‘Don’t Pass Me By’ Is the 1st Song Ringo Starr Wrote for The Beatles That Wasn’t Plagiarized
The Beatles‘ “Don’t Pass Me By” is one of only two Fab Four songs Ringo Starr is credited with writing himself. The second one is a lot more famous. Regardless, “Don’t Pass Me By” set Ringo on a country-fried path.
The connection between The Beatles’ ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ and ‘Octopus’s Garden’
Only two Beatles songs have Ringo as their sole credited writer: “Don’t Pass Me By” from The White Album and “Octopus’s Garden” from Abbey Road. During a 2008 interview with Goldmine, Ringo discussed the former. “Well, ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ was the first song I’d written that we recorded,” he said. “I’d written other songs, but they were always other people’s songs; I just rewrote the words. I used to say that I was rewriting Jerry Lee Lewis B-sides.
“It was just a thrill,” he added. “I remember writing it at the piano at this home in England that we were living in at the time. Then for me and ’til this day, it’s still magic when I write a song and get together with other musicians, and we record it, and it turns into the track.”
‘Don’t Pass Me By’ is an example of a style Ringo Starr loves
“Don’t Pass Me By” is one of the rare country songs in The Beatles’ discography. In light of this, Ringo was asked to name his favorite country singers. “Oh there’s so many,” he said. “Hank Snow, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubb, sort of the old boys in the country school.”
Ringo said his hometown influenced his taste in country music. “I come from Liverpool, which is a port, so a lot of neighbors went to sea,” he recalled. “In fact, Liverpool is sort of the capital of country music in England. So, I just came by it naturally, sailors who would play the records.” Ringo’s friend had a brother who was in the navy and had country records. The “Back Off Boogaloo” singer took to the genre immediately.
Ringo Starr dove head 1st into country music shortly after leaving The Beatles
“Don’t Pass Me By” wasn’t Ringo’s last fore into country music. Some of his subsequent songs like “Octopus’s Garden” and “It Don’t Come Easy” are examples of the genre. After releasing his traditional pop debut album, Sentimental Journey, Ringo went for a Nashville vibe for his second release, Beaucoups of Blues.
While Beaucoups of Blues doesn’t include any big, juicy hits like “No No Song” or “Photograph,” it features Ringo returning to his roots. Listening to Beaucoups of Blues feels like taking a peek into a parallel universe where Ringo never joined The Beatles and instead became another Johnny Cash or John Denver.
While Beaucoups of Blues isn’t as famous as other solo Fab Four records like All Things Must Pass or Band on the Run, it has its fans. During a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, John Lennon praised the album as a whole and the title track in particular. He said Beaucoups of Blues didn’t make him feel “as embarrassed” as Sentimental Journey did. Considering John often made casually cruel comments, his qualified praise was a big deal!
“Don’t Pass Me By” isn’t famous but it set Ringo down a good path.
