"Six O'Clock" is a song by the English rock musician

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

from his 1973 album '' Ringo''. It was written by Starr's former

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

bandmate

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and the latter's wife, Linda, who also participated in the recording of the song. It was the first time McCartney and Starr had worked together since the Beatles' break-up in 1970. Their collaboration reflected an easing of the tensions that had existed between the two musicians for much of that period. Produced by

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (June 18, 1942 – December 24, 2024) was an American record producer. He began his musical career as a performer while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late ...

, "Six O'Clock" was recorded mainly at

Apple Studios Apple Studios LLC is an American film, television and in-house production company that is a subsidiary of Apple Inc. It specializes in developing and producing original television series and films for Apple's digital video streaming service Appl ...

in London in April 1973. Following Starr's recent collaborations with

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

in Los Angeles, the session with McCartney added to speculation in the press that the Beatles were about to reunite. An extended version of the song appeared as a bonus track on the 1992 CD release of Starr's ''

Goodnight Vienna ''Goodnight Vienna'' is the fourth studio album by Ringo Starr. It was recorded in the summer of 1974 in Los Angeles, and released later that year. ''Goodnight Vienna'' followed the commercially successful predecessor ''Ringo (album), Ringo'', a ...

'' album.

Background and composition

wrote "Six O'Clock" in response to a request from

, his former bandmate in

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, for a contribution to his first rock solo album, titled '' Ringo''.Woffinden, pp. 75, 77.Nick DeRiso
"40 Years Ago: Ringo Starr's 'Ringo' Features (Sort-Of) Beatles Reunion"

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

, 23 November 2013 (retrieved 30 August 2016). Having agreed to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony in Nashville on 3 March 1973, Starr had begun compiling possible material for the album with

, his producer, with a plan to record in Los Angeles during the same visit to the United States. Although Starr's relationship with McCartney had been strained by the effects of

the Beatles' break-up The Beatles were an English rock band, active from 1960 until 1970. From 1962 onwards, the band's members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Their break-up is attributed to numerous factors, including the 1967 d ...

in 1970, and by McCartney's subsequent lawsuit against his three former bandmates, Starr said in late 1972 that relations among the ex-Beatles were "a lot better now … we're together as people f not as a band and that's more important really." Once

and

had each agreed to contribute songs for ''Ringo'', Starr was able to persuade McCartney by telling him: "You don't want to be left out, do you?" The song was credited to McCartney and his wife Linda. The composition is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

piano balladSchaffner, pp. 160–61. in a style that author Bruce Spizer views as typical of the contemporary music of the McCartneys' new group, Wings,Spizer, p. 308. whose album ''

Red Rose Speedway ''Red Rose Speedway'' is the second studio album by the English-American Rock music, rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings, although credited to "Paul McCartney and Wings". It was released through Apple Records on 4 May 1973, preceded by its ...

'' they had just completed. In a 2001 interview, Starr nevertheless cited "Six O'Clock" as an example of how his former bandmates always supplied him with material that suited his personality.Timothy White
"Music To My Ears: Ringo's All Starrs Play And Act Naturally"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 26 May 2001, p. 4 (retrieved 31 August 2016). The song's lyrics address a friend or lover whom the singer confesses to not showing enough attention towards. The repeated refrain "I don't treat you like I should" serves as an extended coda, anticipating a similar reprise in McCartney and Starr's 1997 collaboration " Beautiful Night".

Recording

Starr recorded eight of the ten rhythm tracks for ''Ringo'' in Los Angeles during March 1973,Madinger & Easter, p. 501.Spizer, p. 306. with guest musicians including Harrison, Lennon,

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

the Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

and

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

. Among the recordings was "

I'm the Greatest "I'm the Greatest" is a song written by the English musician John Lennon that was released as the opening track of the 1973 album '' Ringo'' by Ringo Starr. With Starr, Lennon and George Harrison appearing on the track, it marks the only time ...

", which featured both Lennon and Harrison; a highly publicised session at the time,Harry, p. 118. it marked the first occasion that three former Beatles had worked together since the band's break-up. Recognising the importance of this, Starr decided to record "Six O'Clock" in London to ensure McCartney's participation on the album. The session was arranged to coincide with Starr's return to the UK for the world premiere of ''

That'll Be the Day "That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' ver ...

'', a film in which he had a starring role. In addition, Perry was due to advise on the music soundtrack for the Wings television special '' James Paul McCartney'',John Tobler & Stuart Grundy, "Richard Perry", ''The Record Producers'', BBC Books (London, 1982); excerpt available a
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). which McCartney had agreed to do to appease music publisher

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a Ukrainian-born British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production ...

