Ringo Starr ( b13 )

In November 1976 Starr appeared as a guest at the Band's farewell concert, featured in the 1978 Martin Scorsese documentary The Last Waltz. Also in 1976, Starr issued Ringo's Rotogravure, the first release under his new contract with Atlantic Records for the North American market and Polydor for all other territories. The album was produced by Arif Mardin and featured compositions by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. Starr promoted the release heavily, yet Rotogravure and its accompanying singles failed to chart in the UK. In America, the LP produced two minor 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. Its disappointing performance inspired Atlantic to revamp Starr's formula; the result was a curious blend of disco and 1970s pop, titled Ringo the 4th (1977). The album was a commercial disaster, failing to chart in the UK and peaking at number 162 in the US. In 1978 Starr released Bad Boy, which reached a disappointing number 129 in the US and again failed to place on the UK albums chart.

1980s

Following Lennon's murder in December 1980, Harrison modified the lyrics of a song he had originally written for Starr, "All Those Years Ago", as a tribute to their former bandmate.Released as a Harrison single in 1981, the track, which included Starr's drum part and overdubbed backing vocals by Paul and Linda McCartney, peaked at number two in the US charts and number 13 in the UK. Later that year, Starr released Stop and Smell the Roses, featuring songs produced by Nilsson, McCartney, Harrison, Ronnie Wood and Stephen Stills.The album's lead single, the Harrison-composed "Wrack My Brain", reached number 38 in the US charts, but failed to chart in the UK. Lennon had offered a pair of songs for inclusion on the album – "Nobody Told Me" and "Life Begins at 40" – but following his death, Starr did not feel comfortable recording them. Soon after the murder, Starr and his girlfriend Barbara Bach flew to New York City to be with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.

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