In The 1970s Ringo Starr

UPDATED  MARCH 2018
VIA BBC NEWS

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has been knighted for his services to music.

The Duke of Cambridge bestowed the honour on the Liverpool-born star at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

"It means a lot actually," the musician told the BBC. "It means recognition for the things we've done. I was really pleased to accept this."

The honour comes 53 years after the Beatles were all awarded the MBE - and Starr said he had missed his bandmates' companionship this time round.

"I was a bit shaky today on my own," he said.

During the 1960s Ringo Starr could do no wrong as the drummer with worlds biggest band the Beatles. But following the split of the group Ringo really had only a modest chart presence in the 1970s.

Ringo was born in Liverpool in 1940 as Richard Starkey and in 1970 released his two solo albums called Beacoup Of Blues and Sentimental Journey which was partly produced by a very young Quincy Jones.

Only one single became a hit in the UK and that was Back Off Boogaloo, which was a swipe at his Beatles colleague Paul McCartney or was it just a song he wrote after being inspired by Marc Bolan of T.Rex. The truth is out there.

     

Two more hits made No. 1 in the U.S. and did very well in the UK charts too. The song Photograph was written by Ringo and ex Beatle George Harrison and came from the album Ringo.

    

The second hit single was  You're Sixteen which was a hit prior in 1961by Johnny Burnette. The lyrics are a little provocative when you listen back with 2013 ears. Ringo was also romantically linked to Lynsey De Paul.

In the U.S. he had several more singles but in his own country he had few hits. He did score a No. 4 hit in 1970 with It Don't Come Easy with George Harrison on guitar.

70s Artist Watch:The Beatles

The Beatles split up in 1970, after making the world a richer place, and making tunes that never die, but the legal ramifications took years before The Beatles were legally split in 1975, but they were still part of 70s music.

 So music of the 70s had all the Beatles members, who had solo projects in the 1970s, Paul McCartney had his Wings, John Lennon had “Imagine”, Ringo Starr had his “Photograph”, and George Harrison had “My Sweet Lord” More on the individual members influence in the 70s in later articles.

The last Beatles album "Let it be" in 1970, included the tracks "Get back" a hit again in the 1970s and the "Long and winding road"  the next  album was The Beatles 1962-1966.

Here is a hit single from 1970 "The Beatles" and "Let It Be". Paul McCartney was inspired to write the song, whilst reflecting on the death of his mother when he was aged just fourteen.