's concerns about the legitimacy of Linda's songwriting credits.Woffinden, p. 67.Sounes, pp. 303–04. Paul and Linda McCartney

Starr attended the premiere of ''That'll Be the Day'' on 12 April, with the McCartneys,Madinger & Easter, p. 182. and then recorded the song's rhythm track on 16 April at the Beatles'

. Besides Starr, on drums and lead vocals, McCartney played piano and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, and sang backing vocals with Linda.Rodriguez, p. 36. The other musicians on the track were bassist

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German graphic artist, artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, includ ...

Album credits, '' Ringo'' CD (Apple/Capitol, 1991; produced by Richard Perry). – whose presence on "I'm the Greatest" had reignited rumours that he was to stand in for McCartney in a partial Beatles reunion – and Vince Poncia, who played acoustic guitar and percussion. Fifteen takes of the song were taped, with recording finishing at 6 am. Late in the session, Perry played back some of the Los Angeles recordings; McCartney then vocalised a

kazoo The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a ''buzzing'' timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (itself a membranophone), one of a class of instruments that modify the player's v ...

-like solo (credited as "mouth sax") on Starr's cover of the 1960

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became ...

hit "

You're Sixteen "You're Sixteen" is a song written by the Sherman Brothers ( Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman). It was first performed by American rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette, whose version peaked at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

", and Starr

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

the sound of his own tap-dancing onto his composition "Step Lightly". Further work was carried out on "Six O'Clock" at

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

, as part of what Perry later described as "two or three wonderful nights" of recording in London. Flutes and strings were added to the song, with McCartney providing the arrangement. News of Starr and McCartney recording together added to the media speculation that the Beatles might re-form. While filming ''James Paul McCartney'' at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

, McCartney had said that he saw "no real reason why we shouldn't get together again" once Lennon, Harrison and Starr had removed

Allen Klein Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 – July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased pr ...

from his position as manager of

Apple Corps Apple Corps Limited is a British multimedia company that was established in London by the members of the Beatles in the 1960s to form a Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company's name, pronounced "apple core", is a pun. Its chief div ...

, which they did on 31 March.Hunt, p. 69. When fending off the reunion rumours during Wings' UK tour, in May 1973, McCartney said that writing the song and recording with Starr had merely been an act of friendship, adding: "I would do it for any friend."

Release

Apple Records released ''Ringo'' on 2 November 1973, with "Six O'Clock" appearing as the album's eighth track, between "Step Lightly" and the Starr–Poncia composition " Devil Woman". Helped by news of Starr having recorded with each of his former bandmates, and the popularity of the single "

Photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...

", written by Starr and Harrison, the album was a commercial and critical success. The release was closely followed by that of Wings' '' Band on the Run'' album, which gained critical acclaim for McCartney for the first time as a solo artist. The original mix of "Six O'Clock" extended to 5:26 due to the inclusion of the reprise-like coda, yet this portion was subsequently cut, reducing the track length to 4:05. While the LP face label for the US commercial release mistakenly gave the pre-edit length, the extended version of the song appeared only on promotional copies of ''Ringo'' and on some pressings in the cassette and

8-track cartridge The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic-tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, ...

formats. This full version of the song was included as a bonus track on the CD release of Starr's 1974 album ''

'', issued in November 1992.

Critical reception

In his album review for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Ben Gerson wrote of "Six O'Clock" having "a certain slight charm" but rued its lack of "collaborative feeling" next to the contributions from Harrison and Lennon. Gerson concluded that Starr was "merely grafted onto a typical McCartney confection".Ben Gerson
"Ringo Starr ''Ringo''"
''

'', 20 December 1973, p. 73 (retrieved 31 August 2016). In the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'',

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...

derided ''Ringo'' as "an album that should be purchased only by those who wish to go to extraordinary lengths to indulge their nostalgia for the Beatles", and he dismissed McCartney's composition as "well below form". More impressed, Alan Betrock of ''

Phonograph Record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

'' wrote: "Paul McCartney's 'Six O'Clock' would have been a perfect chart-topper for himself and Wings, possibly rivaling 'Yesterday' in worldwide stature. McCartney's patented string arrangement is refreshing to hear, offering a nice counterpart to Richard Perry's often overdone backgrounds. Perhaps 'Six O'Clock' is a bit too drawn out, but it still comes off quite nicely." In his review for '' Disc'' magazine, Michael Benton described the song as "a mixture of sugar sweet lyrics and gentle music". In his 1977 book ''The Beatles Forever'',

Nicholas Schaffner Nicholas Schaffner (January 28, 1953 – August 28, 1991) was an American non-fiction author, journalist, and singer-songwriter. Biography Schaffner was born in Manhattan to John V. Schaffner (1913–1983), a literary agent whose clients includ ...

admired Starr for bringing out the best in his collaborators, which in McCartney's case "produce the strongest, most lyrical pop ballad he had composed since '

The Long and Winding Road "The Long and Winding Road" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album '' Let It Be''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. When issued as a single in May 1970, a month after the Beat ...

