A Sentimental Rock n Roll Journey
By Ken Sharp
Goldmine
March 26, 1999
After the Beatles split in 1970, Ringo Starr was at an artistic crossroads. Unlike his fellow bandmates, who were creative giants, Starr's initial attempts at songwriting met with modest success. Through the 70s, Ringo experienced a roller coaster ride of success and failure as a solo artist. For every triumph, such as his singles, "It Don't Come Easy" and "Photograph" and his Ringo and Goodnight Vienna albums, all exemplary pop rock efforts, there were infinitely less artistic moments, such as his subpar Bad Boy and Ringo's Rotogravure records -- even recordings that mirrored Ringo's ever-worsening substance abuse problem.
In the late 1980s, Ringo and wife, actress Barbara Bach, met their problems head-on, entering rehab and finally emerging clean and sober. It was the moment Ringo conquered his demons that his artistic and creative aspirations truly blossomed.
Hard to believe, but in the past several years, Ringo has been the most active of the former Beatles, issuing several critically acclaimed solo albums -- Time Takes Time and Vertical Man and embarking on a series of successful live concert tours with his ever-changing lineup of All-Starrs.
Last year, Ringo became the first Beatles to perform in Russia. His new Storytellers album is a delight, showcasing a splendid collection of material spanning his entire career. Ringo and his All Starr band are currently on an American tour with plans for a US summer jaunt with Foreigner also on the bill.
Goldmine caught up with Ringo for a revealing conversation, spotlighting his new Storytellers album, an overview of his solo career, and much more.
Question: I attended your recent gig at the Bottom Line. That must be your first club show in many, many years.
Ringo: Yeah, it was. I don't remember when the last club gig was, unless you call Billy Bob's in Texas a club, which has 4000 people, but that was the first sort of club I played in 40 years. No, not 40, maybe 30. I loved it. It was great to have people that close to you.
Question: Let's talk about some of the songs that appear on your new CD. Storytellers, starting with, "Don't Pass Me By." You co-wrote "What Goes On" in the Beatles, but isn't " Don't Pass Me By" the first complete song you ever wrote?
Ringo: Well, " Don't Pass Me By" was the first song I'd written that was recorded. I'd written other songs, but as I said in the Storytellers show, they were always other people's songs. I just rewrote the words. I used to say that I was rewriting Jerry Lee Lewis ' B-sides. It was just a thrill. I remember writing it at the piano at this home in England that we were living in at the time. Then for me, 'til this day, it's still magic when I write a song and get together with other musicians, and we record it, and it turns into a track. It's still a mindblower for me, that process.
Question: With "Don't Pass Me By" and much of your work, there's a distinct country thread. How did you first get into country music? And who are some of your favorites?
Ringo: oh, there's so many. Hank Snow, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubb, sort of the old boys in the country school. I come from Liverpool, which is a port, so a lot of neighbors went to sea. In fact, Liverpool is sort of the capital of country music in England. So I just came by it naturally, sailors who would play the records. You'd go by someone's house to visit someone, and his brother was in the Navy and had these records. And I just instantly liked country music.
Question: Is Hank Snow still one of your favorite singers?
Ringo: Oh, sure, I was just playing the other day "The Golden Rocket", but so is Ernest Tubb and lots of other old country guys.
Question: "Back Off Boogaloo" was a surprise choice to play on live TV.
Ringo: Oh, you mean on Letterman? We were going to do " King of Broken Hearts" from the Vertical Man album, but their management, as I said on the show, wondered if we might do something a little livelier, because it's 11 or 12 at night, (laughs) So we thought, "Let's run down, 'Back Off Boogaloo', because it's on the Storytellers album anyway.
Question: That song was influenced by Mark Bolan?
Ringo: Yes, it was because he'd come to dinner and he spoke like that, not every line out of his mouth, but you would say, "Would you like some gravy?" And he'd say, "Ooh, back off!" (laughs) Or he'd call you a Boogaloo for some reason. Those words just stuck in my head. When I went to bed that night, the melody and the words "Back off Boogaloo. What do you think you're gonna do?" came to my head. It was all there. I ran downstairs to tape it so I wouldn't forget it. Many nights you think you got a song, and you'd say, "I'll get up in the morning, and I'll write it down then." But you don't stand a chance in hell because it's gone. So this time I thought, "I'm gonna get up and do it." None of the tapes were working, but in the end, I got some batteries together and got it down. Thank God.
Question: You directed Mark Bolan's film Born to Boogie.
