The Beatles Boxed Set (38 page)

            With
the Beatles officially disbanded, Paul filed suit for the dissolution of the
members’ contractual partnership in December 1970.

It
was an ugly breakup. For Ringo, it could have been preferable if they had
parted ways amicably, just for old times’ sake. They used to enjoy a close
friendship that saw them through tough and happy times. They had been together
through the ups and downs of their career, but now it was ending on a sour
note.

Surprisingly,
it was Ringo who first made his solo move by recording his
Sentimental
Journey
album which was released on March 27, 1970, just weeks before
Paul’s debut solo album was released. He had previously approached George
Martin to helm his solo debut that contains his parents’ favorite songs. He
even asked them to choose the tracks.

For the completion of this album, Ringo had different
musicians arrange songs, including Paul, Quincy Jones and Elmer Bernstein,
among others. The album was completed in March and was rushed out two weeks
later to avoid clashing with the Beatles’
Let It Be
.

When
Sentimental Journey
hit the stores, it received
fair reviews, with some critics finding it odd for Ringo to cover standards
considering his musical background. But fame as a Beatle was all that it needed
to climb the charts to number seven in the UK and number 22 in the US.

Ringo collaborated with his former band
mates Paul and George for some of his solo albums

The George Harrison composition,
It Don’t Come Easy
,
appeared as a single in 1971 and became one of Ringo’s hit singles. It peaked
at number four on the American
Billboard
chart and remained in the Top
40 for 11 weeks.

Ringo followed his debut solo album with
Beaucoups of
Blues
, released in September 1970. While Ringo was playing on sessions for
George’s
All Things Must Pass
, Starr, who was a country and western fan,
met Pete Drake who played pedal steel guitar for George’s album. Upon learning
that Drake was also a country fan, Ringo offered him to collaborate on an album
together, to which Drake agreed.

Ringo flew to Nashville to begin recording. The sessions
were successful, and it was clear that Ringo’s voice suited country than the
old standards that were apparent on
Sentimental Journey
.

When it was released,
Beaucoups of Blues
was more
acclaimed than Ringo’s previous album though it didn’t perform well on the
charts. In fact, the album missed the UK charts entirely and reached only
number 64 in the US. In Canada it reached number 34 and in Australia, number
33.

With both albums failing to make a success, Ringo decided to
take a break from releasing albums and instead concentrated on film acting.

A lot of people who worked closely with the Beatles observed
that Ringo was a natural on camera in the band’s films
A Hard Day’s Night
and
Help!
. He pursued an acting career following his departure from the
Beatles; none of his other band mates could succeed to the degree that Ringo
did.

            Throughout
his solo career, he had appeared in more or less 25 films, including two of the
Beatles’ films. He had costarred with Peter Sellers in the 1969 film
The
Magic Christian
and had a co-starring role in the rock film
That’ll Be
the Day
. He also landed parts in some strange movies such as playing as a
pope in
Lisztomania
and as a director in
Sextette
.

Ringo starred on the comedy film The
Magic Christian

            But
no matter how much he loved acting, music was still a stronger force in Ringo’s
life. In 1971, he participated in the
Concert for Bangladesh
that George
had organized. He also played drummed on George’s
All Things Must Pass
and
Living in the Material World
, John’s
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
and Yoko Ono’s early solo work.

            While
Ringo was still with the Beatles, he had been the least popular of the four,
particularly because he was just the drummer. But while he acknowledged that
his drumming for the Beatles had its technical limitations, his contribution as
a drummer had received high praises from notable drummers. Ringo had said,
“Whenever I hear another drummer I know I’m no good. I’m no good on the
technical things… I’m your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills. The fills
were funny because I’m really left-handed playing a right-handed kit. I can’t
roll around the drums because of that.”

            George
Martin also had praises for Ringo’s drumming skills, although “he couldn’t do a
roll to save his life.” Later on, Martin would say, “He’s got tremendous feel.
He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support
– the rock-solid back-beat – that made the recording of all the Beatles’ songs
that much easier.”

            Many
drummers had also indicated that Ringo had influenced their own drumming
skills, including Steve Smith, Phil Collins of Genesis, Liberty DeVitto of
Billy Joel’s band, Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Eric Carr of Kiss and many others.

            In
1972, Ringo had released the single
Back Off Boogaloo
, which he wrote
and George produced. The song immediately became a hit in the US as it reached
number 9 on the US Hot 100 and number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

            With
the success of
It Don’t Come Easy
and
Back Off Boogaloo,
some
assumed that he would release albums to support them. But Ringo preferred to
focus on acting during this period.

In early 1973, Ringo thought it was the right time to begin
his first proper solo album. He had asked Richard Perry, who previously
arranged some tracks on
Sentimental Journey
, to produce the sessions.
Several others also helped Ringo on this album, including Marc Bolan, Billy
Preston, and all three of his band mates. The other three ex-Beatles composed
material for
Ringo
and all but Paul appeared together on John’s
composition
I’m the Greatest.

The cover for Ringo’s studio album of the
same name; the album was a success as it reached number seven in the UK and
number one in Canada

 
Ringo
was released on Apple Records in November in
the UK and the US. The album reached number one for three weeks in Canada and
peaked at number 7 in the UK. In the US, the album’s singles
Photograph
,
a collaboration with George, and Ringo’s cover of
You’re Sixteen,
both
reached number one.

The success of
Ringo
was followed by another with
Ringo’s album
Goodnight Vienna
, released the following year. The album
became a hit though not as successful as the previous album. Nevertheless, some
of the singles on the album were successful, including Ringo’s cover of
Only
You (And You Alone)
which peaked at number six on the US charts. The album
reached number 8 in the US.

With his solo career on the rise, his marriage was unraveling.
His infidelities were increasing while his alcoholism becoming burdensome. These
were to be blamed why his wife, Maureen, run to the arms of another man, none
other than George Harrison. Ringo only learned that the two were having an
affair when Pattie Harrison, George’s wife, called him one day and informed him
that Maureen was at the Harrisons when she wasn’t at her own home.

In 1974, when Ringo and Maureen were visiting the Harrisons,
George told him directly in his face that he was in love with Maureen. Rumors
had since persisted that this evening led to the breakup of both the Starrs’
and the Harrisons’ marriages.

On the grounds that Ringo had an affair with American model
Nancy Andrews, the Starrs finally divorced in July 1975 though Maureen did not
want a divorce. But Ringo simply wanted out.

The Starrs’ marriage ended in divorce
after Ringo found out that Maureen had an affair with George Harrison; the
Harrisons also divorced

            Ringo’s
albums released in 1976, 1977 and 1978 were commercial failures. Even the
record label, Ring O’Records, that Ringo founded would up failing.

            Ringo
once again focused on acting and began filming for
Caveman
a slapstick
comedy film with Ringo on a leading role opposite actress Barbara Bach, well
known for her role as Major Anya Amasova in
The Spy Who Loved Me
. The
pair would marry on April 27, 1981 shortly after the release of
Caveman.