Then came a host of bad albums, each failing worse than the previous, with singles amounting to nothing more than novelty songs (вЂњOh My My,вЂќ вЂњNo No Song,вЂќ вЂњOo-WeeвЂќ and вЂњSnookerooвЂќ).

The Failures of Ringo StarrДЎ974вЂ™s Goodnight Vienna tried to copy the success of Ringo, using Lennon as the composer for several songs, but, since Lennon was not at his creative peak, the quality was not quite up to par, and critics were cool.

Punctuated by horns and HarrisonвЂ™s trademark slide guitar, the simple melody lent itself well for StarrвЂ™s voice. It proved to be a huge hit - probably the only song from his catalog that most people recognize. McCartney wrote a charming song called вЂњSix OвЂ™ClockвЂќ and sang backup vocals on it and another song, вЂњYouвЂ™re Sixteen,вЂќ which also went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.ДЄnd then there was вЂњIt DonвЂ™t Come Easy,вЂќ a song Starr actually co-wrote with Harrison.

Harrison wrote and performed on the hit song вЂњPhotograph,вЂќ which rocketed to No.

Lennon contributed a song that he had written a few years earlier called вЂњIвЂ™m the GreatestвЂќ (Lennon proclaimed that only Starr could pull off a line like вЂњIвЂ™m the greatest - and you better believe it, baby!вЂќ and not sound egotistical).

His solo album Ringo was a smashing success and stands as the closest the Beatles ever came to a reunion: (Although George Harrison would play on a few of John LennonвЂ™s albums, their relationship was testy at times, and neither had any long-term friendships with McCartney after the breakup.) When Starr needed help, all three ex-Beatles gladly agreed to contribute. Starr was the only member that had good relationships with each of the other Beatles. His contributions over the years include playing drums for Harry Nilsson, Carly Simon, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, Paul Simon and of course, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. He always wanted to lend a hand to musicians. But in 1973, he went back to what made him famous, asking his former bandmates to contribute songs and play on his self-titled album. So what does a drummer do for a solo career after his cash cow abruptly calls it quits? At first, Starr struggled to find his voice, so to speak, releasing two albums of cover songs - one album of standards and one country-western album. With low expectations, he recorded several huge singles, kept his name in the spotlight and over time has seemed to be the most comfortable with his status as an ex-Beatle. But realizing this, he made up for it in other areas - most notably, acting. Sure enough, of the four musicians, Ringo Starr was the least successful as a solo artist. Comedian/talk show host Stephen Colbert once proclaimed вЂњPaul, the cute one John, the smart one George, the quiet one and Ringo, the luckiest man on earth.вЂќ But he was the funny one, the odd man out, the tone-deaf musician who seemed to depend on the other three. The other three Beatles had established themselves as talented songwriters at the time of their breakup, but Ringo was, well, Ringo. When the Beatles broke up in 1970, one would naturally fear for dearest Ringo Starr.

Ringo starr now