Ringo Starr Might Have Disrespected Paul McCartney and John Lennon on a Solo Album, but He Meant No Harm

Ringo Starr always seemed to be the most easygoing of The Beatles. He had a pure Ringo reaction when John Lennon started bringing Yoko Ono into the Fab Four’s orbit. The drummer even had a good-natured response when George Harrison turned down invitations to Ringo’s All-Starr Band. He always seemed easygoing, but Ringo might have disrespected John and Paul McCartney on his biggest solo record, but we can guarantee he meant nothing by it.

Ringo Starr might have disrespected John Lennon and Paul McCartney on ‘(You and Me) Babe’

Ringo relied on John, Paul, and George’s contributions to make Ringo a success. Still, it almost sounds like Ringo slights Paul and John in the album’s final moments.

Ringo’s graciousness for all the assistance on the album — Marc Bolan, Levon Helm, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, and Robbie Robertson are some of the other notable artists who appear — comes out in album closer “(You and Me) Babe.” Rather than relegating the thank yous to the liner notes, the drummer gives a proper shout-out to his helpful friends.

Or does he?

Ringo starts to “say thank you to everyone involved” roughly three minutes and 45 seconds into the song (via YouTube). He soon gets around to naming his Beatles bandmates. 

Ringo thanks George Harrison quite clearly, but John and Paul don’t receive the same treatment. It almost sounds like the drummer thanks Don Lenn (instead of John Lennon). Then Ringo pronounces Paul’s last name as Mc-Cart-NEE.

On the surface, Ringo’s thank-yous appear disrespectful to John and Paul since he seems to mispronounce their names. Yet we can almost guarantee the drummer meant no harm.

Ringo meant no harm to Paul and John with his spoken thank-yous on ‘Ringo’

It sounds odd to hear Ringo clearly say George’s first and last name on “(You and Me) Babe” while mispronouncing John and Paul’s names, but we can almost guarantee he meant no harm.

First and foremost, Ringo was never one to take shots at other people. His signature sign-off on social media is “peace and love,” but he lived by the motto most of his life. He rarely (if ever) went out of his way to irritate other people.

Plus, he was always willing to call himself out for his shortcomings. Ringo once claimed he was no good as a drummer. He was completely wrong, but making the claim demonstrates he never put himself above others by putting them down, maliciously making fun of them, or being disrespectful. 

Finally, the lyrics to “(You and Me) Babe” make it clear that Ringo is genuinely thankful for the help. Lines such as “For these few moments, I wish we could start at the top again,” “Me and the band, babe / All thought it was great / To entertain you,” and “Now I wanna tell you / The pleasure really was mine” point to the sheer joy Ringo experienced working with so many talented musicians.

The drummer always got by with a little help from his friends because he knew his musical shortcomings. Ringo might have seemed to disrespect John and Paul with his verbal thank-yous, but we can almost guarantee he meant nothing by it.

All The Beatles appeared on ‘Ringo’

Ringo once contributed to another band’s classic album without picking up his drumsticks. Things were a little different when his former bandmates contributed to Ringo. 

The album, which achieved Recording Industry Association of America gold status shortly after its November 1973 release and remains the drummer’s only platinum record, saw John, Paul, George, and Ringo appear on the same album for the first time since The Beatles broke up.

John wrote album opener “I’m the Greatest,” on which he played piano and George played guitar. George wrote three songs: “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond),” “(You and Me) Babe” (with Mal Evans), and the Billboard No. 1 single “Photograph,” which he co-wrote with Ringo. Paul wrote “Six O’Clock” for the album.

On the surface, Ringo Starr disrespected Paul McCartney and John Lennon on “(You and Me) Babe, but we’re sure he meant no harm.

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