Ringo Starr Solo Discography – The Complete Guide

Ringo Starr has released more than twenty solo studio albums since The Beatles disbanded in 1970 — a prolific and surprisingly varied body of work that spans country, pop, rock, and orchestral standards. He is the most underrated of the four former Beatles as a solo artist, and his early 1970s run — culminating in the self-titled Ringo (1973) — produced some of the most purely enjoyable music of the post-Beatles era.

He is also the only former Beatle to have reunited all three of his surviving bandmates on a single record. That record is Ringo (1973). It is worth the price of admission alone.

→ For Ringo Starr's Beatles years, see the Ringo Starr Hub.
→ For every Beatles album, see the Beatles Albums Complete Guide.

Sentimental Journey (1970)

Released: 27 March 1970 | Label: Apple Records | Producer: George Martin and others

Ringo Starr's debut solo album was released before The Beatles had officially broken up — and it is about as far from rock and roll as it is possible to get. Sentimental Journey is an album of pre-war standards — the songs Ringo's mother had played around the house in Liverpool — arranged by a different arranger for each track, including George Martin, Quincy Jones, and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees.

It is a deeply personal album, made as a gift for his mother Elsie. Commercially, it reached #7 in the UK. Critically, it baffled everyone. It remains a charming and genuinely touching oddity.

Key tracks: Sentimental Journey, Stardust, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
UK Chart: #7 | US Chart: #22

Beaucoups of Blues (1970)

Released: 25 September 1970 | Label: Apple Records | Producer: Pete Drake

Having made an album of pre-war standards, Ringo immediately made an album of country music. Recorded in Nashville in two days with session musicians assembled by pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake, Beaucoups of Blues is a genuine country record — not a novelty, not a pastiche, but a warm and accomplished album that sits comfortably alongside the Nashville recordings of the era.

It was recorded in June 1970, just months after the Beatles' break-up, and there is something quietly moving about its simplicity — a man retreating to the most straightforward music he could find at the most complicated moment of his professional life.

Key tracks: Beaucoups of Blues, Fastest Growing Heartache in the West, I'd Be Talking All the Time
UK Chart: #65 | US Chart: #65

Ringo (1973)

Released: 2 November 1973 | Label: Apple Records | Producer: Richard Perry

The masterpiece. Ringo is the most joyful post-Beatles album any of the four made — and the only one on which all three of Ringo's former bandmates appear. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison each contributed songs and performances, though not simultaneously. It is the closest thing to a Beatles reunion record that was ever made.

Photograph — co-written with George Harrison — reached #1 in both the UK and US. You're Sixteen reached #1 in the US. It Don't Come Easy, released as a single in 1971 and included here, had already reached #4 in the UK and #1 in the US. The album is warm, funny, and irresistibly likeable — exactly like its maker.

Harrison wrote Photograph and Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond). Lennon wrote I'm the Greatest — a song he had originally written for himself but gave to Ringo, recognising that only Ringo could sing it without irony. McCartney contributed Six O'Clock. All three appeared on the record. It is a remarkable document.

Key tracks: Photograph, You're Sixteen, I'm the Greatest, Oh My My, Six O'Clock
UK Chart: #7 | US Chart: #2

Goodnight Vienna (1974)

Released: 18 November 1974 | Label: Apple Records | Producer: Richard Perry

The follow-up to Ringo, produced again by Richard Perry, continued the commercial momentum. Only You (And You Alone) — a cover of the Platters' 1955 original — reached #1 in the US. No No Song reached #3 in the US. The album is not quite as strong as Ringo but is thoroughly enjoyable.

John Lennon contributed the title track — a brief, playful piece that opens the album. Elton John plays piano on several tracks.

Key tracks: Only You (And You Alone), No No Song, Snookeroo
UK Chart: #30 | US Chart: #8

Ringo's Rotogravure (1976)

Released: 17 September 1976 | Label: Polydor/Atlantic | Producer: Arif Mardin

The first album after Ringo's Apple Records contract ended. All three former Beatles contributed again — Lennon wrote Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love), McCartney wrote Pure Gold, Harrison wrote I'll Still Love You. The album is more polished and less spontaneous than its predecessors, but the contributions from his former bandmates give it a warmth that sustains it.

Key tracks: A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll, Hey! Baby, Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)
UK Chart: #28 | US Chart: #28

Ringo the 4th (1977) and Bad Boy (1978)

Two albums that marked a commercial and creative decline. Ringo the 4th was recorded without contributions from his former bandmates for the first time; Bad Boy followed a similar pattern. Both are pleasant but inessential. The magic of the Ringo era had passed.

UK Chart (Ringo the 4th): #162 | US Chart: #162

Stop and Smell the Roses (1981)

Released: 27 October 1981 | Label: Boardwalk Records | Producer: Various

A partial return to form, with contributions from Paul McCartney (who produced and played on two tracks) and George Harrison (who produced and played on two tracks). Lennon had been scheduled to contribute but was murdered on 8 December 1980 before he could record his parts. The album is shadowed by that loss.

Wrack My Brain — written and produced by Harrison — reached #38 in the US. Private Property, produced by McCartney, is one of the album's highlights.

Key tracks: Wrack My Brain, Private Property, Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses
UK Chart: #98 | US Chart: #98

Old Wave (1983)

Released: 24 June 1983 | Label: RCA Victor (Canada only) | Producer: Joe Walsh

Produced by Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, Old Wave was released only in Canada and Germany — no UK or US label would take it. It is a harder-rocking album than anything Ringo had previously made, and it has its moments. Its limited release means it remains largely unknown.

Time Takes Time (1992)

Released: 22 May 1992 | Label: Private Music | