4 Underrated Ringo Starr Songs (Both in and Out of The Beatles)

Ringo Starr doesn’t get a ton of love in the grand scheme of The Beatles’ legacy. He’s a drummer who knew how to follow instructions in a band, and he did exactly that with the Fab Four. He didn’t write much of the band’s music, but he did contribute a few songs through the years that were pretty good. And some of Ringo Starr’s solo work, similarly, is on the underrated side. Let’s look at a few examples, shall we?

1. “Don’t Pass Me By”

“Don’t Pass Me By” was Ringo Starr’s very first original composition recorded with The Beatles, and it has a spot on the 1968 White Album. However, Starr penned the tune years earlier, around the time the Fab Four were on the up-and-up. In an interview in 1964, Starr said that he and Paul McCartney worked on a song together, but nothing came of it until years later.

“I wrote ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ when I was sitting round at home,” said Starr in Anthology. “I only play three chords on the guitar and three on the piano. [And] I was fiddling with the piano, I just bang away, and then if a melody comes and some words, I just have to keep going. That’s how it happened: I was just sitting at home alone and ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ arrived.”

2. “It Don’t Come Easy”

It’s no secret that Ringo Starr was not the main songwriter of The Beatles’ songs, and he didn’t contribute much through the band’s run in the 1960s. However, he had a charm to him that translated well into his solo career after the Fab Four broke up. “It Don’t Come Easy” is one example of that charm, and this 1971 single ended up climbing the charts in the UK, US, and Canada.

3. “No No Song”

Remember Goodnight Vienna? You’ll probably remember that very sci-fi-looking album cover. This 1974 solo record from Ringo Starr is a bit on the underrated side. Though, it did quite well in the US and UK upon its release. “No No Song” is one track off of the album that stands out, with all the sunshine and charm you’d expect from The Beatles’ famed drummer. It has an odd sort of sing-songy vibe, but listeners loved it enough to push it to no. 3 on the Hot 100 back in the day.

4. “Blindman”

Like the other Beatles, Ringo Starr starred in a few films through the years. One such film was the 1971 venture Blindman. It’s not the most loved film out there, but it did feature a song of the same name by Starr that also appeared on Goodnight Vienna. And it’s definitely the best thing to come out of the movie. Klaus Voorman and Pete Ham’s involvement in producing the tune made it even better.

Photo by Scott Robert Ritchie

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