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TL;DR:

  • Ringo Starr used towels to create The Beatles’ “Come Together.”
  • Ringo used the same method on one of the Fab Four’s other No. 1 songs.
  • An audio engineer explained why Ringo made that decision.
Ringo Starr of The Beatles in a jacket
Ringo Starr of The Beatles | Michael Putland/Getty Images

Ringo Starr used towels to help create the sound of The Beatles’ “Come Together.” Subsequently, a sound engineer discussed why Ringo made this choice. Notably, “Come Together” was released as a double A-side with one of The Beatles’ other classic songs.

An engineer who worked on ‘Abbey Road’ said Ringo Starr used tea towels on The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’ and ‘Something’

Geoff Emerick is a sound engineer who worked on the albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road. During a 2014 interview with MusicRadar, Emerick was asked if it’s true that Ringo put small towels known as tea towels on his drums while making some songs from Abbey Road. “That’s right,” he said. “He did that on a couple of things. ‘Come Together,’ ‘Something‘… those are the ones that come to mind.”

Emerick revealed how the song evolved in the studio. “I remember John came in with a basic framework for the song, but at first he played it a lot faster,” he remembered. “Paul suggested slowing it down and making it more ‘swampy.’ John quite liked that idea.”

Geoff Emerick said some ‘strange things’ happened when The Beatles were in the recording studio

Emerick felt the recording of “Come Together” was strange. “Some weird things happened, though: Initially, Paul played the electric piano part, but John kind of looked over his shoulder and studied what he was playing,” he recalled. “When it came time to record it, John played the electric piano instead of Paul. Paul might have been miffed, but I think he was more upset about not singing on the choruses – John did his own backing vocals.”

Emerick praised Ringo’s musicianship on “Come Together.” “Ringo used the famous tea towels on his drums on ‘Come Together,’ a terrific effect,” he said. “Loud drums would have destroyed the song’s spooky mood.”

How ‘Come Together’ and ‘Something’ performed when they were released as a double A side single

“Come Together” and “Something” were released as a double A-side single in the United States. The tracks reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, staying on the chart for 16 weeks altogether.

The tunes both appeared on the album Abbey Road. Abbey Road was the Fab Four’s most successful studio album in the U.S. It topped the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks and spent a total of 483 weeks on the chart.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Come Together” and “Something” reached No. 4 in the United Kingdom and remained on the chart for 12 weeks. Later, a rerelease of the songs peaked at No. 84 for a single week. On the other hand, Abbey Road reached No. 1 for 17 of its 97 weeks on the chart.

“Come Together” was a massive hit and it wouldn’t be the same without towels.

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