Starr agreed, and when he arrived at Music City Recorders on June 25, he was welcomed by a top flight crew of talent, including guitarists Jerry Reed and Charlie Daniels, Roy Orbison bassist Buddy Harmon, and Elvis Presley’s drummer DJ Fontana, among others.
Drake could put together a top band to back him, guys used to working fast the sessions wouldn’t take more than a few days. Starr had wanted to fly musicians to England, but Drake encouraged him to record in Nashville, the heart of the country music industry. Then, while driving guitarist Pete Drake to an All Things Must Pass session, the two got to talking about the project. Beaucoups of Blues magazine ad 1970 (Photo: Google) He first considered working with John Wesley Harding producer Bob Johnston, but Johnston wanted too much money. It was actually a more understandable undertaking than covering the likes of “You Always Hurt the One You Love.” After all, he’d long been a fan of the genre, having covered Carl Perkins (“Matchbox,” “Honey Don’t”) and Johnny Russell (“Act Naturally”) while with the Beatles. Then he set his sights on doing a country album. “I did it for me mum,” he said by of explanation. In March, he’d served up Sentimental Journey, an album of standards (“Night and Day,” “Stardust,” the title track), becoming one of the first out of the gate as far as rock personalities tackling the Great American Songbook.
Ringo Starr nearly outdid them all by releasing two solo albums in 1970 (Harrison edged him out by releasing the triple LP set All Things Must Pass the same year). John Lennon and George Harrison had already been releasing experimental records (Lennon’s Unfinished Music series, Harrison’s Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sounds), and Paul McCartney finally tossed his hat in the ring in April 1970 with the release of his solo debut, McCartney. Throughout 1970, the Beatles were busy staking out their terrain as solo artists.
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