Ring O' Records

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Ring O' Records
Founded1975
Founder Ringo Starr
Defunct1978
Distributor(s) Polydor, Capitol, Mercury
Genre Rock
Country of originUnited Kingdom

Ring O' Records was a record label founded by former Beatle Ringo Starr in 1975. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Starr to continue supporting other artists' projects while maintaining his solo career. The label was shut down in 1978, having failed to achieve commercial success with a roster of artists that included David Hentschel, Bobby Keys, Graham Bonnet and Rab Noakes. Starr himself never recorded for Ring O' Records, although, following the expiration of his contract with Apple in January 1976, he signed with Polydor, which distributed his label throughout Europe. [1] From 1977, Ring O' was distributed in some territories by Mercury Records. [2]

Contents

History

Ringo Starr decided to form his own record label, as George Harrison had done with Dark Horse in 1974, [3] [4] after the two former bandmates had considered buying the Beatles' company, Apple Records, and running it together. [5] The name "Ring O' Records" was suggested by John Lennon. [6] [7] In September 1973, Starr had bought Lennon's Berkshire estate, Tittenhurst Park, which included a recording studio that Starr renamed Starling Studios and began hiring out to other artists. [8] The label's logo was a chrome-plated telephone, which was one of the eccentric designs marketed by Starr and Robin Cruikshank's furniture company, Ringo Or Robin Limited. [9] Distribution for Ring O' Records was at first shared between Polydor and, in the United States and Canada, Capitol Records. [10] This arrangement was announced in Billboard magazine in December 1974, along with a report predicting the imminent resolution of differences relating to the formal dissolution of the Beatles' business partnership. [11]

Issued in February 1975, the label's inaugural releases were keyboard player David Hentschel's album Sta*rtling Music and its lead single, "Oh My My". [12] The album was an instrumental interpretation of Starr's 1973 LP Ringo , [13] performed by Hentschel on ARP synthesizer. [14] In early April 1975, Starr promoted Ring O' with a series of print and radio interviews in London. [15] Echoing the Beatles' intentions for Apple, Starr said he founded the company so that artists "won't have to beg". [6] He also said: "I'd like it to be like United Artists. My aim in the end is to get all the independents together, so that we all can run our own business. As it is, we're all being run by people whose only qualification is as an accountant." [16] Unlike Harrison with Dark Horse, Starr had limited involvement with the label, [6] which was run by Barry Anthony. [17]

Ring O' signed saxophonist Bobby Keys on a long-term contract. [18] His debut release for the label was the single "Gimmie the Key" in August 1975. [19] Starr had hoped to sign his friend Harry Nilsson also, but Nilsson chose to renew his contract with RCA Records. [17] The next two Ring O' releases were singles by Australian singer-songwriter Carl Groszmann, "I've Had It", and "Colonel" Doug Bogie, with his reggae arrangement [17] of "Away in a Manger". [19] As with subsequent Ring O' Records artists such as Graham Bonnet, Stormer, Johnny Warman and Suzanne, none of these acts achieved success on the label. [7] [14]

The company signed eleven artists and released fifteen singles and five albums between 1975 and 1978. [20] With Starr's own career in decline by the late 1970s, [21] [22] he and Anthony were disheartened by what they saw as Polydor's failure to support the label. [23] As early as 1976, a Polydor executive had commented that Starr was treating his label "like a toy". [24] After Starr's contract with Polydor expired in August 1978, Ring O' continued under the guise of Able Label Productions until its closure in December. [25] Among its final releases were Rab Noakes' single "Restless", and a novelty single by Dirk & Stig (of the Rutles), "Ging Gang Goolie". [25] Writing in 1981, former NME journalist Bob Woffinden said of Ring O' Records: "The name was perfect, but little else about the set-up was right … One can naturally appreciate the altruistic desire to assist struggling artists, but there are less risky ways of doing it." [13]

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"You and Me (Babe)" is a song by English musician Ringo Starr, released as the final track on his 1973 album Ringo. Starr's fellow ex-Beatle George Harrison wrote the song along with Mal Evans, the Beatles' longtime aide and a personal assistant to Starr during the making of Ringo. The track serves as a farewell from Starr to his audience in the manner of a show-closing finale, by lyrically referring to the completion of the album. During the extended fadeout, Starr delivers a spoken message in which he thanks the musicians and studio personnel who helped with the recording of Ringo – among them, Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and his producer, Richard Perry.

"I'll Still Love You" is a song written by English rock musician George Harrison and first released in 1976 by his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr. Produced by Arif Mardin, the track appeared on Starr's debut album for Atlantic Records and Polydor, Ringo's Rotogravure. The composition had a long recording history before then, having been written in 1970 as "Whenever", after which it was copyrighted with the title "When Every Song Is Sung".

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"I Am Missing You" is a song by Indian musician Ravi Shankar, sung by his sister-in-law Lakshmi Shankar and released as the lead single from his 1974 album Shankar Family & Friends. The song is a rare Shankar composition in the Western pop genre, with English lyrics, and was written as a love song to the Hindu god Krishna. The recording was produced and arranged by George Harrison, in a style similar to Phil Spector's signature sound, and it was the first single issued on Harrison's Dark Horse record label. Other contributing musicians include Tom Scott, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner. A second version appears on Shankar Family & Friends, titled "I Am Missing You (Reprise)", featuring an arrangement closer to a folk ballad.

<i>The Singles Collection 1962–1970</i>

The Singles Collection 1962–1970 is a series of reissued singles by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in Britain on 5 March 1976 by EMI, following the expiration of the Beatles' contract with the company in January, and close to six years after the band's break-up. The collection comprises all 22 of the Beatles' UK singles, which were originally issued between October 1962 and March 1970 on either the Parlophone or Apple record labels, together with a new single pairing "Yesterday" with "I Should Have Known Better".

References

  1. ↑ Madinger & Easter 2000, pp. 509, 510.
  2. ↑ Clayson 2003, pp. 270, 273.
  3. ↑ Schaffner 1978, p. 176.
  4. ↑ Woffinden 1981, pp. 78, 85.
  5. ↑ Madinger & Easter 2000, p. 442.
  6. 1 2 3 Doggett 2011, p. 224.
  7. 1 2 Rodriguez 2010, p. 249.
  8. ↑ Badman 2001, p. 103.
  9. ↑ Schaffner 1978, p. 161.
  10. ↑ Madinger & Easter 2000, p. 509.
  11. ↑ Mulligan, Brian (21 December 1974). "End To Beatles' Legal Hassle Due Soon". Billboard . p. 3. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Castleman & Podrazik 1976, pp. 148, 313.
  13. 1 2 Woffinden 1981, p. 81.
  14. 1 2 Clayson 2003, pp. 271–72.
  15. ↑ Badman 2001, p. 157.
  16. ↑ Woffinden, Bob (12 April 1975). "Ringo Starr: Everyone One Of Us Has All We Need ...". NME . Available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required).
  17. 1 2 3 Clayson 2003, p. 270.
  18. ↑ Badman 2001, p. 164.
  19. 1 2 Castleman & Podrazik 1976, p. 313.
  20. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 280.
  21. ↑ Madinger & Easter 2000, p. 493.
  22. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 295.
  23. ↑ Clayson 2003, pp. 272–73.
  24. ↑ Clayson 2003, p. 269.
  25. 1 2 Clayson 2003, p. 273.

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