''Ringo the 4th'' is the sixth studio album by English musician

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

, released on 20 September 1977. Its title is sometimes ascribed to him being the fourth member of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

. Others have suggested that it is his fourth mainstream album, taking exception to his Great American Songbook homage, '' Sentimental Journey'', and his country-western foray, ''

Beaucoups of Blues ''Beaucoups of Blues'' is the second studio album by the English rock musician and former Beatle Ringo Starr. It was released in September 1970, five months after his debut solo album, '' Sentimental Journey''. ''Beaucoups of Blues'' is very fa ...

''. However, ''Ringo the 4th'' is a dance-oriented record, crafted for him by his Atlantic Records producer,

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

Background and recording

After the commercial disappointment of ''

Ringo's Rotogravure ''Ringo's Rotogravure'' is the fifth studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 1976. It was the last project to feature active involvement from all four former Beatles before John Lennon's murder in 1980, and the second of two projects following th ...

'' (1976), Starr decided to shift from his formula of using his well-known musician friends (notably his fellow ex-Beatles) to write songs and appear on his albums. Instead, he intensified his partnership with

Vini Poncia Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Life and career The 1960s In the 1960s, Poncia formed a songwriting team with Peter Anders (née Peter Andreoli). An album of songs co-writt ...

, with whom he wrote several of the songs featured here, while using the input of different musicians. Sessions began on 5 February 1977, at

Cherokee Studios Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band The Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, The Cars, Foreign ...

in Los Angeles, produced by

. The first songs recorded were two unreleased tracks, "Lover Please" and "Wild Shining Stars". Near the end of the month, Starr recorded "Out on the Streets", "It's No Secret" and "Gypsies in Flight". In June, recording sessions were held at

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios was the recording studio of Atlantic Records. Although this recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 West 56th Street ...

in New York. where the tracks that ended up on the album were recorded. In addition, the B-side "Just a Dream", as well as an unreleased track, "By Your Side", were recorded. Starr moved back to Cherokee Studios, where he held more sessions towards the end of the month, where a few more unreleased tracks were recorded: "Birmingham", "This Party", and a different version of "Just a Dream".

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

played keyboards on a couple of songs, while

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

, and

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

occasionally appeared on backing vocals.

Packaging

Nancy Lee Andrews used

Rita Wolf Rita Wolf (born Rita Ghose, ) is an American British actress born in Kolkata, India. US theatre credits include premieres of work by Tony Kushner ("Homebody/Kabul" at NY Theatre Workshop, also at BAM) and Richard Nelson ("The Michaels" at The Pu ...

as a model in the photo shoot for the album cover. The photo used on the album cover shows Wolf's legs and she is sitting on Starr's shoulders. The back cover is a photo taken from the back of Starr and Wolf showing her bottom in tight pink pants.

Release

"Wings", backed with "Just a Dream", was released as a single in the US on 25 August 1977. On 5 September Starr promoted the single by having an interview with Los Angeles DJ Dave Herman. On 16 September, "Drowning in the Sea of Love", backed with "Just a Dream" was released in the UK. ''Ringo the 4th'' was released on 20 September in the UK, and 10 days later in the US. The album was a failure upon its release, both commercially and critically. Never touching the UK charts, the album managed to make it to No. 162 in the US. The "Drowning in the Sea of Love" single, originally planned as the first US single, was released in the US on 18 October. Shortly thereafter,

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

dropped Starr from their roster. In the UK, Polydor fulfilled its three-album contractual requirement by following up with a children's album, ''

Scouse the Mouse ''Scouse the Mouse'' is a children's album released in the UK in 1977. It featured the vocals of Ringo Starr and others. Story and recording Starr appears as the album's main character, Scouse the Mouse, who emigrates from Liverpool to the Un ...

'' (1977) which featured Starr, in the lead role, performing around half of the material. Neither of the two singles pulled from ''Ringo the 4th'', "Wings" and "Drowning in the Sea of Love" charted in the US. In foreign countries, other songs were released as singles: "Sneaking Sally Through the Alley", backed with "Tango All Night" (Australia) and "Tango All Night", backed with "It's No Secret" (Argentina). The cover photos were by Starr's fiancée, Nancy Lee Andrews. ''Ringo the 4th'' was reissued on CD, on the same day as ''Ringo's Rotogravure'', in the US on 16 August 1992, by Atlantic. The song "

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

" was re-recorded years later, and released on Ringo's '' Ringo 2012'' album and again as a lead single in 2012. The album was re-issued on Valentine's Day in 2020 as two different colored vinyl variants (gold and red) by Friday Music. The album saw another reissue as part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

in 2022 with a translucent orange vinyl along with Starr's 1983 album

Old Wave ''Old Wave'' is the ninth studio album by English rock musician Ringo Starr. It was originally released in June 1983, on the label Bellaphon, and is the two-year follow-up to his 1981 album '' Stop and Smell the Roses''. The title is a play on ...