'". Writing in 1981, ''NME'' critic

Bob Woffinden Robert Woffinden (31 January 1948 – 1 May 2018) was a British investigative journalist. Formerly a reporter with the ''New Musical Express'', he later specialised in investigating miscarriages of justice. He wrote about a number of high-profi ...

similarly opined that Starr's strength of character had ensured that the Beatles' past differences were forgotten, resulting in his three former bandmates providing "excellent compositions", with "Six O'Clock" "distinguished by a lovely melody". Among more recent commentators, former ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' editor

Mat Snow Mat Snow (born 20 October 1958) is an English music journalist, magazine editor, and author. From 1995 to 1999, he was the editor of '' Mojo'' magazine; he subsequently served in the same role on the football magazine '' FourFourTwo''. During th ...

considers that whereas Harrison and Lennon "did their old buddy proud" on ''Ringo'', McCartney's offering was "so weak that Ringo's rumbustious 'Devil Woman' beat it for intrigue and excitement". Alan Clayson identifies the "snotty synthesiser ostinato" as the song's most salient feature, adding: "'Six O'Clock' could have been made up by McCartney in his sleep. It was certainly commensurate with the wispy lyrics and syrupy jingles that comprised ''Red Rose Speedway'', Wings' 1973 album."Clayson, p. 243. Conversely, Tim Riley describes the song as "a standout track", while Robert Rodriguez views it as "a catchy ballad" that would have been "unremarkable" if issued by McCartney, yet it became a "stellar" track in Starr's version.Rodriguez, p. 158. In 1975, London-based recording engineer

David Hentschel David Hentschel (born 18 December 1952) is an English recording engineer, film score composer and music producer who engineered on George Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'' and Elton John's ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', as well as for such a ...

covered "Six O'Clock", along with all the other tracks on ''Ringo'', for his album ''Sta*rtling Music''.Bob Woffinden, "Ringo Starr: Everyone One of Us Has All We Need …", ''

'', 12 April 1975; available a
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). An experimental work featuring Hentschel on

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan R. Pearlman, Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the ...

, the album was one of the first releases on Starr's short-lived record label,

Ring O' Records Ring O' Records was a record label founded by former Beatle Ringo Starr in 1975. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Starr to continue supporting other artists' projects while maintain ...

.Woffinden, p. 78.

Personnel

According to Bruce Spizer: *

– vocals, drums *

– piano,

, backing vocal, flute and string arrangements *

Vini Poncia Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Life and career Early life Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry. The 1960s In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...

– acoustic guitar, percussion *

– bass *

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

– backing vocal

Notes

References

Sources

* Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). * Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, ''All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975'', Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976; ). * Alan Clayson, ''Ringo Starr'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ). * Peter Doggett, ''You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup'', It Books (New York, NY, 2011; ). * Bill Harry, ''The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia'', Virgin Books (London, 2004; ). * Chris Hunt (ed.), ''

NME Originals {{No footnotes, date=February 2025 The NME Originals is a collection of articles and reviews from the ''NME'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines about one band or genre. The first issue was about the Beatles, published on 3 April 2002. Many issues in ...

: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980'', IPC Ignite! (London, 2005). * Chris Ingham, ''The Rough Guide to the Beatles'', Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2006; 2nd edn; ). * Andrew Grant Jackson, ''Still the Greatest: The Essential Solo Beatles Songs'', Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD, 2012; ). * Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, ''Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium'', 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ). * Tim Riley, ''Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music – The Definitive Life'', Random House (London, 2011; ). * Robert Rodriguez, ''Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980'', Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ). * Nicholas Schaffner, ''The Beatles Forever'', McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978; ). * Mat Snow, ''The Beatles Solo: The Illustrated Chronicles of John, Paul, George, and Ringo After The Beatles'' (Volume 4: ''Ringo''), Race Point Publishing (New York, NY, 2013; ). * Howard Sounes, ''Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney'', HarperCollins (London, 2010; ). * Bruce Spizer, ''The Beatles Solo on Apple Records'', 498 Productions (New Orleans, LA, 2005; ). * Bob Woffinden, ''The Beatles Apart'', Proteus (London, 1981; ). {{Template:Ringo Starr 1970s ballads 1973 songs Pop ballads Ringo Starr songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Songs written by Linda McCartney Song recordings produced by Richard Perry