It Don't Come Easy (1971)

Performer: Ringo Starr                                          Writer: Ringo Starr
Highest US Chart Position: #4                              Label: Apple Records
Musicians: Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Stephen Stills and Klaus Voorman

One of my favorite stories about the breakup of the Beatles is that by 1969 the group had essentially dissolved and the members were involved in their own solo projects--John Lennon had two singles in the Top 40 that year alone--but they didn’t want to make the official announcement because of Ringo. While John, George and Paul were all songwriters and would be able to create their own music, they felt horrible about leaving Ringo with nothing but his drum kit. The irony is that Ringo, with a little help from his friends, wound up churning out four top ten hits in two years, including two number ones, before any of the other solo Beatles reached that milestone. In fact, seven out of Ringo’s first eight singles were all top ten hits. But what’s even more ironic, is the fact that his first top ten single, “It Don’t Come Easy” was also written by him . . . well, technically. In reality the tune was mostly written by George Harrison and a bootleg copy of the demo with him singing made the rounds shortly after. Clearly still feeling guilty about abandoning their drummer, Harrison gave Ringo the songwriting credit and the royalties that came with it. It was a terrific gesture and one that would be repeated by his former band mates lending him a hand during his early career.

The song begins with a cymbal roll and then the unmistakable guitar of George Harrison on the intro with Ringo providing some tasty cymbal work. Klaus Voorman comes in on bass the second time around, with Ringo supplying perfectly placed drum fills. The lyrics begins with the chorus, background vocals provided by, among others, Pete Ham and Tommy Evans from Badfinger, Harrison’s de facto backup band at the time. There are only two simple verses, the first about singing the blues and that paying dues doesn’t come easy, the second about trust in a love relationship which is equally as difficult. The primary backing instrument on the verses is the piano played by Stephen Stills. When the bridge comes around between the first two verses it’s augmented by a tight horn section. Ron Cattermole is credited with playing the sax and trumpet, and may have even overdubbed the entire section. On the second bridge an organ can be heard and by the time the guitar solo begins the full band is playing behind Harrison, including some nice backing vocals that include the words “Hare Krishna.” The final section of the song also adds an overdub of Ringo on the tambourine and the horn section, and by the last bridge and verse section the instrumental tracks are so densely packed they resemble a Phil Spector recording. At last the song ends, right where it began, with the intro.

In addition to writing and playing on the song, George Harrison also produced the track for Apple Records. It was made during the sessions for Ringo’s first album, Sentimental Journey, which was released early in 1970. Unlike the rest of the Beatles, Ringo’s albums were usually all-star affairs, a tradition that would be replicated for most of his career. But the decision was made to hold back the single until after the album was released, and in fact no single was ever released from that album. Ringo’s second album, Beaucoups of Blues, was also released later in 1970 and his first single was the title song from the album, a country blues which only managed to make it to number 87 in the charts in November. Finally, “It Don’t Come Easy” was released in April of 1971 and peaked at number four in mid-June, staying on the charts until the end of July. The B-side is “Early 1970,” an autobiographical song about Ringo living in London and his desire to play music with all of the other members of the Beatles, as well as his shortcomings as a solo artist. Though he had other songs that went all the way to number one in the charts, “It Don’t Come Easy” is the song that I associate most with Ringo and is my favorite song of his solo career.