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Early 1970
"Early 1970" is a song by the English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the B-side of his April 1971 single "It Don't Come Easy". A rare example of Starr's songwriting at the time, it was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents his relationship with his three former bandmates. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison as individuals, and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again. In the final verse, Starr offers a self-deprecating picture of his musical abilities and expresses the hope that all four will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty" and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.
The song's working title was "When Four Nights Come to Town". Starr recorded the basic track in London in October 1970, midway through the sessions for Lennon's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, and then completed the recording with Harrison. Apple Corps manager Allen Klein suggested that the three former Beatles invite McCartney to contribute, to weaken the latter's case for the band's legal dissolution, but this did not take place.
It was a relief once we finally said we would split up ... I sat in the garden for a while wondering what the hell to do with my life. After you've said it's over and go home, you think: "Oh, God – that's it, then. Now what do you do?" It was quite a dramatic period for me – or traumatic, actually.
As the Beatles' drummer, and only a nascent songwriter, Ringo Starr felt lost when the band broke up. Although the official announcement came on 10 April 1970, the group's demise was initiated by John Lennon's statement during a September 1969 band meeting that he wanted a "divorce" from his fellow Beatles. In a February 1970 interview in Look magazine, midway through sessions for his first solo album, Sentimental Journey, Starr explained his disorientation: "I keep looking around and thinking where are they? What are they doing? When will they come back and talk to me?" Beatles historian Bruce Spizer writes that these sentiments "form the basis" of Starr's composition "Early 1970".
Discussing the song in a 2001 interview, Starr said it reflected how he could count on Lennon and George Harrison's musical support after the break-up, but not on Paul McCartney's. A rift had grown between Starr and McCartney in March 1970 due to McCartney's refusal to have his own debut solo album held back in Apple Records' release schedule to allow for Sentimental Journey and the Beatles' Let It Be album, and thereby avoid saturating the market with Beatles product. The two musicians had a heated exchange at McCartney's St John's Wood home on 31 March. The confrontation had what Beatles biographer Peter Doggett terms a "grievous effect" on Starr and McCartney's friendship, and contributed to the latter announcing his departure from the band. In the same 2001 interview, Starr recalled that "Early 1970" was also informed by McCartney's subsequent attempts to be released from the band's Apple record label and the acrimony this created.
The song's working title was variously "When I Come to Town (Four Nights in Moscow)" and "When Four Nights Come to Town". Spizer describes "Early 1970" as a "country-flavored" track. It followed Starr's full immersion in the country music genre on his Beaucoups of Blues album, a project that resulted from meeting Nashville session musician and producer Pete Drake when they both worked on Harrison's All Things Must Pass in June 1970.
The four verses focus on each of the Beatles in turn, providing what Beatles Forever author Nicholas Schaffner describes as "a disarming open letter" to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. The lyrics gauge Starr's relationships with his bandmates according to how likely each one was to make music with him in the future. In author Andrew Grant Jackson's view, the verses suggest a group dynamic similar to the opening scene of the Beatles' 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, when Starr, Lennon and Harrison are seen sharing a laugh and enjoying each other's company, while McCartney is removed and remote.
In the first verse, Starr addresses his strained relationship with McCartney. The lyrics depict McCartney as full of "charm" and engrossed in his domestic life – on his Scottish farm with his wife Linda Eastman and their newborn daughter Mary. Starr concludes the verse by singing, "And when he comes to town I wonder if he'll play with me."
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Early 1970
"Early 1970" is a song by the English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the B-side of his April 1971 single "It Don't Come Easy". A rare example of Starr's songwriting at the time, it was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents his relationship with his three former bandmates. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison as individuals, and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again. In the final verse, Starr offers a self-deprecating picture of his musical abilities and expresses the hope that all four will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty" and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.
The song's working title was "When Four Nights Come to Town". Starr recorded the basic track in London in October 1970, midway through the sessions for Lennon's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, and then completed the recording with Harrison. Apple Corps manager Allen Klein suggested that the three former Beatles invite McCartney to contribute, to weaken the latter's case for the band's legal dissolution, but this did not take place.
It was a relief once we finally said we would split up ... I sat in the garden for a while wondering what the hell to do with my life. After you've said it's over and go home, you think: "Oh, God – that's it, then. Now what do you do?" It was quite a dramatic period for me – or traumatic, actually.
As the Beatles' drummer, and only a nascent songwriter, Ringo Starr felt lost when the band broke up. Although the official announcement came on 10 April 1970, the group's demise was initiated by John Lennon's statement during a September 1969 band meeting that he wanted a "divorce" from his fellow Beatles. In a February 1970 interview in Look magazine, midway through sessions for his first solo album, Sentimental Journey, Starr explained his disorientation: "I keep looking around and thinking where are they? What are they doing? When will they come back and talk to me?" Beatles historian Bruce Spizer writes that these sentiments "form the basis" of Starr's composition "Early 1970".
Discussing the song in a 2001 interview, Starr said it reflected how he could count on Lennon and George Harrison's musical support after the break-up, but not on Paul McCartney's. A rift had grown between Starr and McCartney in March 1970 due to McCartney's refusal to have his own debut solo album held back in Apple Records' release schedule to allow for Sentimental Journey and the Beatles' Let It Be album, and thereby avoid saturating the market with Beatles product. The two musicians had a heated exchange at McCartney's St John's Wood home on 31 March. The confrontation had what Beatles biographer Peter Doggett terms a "grievous effect" on Starr and McCartney's friendship, and contributed to the latter announcing his departure from the band. In the same 2001 interview, Starr recalled that "Early 1970" was also informed by McCartney's subsequent attempts to be released from the band's Apple record label and the acrimony this created.
The song's working title was variously "When I Come to Town (Four Nights in Moscow)" and "When Four Nights Come to Town". Spizer describes "Early 1970" as a "country-flavored" track. It followed Starr's full immersion in the country music genre on his Beaucoups of Blues album, a project that resulted from meeting Nashville session musician and producer Pete Drake when they both worked on Harrison's All Things Must Pass in June 1970.
The four verses focus on each of the Beatles in turn, providing what Beatles Forever author Nicholas Schaffner describes as "a disarming open letter" to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. The lyrics gauge Starr's relationships with his bandmates according to how likely each one was to make music with him in the future. In author Andrew Grant Jackson's view, the verses suggest a group dynamic similar to the opening scene of the Beatles' 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, when Starr, Lennon and Harrison are seen sharing a laugh and enjoying each other's company, while McCartney is removed and remote.
In the first verse, Starr addresses his strained relationship with McCartney. The lyrics depict McCartney as full of "charm" and engrossed in his domestic life – on his Scottish farm with his wife Linda Eastman and their newborn daughter Mary. Starr concludes the verse by singing, "And when he comes to town I wonder if he'll play with me."