5 of the Best Songs From The Beatles’ Solo Careers With Appearances by Other Beatles
There are a couple of great songs from The Beatles‘ solo careers with appearances by other Beatles. The Fab Four might’ve gone their separate ways in 1970, but that didn’t mean they were through working together in some way. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr just never appeared on anything together. Here are the top five Beatles solo songs that have appearances by other Beatles.
5. ‘How Do You Sleep?’ – John Lennon’s song with an appearance from George Harrison
While George contributed slide guitar to John’s Imagine tracks “Gimme Some Truth” and “I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier,” electric guitar on “Oh My Love,” and dobro to “Crippled Inside,” his work on “How Do You Sleep?” is the most important and memorable.
Although George said it was “nerve-wracking, as usual,” working with John following The Beatles’ split, George agreed to help his former bandmate. Plus, he was glad the angry song wasn’t aimed at him. John wrote the diss track after Paul aimed his diss track, “Too Many People,” at John. There was a bit of a song battle between them, and George was simply a bystander.
4. ‘Wah-Wah’ – George Harrison’s song with an appearance from Ringo Starr
George wrote “Wah-Wah” after he abruptly and briefly quit The Beatles in January 1969. He used “Wah-Wah” as a term for headache, which he’d continuously gotten during the Let It Be sessions. “‘Wah-Wah’ was a ‘headache’ as well as a foot pedal,” George explained in his 1980 memoir I Me Mine. “It was written during the time in the film where John and Yoko were freaking out screaming – I’d left the band, gone home – and wrote this tune.”
The song largely represented George’s frustration with being in The Beatles at the time. He recorded it with Ringo a year later for his 1970 album, All Things Must Pass. Ringo comes in with a slow beat and then officially enters the song with one of his best drum fills. It’s standard Ringo work, which he also added to about two-thirds of the album.
3. ‘Photograph’ – Ringo Starr’s song with an appearance from George Harrison
Ringo and George co-wrote the drummer’s first No. 1 hit, “Photograph,” in 1973, which appeared on Ringo. The drummer recorded the album with a little help from his friends. All three of Ringo’s fellow Beatles wrote a song for the album. “Photograph” also wasn’t the only song that George co-wrote. There was also “You and Me (Babe)” and “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond).” George had the most input because he loved working with his friend.
The pair worked together on tons of their songs. Ringo helped George on All Things Must Pass, The Concert for Bangladesh, Living in the Material World, Dark Horse, Somewhere in England, Cloud Nine, Nobody’s Child: Romanian Angel Appeal, and Extra Texture (Read All About It). Meanwhile, George helped Ringo on Ringo, Ringo’s Rotogravure, Stop and Smell the Roses, and Vertical Man.
2. ‘So Bad’ – Paul McCartney’s song with an appearance from Ringo Starr
“So Bad” is one of Paul’s most mellow songs. It appeared on 1983’s Pipes Of Peace, and Ringo added drums. Paul didn’t work with Ringo as much as George did over the years. However, suddenly in the 1980s, Paul wanted to work with his friends again, including George, which never happened. “So Bad” also appears in Paul’s musical, Give My Regards to Broad Street.
According to the Paul McCartney Project, Paul called the song’s lyrics simple, corny, and overtly sentimental. Ultimately, Paul didn’t care and made the song anyway.
1. ‘When We Was Fab’ – George Harrison song with an appearance from Ringo Starr
George really loved Ringo’s contribution to “When We Was Fab” from his 1987 album, Cloud Nine. He often said that Ringo’s drumming on the track and various others made the album sound authentic. It sounded like true rock ‘n’ roll. Ringo enters the song much like “Wah-Wah,” with his fill and keeps a steady back beat throughout.
During a 1987 interview, George explained that he always knew what he’d get when he asked Ringo to appear on an album. “You couldn’t make an ex-Beatle record without having Ringo, could you?” George said. “It’s like a built-in thing.” George rarely needed to tell Ringo what to do. He always instinctively knew. “He never practices, he’s a very naughty boy. But he just gets his sticks and he just does it, and it sounds just like Ringo.”
Unfortunately, The Beatles never reunited on the stage or in the recording studio. However, George, Paul, and Ringo came together to make The Beatles Anthology and two new songs, “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love,” in the late 1990s. At least there was that.