Ringo: Yeah, we were good friends at that time. I was running Apple Films and did two movies: Born to Boogie with Mark, and then the Dracula movie with Harry Nilsson, Son of Dracula. So I was sort of keeping it musical as well as movies. And so I said to Mark, "You do the concert, and I'll take care of everything else, the camera and everything". And that's how we did the deal. If we made $1, we split it 50/50.
Question: Ever since you became sober, you've been amazingly productive. The most productive, in fact, out of the three Beatles. In the late 70s, if you were asked about touring, you would have said, "no way."
Ringo: I attribute it to being healthy, and you have energy. You wanna put it somewhere. In my case, I put it behind the drums.
Question: The first time you ever played "Octopus ' Garden" live was at the Bottom Line show. What took you so long to get it into the set?
Ringo: Every tour I do, I do "Yellow Submarine". I didn't really want to do sort of novelty songs, like "Yellow Submarine" and "Octopus's Garden". I always felt it was just too much. So I chose to do yellow submarine, because, in all honesty, it is the bigger song. And so I ended the first half of my show every night with "Yellow Submarine." And so when we were putting the set together for Storytellers, not only did you want to do songs that were interesting, you always wanted to do them with ones that had a story, (laughs) and Octopus's Garden" certainly had a story. During the recording of the White Album, I left the Beatles. I went on holiday. We were lent this yacht and ordered lunch, and the guy presented us with octopus and French fries. And we thought, "What the hell is that?" And then the captain proceeded to tell me that afternoon that octopus actually go around the Sea bend, (singing) "resting their heads" (laughs) and picking up shiny coral and stones and actually putting a garden around their cave. I just thought that was so beautiful. And I happened to have a guitar there and wrote the song.
Question: Yachts must be good luck for your creativity. You wrote another great song of yours on a yacht-- "Photograph".
Ringo: "Photograph" was written in Spain. I was in the movie Blindman, and then I finished it on a yacht in Cannes at the Cannes Film Festival with George.
Question: Did you come up with music, and he helped finish it up?
Ringo: I wrote the melody and the lyrics for the first two verses in a chorus, then George used to help me on the last verse so I could end the damn thing (laughs.) I got a song that I wrote called "Three Ships in the Harbor", and it has 43 verses like a Bob Dylan song (laughs.) And at one time, I gave it to Harry Nilsson to edit, and he got it down to, I think, 10 or 11 verses, and I still haven't recorded it, of course.
Question: It'll probably turn out to be a 20-minute song.
Ringo: Yeah, if we ever do it, you know, you've got songs, and sometimes the day you write it isn't the day you need to record it. You can record it later. So maybe one day, "Three Ships in the Harbor" will be out there who can tell?
Question: "It Don't Come Easy" is arguably your signature song as a solo artist. You've mentioned that Harrison helped out, even though he's not listed as a co-writer. Did he help you with that song?
Ringo: Yes, he did. George wrote some of the last verse. He produced that track too. He produced the original version of "Photograph," and then Richard Perry did it for the Ringo album.
Question: Is Steven Stills playing guitar on "It Don't Come Easy?"
Ringo: You know, I couldn't tell you. He could be because Steven and I, at the time, had become really good friends. I played on his first solo album, and he also produced a track on the Stop and Smell the Roses album. So we bumped into each other over the years. We spent more time together in the 70s.
Question: "La De Da" is particularly Beatleesque. It's a shame you never got a chance to film that video at Shea Stadium, as originally planned.
Ringo: Oh, yeah, you're in the hands of God. I mean, you set up your whole video shoot, and it rains. It's like Woodstock. There's no amount of chanting that could stop the rain. So we had to make do with the time we had. "La Di Da" started in a very weird way, because it was just an expression when something would break down on the board or an amp or something. And because we were there recording, Mark Hudson occasionally would get fraught, "Oh, got to get it together. Got to fix it". And I'd say, "La, Di, Da". You know, the man will come when he comes to fix it. We're not electricians, and that's how it started. Then with him, Dean Grakall and myself, it turned into a song. It was just that expression of "la de da." It turned into an expression, no matter what happened. You have bands today like Oasis, and in the early 70s, you had groups like the Raspberries and Badfinger, emulating the Beatles' melodic sound.
Question: I'm curious, were you a fan of those groups and power pop music in general?
Ringo: See, I support any musician who's out there doing their gig. I really do. The line I draw is what records I have in my home. But I always support the musicians to do whatever they feel, whether it's power pop or whatever.
Question: Did you like power pop bands such as the Raspberries and Badfinger?
