We Love You, Ringo! 5 Songs About The Beatles' Drummer

In the early days of The Beatles' career they didn't get a lot of respect. Serious music lovers often considered them a youthful joke, and others looked upon their songs as nothing more than minor variations of "yeah, yeah, yeah." Others fixated on their unique hairstyle and clothes. Some people even thought they were evil and symbolic of the decline of Western civilization. But at the same time the Fab Four received a lot of love, and many individuals on both sides of the love/hate meter knew how large the boys loomed as cultural and media phenomena.

There were a lot of attempts to cash in on the Liverpool band's fame while the iron was hot because it was widely believed they could be a flash in the pan. There were trading cards, magazines, models, pennants, buttons, and dolls. I once owned a metal Beatles lunchbox.

Some people even made records about the band and it seems special attention was paid to the quartet's cuddly drummer, Ringo Starr. This "love" for Ringo spawned several never-to-be-hits about the planet's new, most famous beat keeper. One single was recorded by a jazz icon. Another was by Bonnie Jo Mason, who soon became world famous using a moniker closer to her real name.

Below, you can listen to four songs dedicated to Sir Richard Starkey - plus one more about the whole band that actually made the charts and namechecks him.  

Ella Fitzgerald - Ringo Beat (1965)
This brief, 1:52 record was the A-side of a single that received almost no airplay. Fitzgerald wrote this song about her 16 year old son, Ray Brown Jr. who became a jazz drummer and singer but loved rock music. She said that her son's drumming style was influenced by Starr. I actually own this song on a double CD titled Jukebox Ella, a collection of all of the Verve singles the outstanding vocalist recorded for the iconic jazz label between 1956  and 1965. The last verse:

"No doubt about it there's a new sensation
He started a rhythm for the younger generation
So, don't knock the kids of today
Remember they're playing the Ringo way'"


Bonnie Jo Mason - Ringo, I Love You (1964)
Producer Phil Spector wanted his singers to have American sounding names and he felt that Cherylin La Pierre didn't fulfill his wishes so this 1964 novelty song was released under the name of Bonnie Jo Mason. It was the first solo record released by the woman who eventually became known to the world as Cher. The song never charted because Bonnie Jo's alto displeased many radio stations. They didn't play it, saying she sounded too much like a man despite the name on the record and the fact she identifies herself as a girl in the song. Notice the references to other early Beatles' songs in this first verse.

"Ringo, I love you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
More than anything in this world
I wanna be your girl
Please let me hold you
Ringo, they say yeah, yeah, yeah
I'll never get to hold ya tight
But still I dream of you at night
Please let me hold your hand"

Penny Valentine - I Want To Kiss Ringo Goodbye (1965)
The late Penelope Ann Valentine was a British rock music critic. Early in her career she recorded this novelty single. The singer is upset because Ringo is about to get married. I don't know if it's coincidental but Starr married his first wife - Maureen Cox - about a month before this record's release.
Rolf Harris & The Young World Singers - Ringo For President (1964)
I couldn't find any information regarding The Young World Singers who sound like a bunch of out-of-tune kids. They want Ringo to run for President of The United States in 1964 - funny, since he wasn't American - but I guess to devoted Beatle maniacs of that era citizenship didn't matter. This was during the summer of the heated Johnson/Goldwater election and the kids wanted Starr to be a third party candidate because "he doesn't talk about war." According to Wikipedia some fans actually went to the Republican National Convention in California with signs referring to this song. This record is horrible.

A very different version of "Ringo For President" was recorded by Rolf Harris - an Australian best known in America as the singer of a 1963 novelty hit, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport." This second version isn't a whole lot better than the first one. The kangaroo song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 and ironically was produced by George Martin.



The Carefrees - We Love You Beatles (1964)
This Beatles novelty record is the only one I remember hearing at the time of its initial release. It peaked at #39 on Billboard's Hot 100 and it's the only one to climb that high. This song was obviously influenced by "She Loves You," and there is a verse dedicated to each of the Fab Four. Ringo is the first one mentioned. The Carefrees were an English sextet featuring three men and three women who broke up before the end of the year. One of the girl singers was married to Andy White, best known as the drummer who infamously replaced Starr at The Beatles' initial Abbey Road recording session of "Love Me Do" and "P. S. I Love You." White later played with Herman's Hermits, Tom Jones and Lulu before working with The Smithereens. He also toured America with Marlene Dietrich.

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