Ringo Starr’s Favorite Beatles Songs

He may not have been the Beatles' first drummer, but Ringo Starr was there to enjoy their initial recording success, and his highly distinctive playing, full of character and invention, helped propel the group to a level of stardom that has arguably yet to be equaled. Nearly sixty years after the band's last studio album, the Beatles are still making headlines and selling records. With such a fantastic selection of songs, it’s particularly fascinating to discover Starr's own favorites from his band's discography. Fortunately, Starr partly answered this question when speaking to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.The Beatles songs Ringo Starr loves mostThe drummer was asked, “You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life. What is it?” Starr's pick was “Come Together” from the Beatles' 1969 album, Abbey Road. In his own words: “I just think it worked perfectly with the band and the song and John being John. I loved that moment.” This was a song that grew out of John Lennon's work with Yoko Ono protesting against the Vietnam War. During that time, Lennon became acquainted with another high-profile protester, the writer and psychologist Timothy Leary. Lennon promised to write a song for Leary's forthcoming bid to become Governor of California. The proposed song was to be based on Leary's campaign slogan, “Come Together—Join the Party!” Instead, it became the inspiration for the now-famous Beatles track.Another of Starr's Beatles favorites was revealed through the drummer's contribution to If These Walls Could Sing, a documentary concerning the iconic Abbey Road Studios in which the Beatles recorded. In it, Starr singles out “Yer Blues,” a track that appeared on the band's classic 1968 double album, commonly known as the White Album. Says Starr: “We just, like, rocked it. We just, y’know, turned into this incredible, closest band. It’s one of the all-time great memories for me.” The song Ringo Starr says is his bestUnderstandably, Starr's opinion has changed over the years, and one track the drummer has previously highlighted as his best work with the Beatles might come as a surprise to some. The song “Rain” appeared as a non-album B-side to one of the group's most famous singles: “Paperback Writer.” Released in 1966, “Rain” is one of the Beatles' more experimental recordings, featuring reversed sounds and a slowed-down rhythm. Recalling the making of that song, Starr stated: “I feel as though that was someone else playing. I was possessed! I was into the snare and hi-hat. I think it was the first time I used this trick of starting a break by hitting the hi-hat first instead of going directly to a drum off the hi-hat. I think it’s the best out of all the records I’ve ever made.”