"Ringo, I Love You" is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

song performed by American singer-actress Cher released under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason, the name she used at the start of her career when based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. The song was released as a promotional single in 1964 during the height of Beatlemania. It was a tribute to

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 developmen ...

. The original vinyl is now a valuable rarity. In 1999, the song was covered by German electronic duo

Stereo Total Stereo Total was a Berlin-based multilingual, French-German duo which comprised Françoise Cactus (born Françoise Van Hove and formerly co-leader of the West Berlin band Les Lolitas) and Brezel ('pretzel') Göring (aka Friedrich von Finsterwa ...

and released on their studio album '' My Melody''.

Song information

"Ringo, I Love You" is the first solo song recorded by Cher. The single was released under the name of Bonnie Jo Mason because producer Phil Spector wanted American names for his singers, and Cherilyn La Piere was not a name he considered sufficiently American. The single failed to chart nationally, and did not pick up much local radio play, although it was a minor hit in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. It has been suggested that many radio stations would not consider playing the record because they thought Cher's extremely low vocals were a man's vocals, although the artist's female moniker and the fact that the singer explicitly identifies herself as a girl in the song makes this story open to question. Therefore, they believed it was a male homosexual singing a love song as a dedication to

' drummer Ringo Starr. The track does not have Spector's usual

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...

production techniques, instead featuring more of a crudely arranged "beat group" sound. Spector, if he did indeed produce the track, took no producer credit, and the record did not appear on

Philles Records Philles Records was an American record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia. In 1962, Spector pu ...

, Spector's usual label. "Beatle Blues" is on the single's B-side, a typical tossed-off Spector instrumental made so that the A-side would get all the attention. "Ringo, I Love You" has been released on compact disc on small indie record label, although not on Cher releases; these albums are "Bravo! Beatles", "Phil Spector - Masterpiece (Volume 3)", "Flabby Road", "Before They Were Stars (Volume 2)", "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Rock & Roll (Volume 1)" and "Girls in the Garage (Volume 4)".

Notes

References

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External links

Official website of Cher
{{Cher songs part 1 1964 songs 1964 debut singles Cher songs Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Songs written by Vini Poncia Songs written by Phil Spector Songs about Ringo Starr