Solo career
1970s
On 10 April 1970, McCartney publicly announced that he had quit the Beatles.[113] Starr released two albums before the end of that year: Sentimental Journey, a UK number seven hit composed of his renditions of many pre-rock standards that included musical arrangements by Quincy Jones, Maurice Gibb, George Martin and McCartney, and the country-inspired Beaucoups of Blues, engineered by Scotty Moore and featuring renowned Nashville session musician Pete Drake.[114]
Starr played drums on Lennon's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Ono's Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band (1970), and on Harrison's albums All Things Must Pass(1970) and Living in the Material World (1973).[115] In 1971, Starr participated in the Concert for Bangladesh, organised by Harrison, and with him co-wrote the hit single "It Don't Come Easy", which reached number four in both the US and the UK.[116] The following year he released his most successful UK hit, "Back Off Boogaloo", which peaked at number two (US number nine).[117] Later that year he made his directorial debut with the T. Rex documentary Born to Boogie.[118][nb 9] In 1973, he earned two number one hits in the US: "Photograph", a UK number eight hit that was co-written with Harrison, and "You're Sixteen", written by the Sherman Brothers.[119] Starr's third million-selling single and his second US chart-topper, "You're Sixteen" was released in the UK in February 1974 where it peaked at number four in the charts.[120]
In November 1973, Starr released Ringo, a commercially successful album produced by Richard Perry that featured writing and musical contributions from Harrison, Lennon and McCartney.[121] The LP yielded the hit song "Oh My My", a US number five that was Starr's fifth consecutive top-ten hit.[122] The album reached number seven in the UK and number two in the US.[123] Goodnight Vienna followed in 1974 and was also successful, reaching number eight in the US and number 30 in the UK.[124] The album earned Starr a pair of top-ten hits with his cover of the Platters' "Only You (And You Alone)", which peaked at number six in the US and number 28 in the UK, and "No No Song", which was a US number three and Starr's seventh consecutive top-ten hit.[125][nb 10] During this period he became romantically involved with Lynsey de Paul.[127] He played tambourine on a song she wrote and produced for Vera Lynn, "Don't You Remember When", and he inspired another De Paul song, "If I Don't Get You the Next One Will", which she described as being about revenge after he missed a dinner appointment with her because he was asleep in his office.[127]
Starr founded the record label Ring O'Records in 1975.[128] The company signed eleven artists and released fifteen singles and five albums between 1975 and 1978, including works by David Hentschel, Graham Bonnet and Rab Noakes.[129] The commercial impact of Starr's recording career subsequently diminished, although he continued to record and remained a familiar celebrity presence. In 1976, Polydor Records released Ringo's Rotogravure, an album that featured compositions by McCartney, Lennon and Harrison.[130] Although the album and its accompanying singles failed to chart in the UK, the LP produced two minor US hits, "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" (number 26) and a cover of "Hey! Baby" (number 74), and achieved moderate sales, reaching a chart position of 28.[131] This inspired Polydor to revamp Starr's formula; the results were a curious blend of disco and 1970s pop, Ringo the 4th(1977).[132] The album was a commercial disaster, failing to chart in the UK and peaking at number 162 in the US.[133] In 1978 Starr released Bad Boy; the album reached a disappointing number 129 in the US and failed to chart in the UK.[134]
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