Critical reception

Journalist Peter Palmiere states in his front cover story on Starr for ''DISCoveries'' magazine in January 2003 that "The music critics and the record buying public took the album as a joke for Ringo's voice was not suitable for the disco flavored music on ''Ringo the 4th''". Palmiere went on to claim that ''Ringo the 4th'' destroyed Starr's career and that he never commercially recovered from it. Music webzine ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

'' contributor Hayden Woolley commented in 2015 that the disco-flavored album "sees Ringo climb aboard the booty-shaking bandwagon with all the grace of a rhinoceros mounting a swan." Wooley adds that Starr is no "

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

" and that even though the album was a "critical and commercial disaster," it provides "an absolute treasure trove of unintentional comedy." Wooley draws particular attention to "Drowning in the Sea of Love," saying it "bubbles into life with synthesised stabs and a slinky funk bassline, before Ringo falls repeatedly on his face like a drunken man trying to climb down from a trampoline." ''PopDose'' contributor David Allen Jones commented in 2017 that the album's considerable failure did not "seem to bother our boy very much—this was at the height of his LA party animal phase, and he was always seen out and about and drinking copiously and generally loving life." Jones highlighted "Can She Do It Like She Dances?," calling it one of the album's better moments: "the arrangement reminds me a lot of can-can dancing or something, appropriate given the subject matter, in which Ringo drunkenly (and I do mean ''drunkenly'') seems to slobber all over the mike as he wonders if the object of his affection can 'do it' like she dances." Jones adds that Starr sounds "guttural and horny as hell." In drawing comparisons to Starr's fellow Beatles,

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

commented that "the idea of a Beatle doing disco didn't pan out nearly as well for Ringo as it did for

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

with '

Goodnight Tonight "Goodnight Tonight" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings. Written and produced by Paul McCartney, it was released as a non-album single on 23 March 1979 by Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. It was recorded durin ...

'."

Track listing

All tracks written by Ringo Starr and

, except where noted.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Ringo the 4th'' liner notes. * Ringo Starr – lead vocals, drums (A1 - B1, B3) *

David Spinozza David Spinozza is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album ''Walking ...

– guitar (A1 - B1, B3) *

John Tropea John Tropea (pronounced 'tro-pay'; born January 7, 1946) is an American guitarist. Career Tropea began guitar studies at the age of 12. His musical education continued at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jazz guitar, harmony, ...

– guitar (A1 - B1, B3) * Jeff Mironov – guitar (A1 - B1, B3) *

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman,

– guitar (B 2) * Lon Van Eaton – guitar (B 2) * Dick Fegy – acoustic guitar (B 4) *

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...

– guitar (B 5) *

David Bromberg David Bromberg (born September 19, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. David Bromberg biographyat Billboard.com An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock a ...

– guitar (B 4) *

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...

– bass guitar (A1 - B1, B3) *

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

– bass guitar (B 2, B 5) * Hugh McDonald – bass guitar (B 4) *

Don Grolnick Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a sessi ...

– keyboards (A1 - B1, B3) *

– electric guitar, clavinet (B 2), piano, keyboards (B 5) * Jeff Gutcheon – electric piano (B 4) * Nicky Marrero - percussion (B 2) *

Ken Bichel Ken Bichel is an American actor, composer, conductor, pianist, and synthesizer musician. Musical career Bichel attended the Juilliard School where he graduated with a master's degree in piano performance in 1969. While at Juilliard he met Gersh ...

– synthesizer *

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...

– drums *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

– tenor saxophone *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on Nov ...

– trumpet, leader of brass and reeds *

Don Brooks Don Frank Brooks (8 March 1947, in Dallas, Texas – 25 October 2000, in Manhattan, New York) was an American blues harmonica performing artist. Career Brooks was a full-time harmonica player with Waylon Jennings and was a prolific session musici ...

– harmonica *

Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back-u ...

– backing vocals *

Brie Howard Brie Howard-Darling (also known and credited as Brie Darling, Brie Howard, Brie Brandt, and Brie Berry) is an American drummer, singer, percussionist, songwriter, artist, cake designer, and actress of Filipino and European descent. She has recor ...

– backing vocals *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals * Debra Gray – backing vocals * Duitch Helmer – backing vocals *

Jim Gilstrap James Earl Gilstrap (born November 10, 1946)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American singer, considered one of the most prolific session musicians in the industry. He is best known for ...

– backing vocals * Joe Bean – backing vocals *

– backing vocals * Lynn Pitney – backing vocals * Marietta Waters – backing vocals * Maxine Anderson – backing vocals *

– backing vocals * Rebecca Louis – backing vocals *

Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1966, when Clark was 16, she and future s ...

– backing vocals *

– backing vocals (A 2) *

Gene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from th ...

- concertmaster

Charts

References

Footnotes Citations

External links

*
JPGR's ''Ringo the 4th'' site
{{Authority control 1977 albums Ringo Starr albums Polydor Records albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Arif Mardin Disco albums by English artists Funk albums by English artists