Ringo Starr Was Proud of This Reggae Song
The Beatles knew how to make excellent music in many different genres and they continued to display that talent after the band broke up. For instance, Ringo Starr released a reggae song with a titan of the gene. Ringo revealed why he was so proud of the song. Despite his feelings, it did not become a hit in the United States or the United Kingdom.
Ringo Starr said a reggae song was the best tune from his EP ‘Zoom In’
During a 2021 interview with Variety, Ringo was asked to name which song from his EP Zoom In that he liked the most. “I mean, the fun one was ‘Waiting for the Tide to Turn,’ because it was reggae,” he said. “[The EP’s co-producer] Bruce Sugar had put a lot of stuff on the first sort of verse, and then asked me to write it with him.
“So then we wrote the whole song, and then we found out that Tony Chen was in the Valley here in L.A. — the reggae guitar player who’s played with everybody from Bob Marley on,” he continued. “We got to know him because my son, Zak, is reggae-mad right now. And actually we did a few things for Toots’ [and the Maytals’] last album in this room, because Zak has the label and was producing.”
What a reggae artist thought of the former Beatle’s drumming on the song
Ringo revealed what he and his collaborators were thinking. “So it was the atmosphere of: ‘Let’s make a reggae record’ … and I played reggae drums,” he said. “I don’t know how you do that! I just do what I think of as reggae drums.”
Ringo remembered when Chen came into the studio to play guitar for “Waiting for the Tide to Turn.” Chen praised Ringo’s drumming on the track. Ringo was proud that a reggae legend like Chen had kind words for his reggae drumming. The “Back Off Boogaloo” singer was also glad to work on the Zoom In EP because it gave him the opportunity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
How Ringo Starr’s ‘Waiting for the Tide to Turn’ performed on the pop charts
“Waiting for the Tide to Turn” was never a single and it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the EP Zoom In. That EP reached No. 179 on the Billboard 200 for a single week. That’s not surprising, as the EP came out decades after Ringo’s time as a pop star ended.
The Official Charts Company reports “Waiting for the Tide to Turn” did not chart in the United Kingdom either. Zoom In didn’t cart there either! One would expect Ringo to have more cultural cache in his native U.K., but that was not the case. Perhaps the tune did not perform well because reggae is not as popular in the U.K. as it used to be.
“Waiting for the Tide to Turn” was not a hit but it showed that Ringo was pretty good at making Caribbean music.