Ringo: Yeah, Badfinger-- is that power pop? I would never have known. It's all pop to me. Badfinger were good. They were on the Apple label. So it's always more interesting when you know the people.
Question: Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger sang background vocals on "It Don't Come Easy." Pete played on "Blondman" as well.
Ringo: Yeah, they would hang out.
Question: How do you remember Pete Ham? He was a major talent who took his own life.
Ringo: He was a major talent. Both of those boys decided they'd had enough, which was a shame, really. My memory of them was nice guys. Just two really nice guys. The band was good. Paul produced them.
Question: On Vertical Man, you recorded the album in a very small studio. That atmosphere and the comfortableness brought out an outstanding album.
Ringo: I think everything you're saying about the atmosphere came about because we were in that room, Mark's studio in Santa Monica. We weren't in the so-called major studio with the red light and all the glass and the drummers two miles down the hall with the separation. There was no real separation. The only real separation we had was that the drums were in the cupboard, but then we would record the tracks. The guitarist and the bass player were in there with me. They would directly inject if anybody said anything; the drum mics were open. If you really want to listen, you'll find a lot of chat in there (laughs) You know, it was like when you were saying about the Bottom Line show having the people in your face. That's what it was all really about. Being on stage, the energy comes down to the audience, and you get the energy back. And when you're in this room, nobody is more than six feet away from me; it's the way to play.
Question: When you stopped playing live with The Beatles, you occasionally jumped on stage and played with someone, The Band, Jerry Lee Lewis. When you started touring again with the All-Starr Band, did it click in your head where you said, "Geez, I shouldn't have waited this long. This is fun."?
Ringo: Well, yes, I should have done it a lot earlier, but I didn't. So, too bad, I can't worry about that, but I'm making up for it now. I really am. I've got two bands going, the All-Star Band and the Roundheads. I'm like a schizoid now.
Question: The Roundheads were very impressive backing you at the Bottom Line. Any chance of touring with them in the future?
Ringo: The Roundheads are an excellent band. Well, you know, the thing with the All-Starr Band is we need all those other hits around. That's the deal with that, but I've got no qualms about touring with the Roundheads. I just don't want to be in the front all the time. I want to get back on the kit and just play with other people instead of being the front man.
Question: In 1970, you released two solo albums, Sentimental Journey, an album of standards, and Beaucoup Blues, a country record. There was also talk that you were working on an avant-garde album with Maurice Gibb.
Ringo: No, it didn't happen. It was a little movie, actually, that we were working on. It was like The Chase. We had one camera between us, and we chased each other all around the area in Britain, where we were both living at the time. (Laughs. ) We went into the studio, and I just overdubbed all the sound effects from the movie Yellow Submarine.
Question: There was a period in the 70s when you were the most commercially successful of the Beatles.
Ringo: Yeah, '74 was the Ringo time. That and Goodnight Vienna are still my biggest solo albums. But then the bottom dropped out, and the records that followed Ringo the Fourth, Rotogravure, and Bad Boy, among them, weren't nearly as good. I think the bottom dropped out because I was dropping out. That was the deal. My energies were not into making records. I would make records, but there was no energy to promote it or take care of it, and make sure that it was what I wanted to do. You know, it was my own fault. I felt other people might know better.
Question: You're always asked about your favorite drum work with the Beatles.
Ringo: "Rain," that's my best work.
Question.: I wanted to know if you could choose your favorite drum work on your solo albums?
Ringo: Oh, I don't know. I don't play the drum so people can look at it and go, "Wow, that was really cool". I just played them the best I can.
Question: "Drumming is my Madness" is quite good.
Ringo: Well, drumming is my madness. (Laughs.)
Question: For your solo records in the 70s, you often recorded with a second drummer, often Jim Keltner, why?
Ringo: That started by accident because of the Bangladesh concert, which we played for George and Jim was on it also. That was the first time I played with two drummers, and I just loved it so much. Then we got to do the Ringo album and the Goodnight Vienna album. And then we got to go to New York and do the album Ringo the Fourth that Arif Mardin produced, suddenly we had Steve Gadd around. I think a bit of that was a union situation as well. In those days, you could sing because no one could do that for you. But I think it was something about taking the jobs away from American musicians.
Question: Your drum work was not only tight, but could be very adventurous. The ending of "Strawberry Fields" showcased some wild, off-the-wall. tribal drumming. Was that work you enjoyed as well?
