“This is the one”: The song Ringo Starr insisted on singing for The Beatles
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones became famous during a similar period and were, therefore, often compared. Paul McCartney recalled speaking to Keith Richards, who drew attention to one of their key differences.
“I remember Keith Richards saying to me, ‘You had four singers. We only had one!’” said McCartney when looking back on when he spoke to the Rolling Stones guitarist, “Little things like that will set me off, and I think, ‘Wow’. That is pretty uncanny. And writers. Not just singers, but writers.”
Richards had a point, as each member of The Beatles brought something unique to the band. John Lennon and Paul McCartney had a songwriting partnership like no other, and they produced songs unlike anything the world had ever heard, ushering in a new moment for music and changing the way people looked at songwriting as a whole.
George Harrison was also an excellent writer and singer. While many of his songs might have been pushed back because they didn’t align with The Beatle’s signature sound, he still managed to create some of the band’s most iconic music, including tracks like ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’.
Their creativity, in that sense, was unmatched. Graham Nash commented on this once when he said, “Their incredible simplicity and their incredible melodic structure is stunning to this day.”
Nash continued, “With all due respect, within this western scale of music, there’s what? Twelve notes? Are you kidding me? The Beatles were unbelievable, and I think we all knew it.”
Starr always took a back seat when contributing to the lyrics. He wrote a few songs for the band and sang on a few tracks but was never considered a prolific singer. This is probably for good reason, as while he can hold a tune, many of his lyrics lack the emotion necessary to appeal to so many fans of The Beatles.
Consider his newest album, Look Up. While it’s technically sound, Starr is unable to convey the emotion that is usually sought in country music. “He has an unmissable voice, and the reason it’s unmissable is because it lacks any warmth or emotion,” wrote Far Out in a review of the album, “It’s an easy joke to make these days, given that everyone seems to say it, but it sounds like someone has asked AI to make Ringo Starr sing country. A genre that is famous because of its relatability, warmth, and grounded nature lacks all three of those things.”
His ability to carry a tune but inability to do so with commanding conviction landed him the role of backing singer in The Beatles. However, there was one song that the band covered, which he insisted he take the lead on.
“I sang ‘Act Naturally’ in Help!. I found it on a Buck Owens record and I said, ‘This is the one I am going to be doing’, and they said ‘OK’,” explained Starr, “We were listening to all kinds of things. John sang ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’. We were all listening to that, too. Paul, of course, had written his ‘Yesterday’; the most recorded song in history. What a guy!”
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