“It Don’t Come Easy” – Ringo Starr
(Words/music: George Harrison and Richard Starkey, available on The Concert for Bangladesh, Apple/EMI 1971)

I had never really thought too much about who wrote “It Don’t Come Easy,” but after researching it today (and giving it another close listen), it doesn’t surprise me that George Harrison had a hand in its composition (and some claim that he wrote the entire thing, giving it to Ringo to help jump start his career).  Everything about the arrangement would make it fit in with All Things Must Pass – a jangly opening guitar riff, the carefully layered arrangement (with my favorite parts being the horns and the backing vocals) all bear Harrison’s signature.  Still, today’s Ringo’s day on Some Songs Considered (and I have a feeling that I’ll write about at least one more Harrison composition in the future, it seems likely with another 350+ entries in front of me).

Perhaps because he didn’t write as many songs, or because he played an instrument many deem “easy” (to which I suggest that anyone who thinks that should sit behind a drum kit and feel overwhelmed by all the different things going on), or simply because his band mates were three of the most influential musicians and songwriters of the popular music era, Ringo becomes at best an afterthought and at worst a punching bag for many.  Still, he deserves to be more than “the drummer,” and occasionally he gets this respect that he deserves.

Two brief stories:

1.  In the late 90s, I subscribed to Modern Drummer magazine (a bit of a misnomer in that it focused about 40% of its attention on drummers of previous eras) in a fleeting attempt to hone my drumming chops.  I know I have a couple years worth of these magazines in my parents’ storage shed somewhere, but one issue sticks out to me.  The editors of the magazine polled their readership and posted the top 20 (or 25, I don’t remember and I can’t find a link to it online, sorry).  One of the best parts of the list was the inclusion of five testimonials from the reader ballots – one sentence quips why these drummers received other drummers’ votes.  Ringo appeared maybe half way through the list (appropriately) and I will never forget the testimonials:  all five of them read the same exact thing: “Ringo is the reason that I play the drums.”  I think many of us take the Beatles for granted (especially people of my generation who have listened to our parents sing their praises our entire lives), but this is a band that meant a tremendous amount to a tremendous amount of people.  I don’t remember the precise reason why I started playing the drums (more on that in another post), but I understand how if I grew up in the late 60s that Ringo’s fun-loving, effervescent personality (and deceptively simple playing) would make the drums attractive.  Who wouldn’t want to be bopping along behind the kit to any of those Beatles’ classics (or, alternately, hasn’t air drummed that part in “Come Together”).

2. Last year, Ringo announced that he would stop signing autographs through the mail. If you think about it, the man must receive an absurd amount of Beatles memorabilia in the mail – I have a hard enough time responding to a couple e-mails a day, let alone signing all of the pictures, portraits, and other assorted personal items people send along.  However, many took this as Ringo devolving into a cranky old man shunning the fans who gave him the wealth and fame he enjoys.  I was disappointed at this reaction – he’s already given up some of the world’s greatest songs, what more does he owe us?  Needless to say, when I heard this story about how he still signs letters for fans (and with an absurd turnaround time), I smiled heartily.  I hope that Ringo always remains the “happy” Beatle.

I picked the live version of “It Don’t Come Easy” for a couple reasons.  First, I think it sounds better played a little faster – it has a little more life and urgency as Ringo tries to keep up with the all-stars George Harrison assembled for his charity concert.  More importantly, however, is the huge applause that the crowd gives Ringo upon the first line; while musicians and critics snub him, fans still love Ringo and I think that gives us all something to think about.  Sure, it’s important to approach everything with a critical eye, but at some point we have to remember why we fell in love with music in the first place.  I don’t even care that Ringo flubs the lyrics in the last verse (I didn’t notice it until it was pointed out to me, in fact), it’s still a great song (regardless of the author) and Ringo serves it well as the everyman singer who’s happy to be performing for all of us.

More on Ringo Starr: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm