy Newman) – 3:44
  3. "Photograph" (Richard Starkey, George Harrison) – 3:56
  4. "Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)" (Harrison) – 2:45
  5. "You're Sixteen" (Bob Sherman, Dick Sherman) – 2:48

Side two

  2. "Oh My My" (Starkey, Vini Poncia) – 4:16
  3. "Step Lightly" (Starkey) – 3:15
  4. "Six O'Clock" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney)<ref name="MPL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} Enter Six O'Clock in the Title field, click Begin Search click Six O'Clock</ref> – 4:06

  1. "Devil Woman" (Starkey, Poncia) – 3:50
  2. "You and Me (Babe)" (Harrison, Mal Evans) – 4:59

1991 reissue bonus tracks

  2. "It Don't Come Easy" (Starkey) – 3:02
  3. "Early 1970" (Starkey) – 2:20
  4. "Down and Out" (Starkey) – 3:04

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

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Charts

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Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart
Chart (1973-74) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref> 2
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)<ref name=FINI>Template:Cite book</ref> 21
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}} Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Ringo Starr".</ref>

2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref name="JPN">Template:Cite book</ref> 10
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)<ref name="swechart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1

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Year-end charts

Chart (1973) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

39
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Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name="auchart">Template:Cite book</ref> 15
US Billboard 200<ref name="USYearend">Template:Cite book</ref> 30

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Certifications

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Cover version

An instrumental version of the album was produced by David Hentschel and titled Sta*rtling Music.<ref name=RSE214>Template:Cite book</ref> Sta*rtling Music was the first release on Starr's label, Ring O' Records; released on 18 April 1975 in the UK,<ref group="nb">UK Ringo O' 2320-101<ref name=RSE214 /></ref> and four years later on 17 February 1979 in the US.<ref group="nb">US Ringo O' ST 11372<ref name=RSE214 /></ref><ref name=RSE214 /> Just prior to the album was a single, "Oh My My", backed with "Devil Woman", released on 17 February 1975 in the US,<ref group="nb">US Ringo O' 4030<ref name=RSE214 /></ref> and on 21 March in the UK.<ref group="nb">UK Ringo O' 2017-101<ref name=RSE214 /></ref><ref name=RSE214 /> The album, was re-released in the US on Capitol in October 1980.<ref group="nb">US Capitol SN-16114<ref name=RSE281 /></ref><ref name=RSE281 /> A budget edition was released in the UK on 27 November by Music for Pleasure.<ref group="nb">UK Music for Pleasure MFP 50508<ref name=RSE281 /></ref><ref name=RSE281>Template:Cite book</ref>

References

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