Ringo: You know what you're talking about just happens. There was no plan for that. I can play basic patterns. And the freedom is in the fills to move it to where you can put it in a different space. As a drummer, especially with the Beatles, I only came at the end because the songs were so set up that there were two verses, a chorus, a verse, a middle eight, and a chorus, and something like that. Then at the end, we'd all be allowed to blow our tops, which we did, and we still did that under three minutes. (Laughs)
Question: You truly blossomed as a drummer on Revolver. Did the vast improvement in sound inspire you?
Ringo: Yeah, I also think we decided we could finally hear the bass drum on our records. If you listen to the early ones, there's no sign of the bass drum, just like the snare and stumbles. So the recordings were getting better, and you would play differently because you could hear it.
Question: Has songwriting become easier for you since you first began?
Ringo: Well, I enjoy writing with other people more than sitting there on my own. ( Laughs.) I think it's more fun. It's always more fun to hang out with other human beings anyway.
Question: How do you know if collaboration will work with another writer?
Ringo: You don't know, when we started the Vertical Man album with Mark and Dean, I just invited them over to see if it would work. We had so much fun. We were just laughing. It was just fun. We were writing some serious songs, some real songs, but we were having joy with it. There was no torture. So that's how we decided to carry on and complete the album. Vertical Man, we had no plans to make an album. When we started writing together, we'd write a few songs, go to Mark's studio to demo them, and then, a couple of hours into the demo, we'd go, "What are we demoing? Let's make a record and just get it now."
Question: "King of Broken Hearts", it should have been a hit from Vertical Man.
Ringo, Well, it came out as a single and it sunk, but they're going to push it again in January.
Question, how was the song written? And discuss enlisting Harrison to play the beautiful slide guitar work.
Ringo: The song was written by four guys in a room who can write you a million love songs, (laughs), sad, and happy ones. Once we got the song, melody, and the feel of it, there was only one guitar on it. Mark and I were in London when he did the George Martin strings on "I'm Yours." Then we went to Paul's to do "What in the World" and "La De Da." Paul played bass and did backing vocals, and I went to George with the cassette and played "King of Broken Hearts" to him. And that moment, he was busy with his own life and wasn't so interested in being on the record. And then, when we got to the "King of Broken Hearts" track, I called him like a month later; his was the only guitar I wanted on that track. He plays such beautiful guitar with such emotion that it was the only one I wanted. And I said, "I gotta have George on this." And so anyway, I called him and spoke to him. I was in LA at the time, and he was in London, and he said, "Oh, send it over," Which we did. And he just did the finest job. All his emotion comes out of that guitar. And so the track was really brilliant, but he doubled that with feeling.
Question: Can you cite any of your solo work that deserves reappraisal from fans,?
Ringo: I think they should listen to the Ringo album and the Vertical Man album. Old Wave is quite good. I like that too. That's the one Joe Walsh produced. We did that in England, and everyone was going, "Oh, that's new wave." So we thought we'd have a bit of fun and call it Old Wave. (Laughs) And we have that 18-year-old picture of me on the cover with the big haircut. (Laughs.) It's a big wave
Question: Where was that photograph taken?
Ringo: That was taken at a holiday camp in England called Butlins.
Question: Included on the new John Lennon Anthology are several guide tracks on which John sings lead on songs he wrote for you or found for you to record, "I'm the Greatest", "Goodnight Vienna", and "Only You". What are your recollections of those sessions with John?
Ringo: We always used to do that. It was great. Besides, it's easier for me if someone's singing the song to play to them, because I play with the singer. You can feel where it needs bringing up or bringing down, or whatever I feel at the time. John was always great fun to have in the studio, and great energy, and I'd known him, so it was always relaxing. And then I'd have a go and do the vocals after him, of course, and he'd be in the booth with me, and he'd just be willing you on, you know, "Come on, let's go!" It was such great energy and great support.
Question: So obviously you've heard those tracks with him singing on them once again.
Ringo: Oh yeah, they're great. He was the best. I loved John. He was a fine singer, a fine musician, and he was a fine friend.
Question: Last question, how do you look back on your record label, Ring O Records, and some of the artists such as David Hinschell and Graham Bonnet?
Ringo: I tried my best. I thought, we'll form a label. No one will have to beg. I put the artist on it, but I ended up being in the boardroom too much, being bored with business. That's definitely something musicians shouldn't do. Have their own record labels. I think because we're creative, we're not businessmen, or at least that's in my case, there were some good people on the label, then we closed it down and opened it up again with Bobby Keys and people like that. It just didn't work. My head was just being beaten up at the end.
