Ringo Starr turns 83! Honouring the drummer’s songwriting on his birthday

Sir Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr, was born on July 7, 1940, in Liverpool. Ringo Starr is best known for being The Beatles’ drummer. But the musician’s talents go beyond drumming. Here’s a look at the six songs that the drummer has written for The Beatles.

Octopus’s Garden

“I wrote Octopus’s Garden in Sardinia. Peter Sellers had lent us his yacht and we went out for the day… I stayed out on deck with the captain and we talked about octopuses. He told me that they hang out in their caves and they go around the seabed finding shiny stones and tin cans and bottles to put in front of their cave like a garden. I thought this was fabulous, because at the time I just wanted to be under the sea too. A couple of tokes later with the guitar – and we had Octopus’s Garden!”
~ Ringo Starr

Octopus’s Garden was released in 1969 as a part of the Abbey Road album. The song is now synonymous with Starr. Apart from being the songwriter, Starr was also the lead singer of the song, with minor assistance from George Harrison. “Octopus’s Garden is Ringo’s song,” Harrison said, “It’s only the second song Ringo wrote, and it’s lovely.” The fellow band member added, “… if you get sort of deep in your consciousness, it’s very peaceful. So Ringo’s writing his cosmic songs without noticing.”

Don’t Pass Me By

I wrote Don’t Pass Me By when I was sitting round at home. I only play three chords on the guitar and three on the piano. 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. We played it with a country attitude. It was great to get my first song down, one that I had written. It was a very exciting time for me and everyone was really helpful, and recording that crazy violinist was a thrilling moment.”
~ Ringo Starr

Don’t Pass Me By was released in 1968 on The White Album. It is the second of the two songs written solely by Starr for the band. The track marks Starr’s first solo contribution to the Beatles’ catalogue.

What Goes On

Written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, What Goes On was released in 1965 for the album, Rubber Soul. The track is the only song by the band with credits to only 3 Beatles–John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, without George Harrison.

Maggie Mae

Written by all four Beatles, Maggie Mae was released in 1970 on the album Let It Be. The song is an adaptation of a traditional song from Liverpool, England. The Beatles’ rendition of this song is about a prostitute who robbed a man who had just returned from the sea.

Dig It

From the 1970 album, Let It Be, Dig It is another song co-written by all four of The Beatles. The song is a sort of interstitial track. It clocks in at less than a minute, almost as if it was a quick pre-recording studio jam.

Flying

Flying is yet another track with writing credits to all four–John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. It is a two-minute-long instrumental song on the 1967 LP, Magical Mystery Tour. Listening to this song allegedly feels like “an LSD dream through a toy factory”.

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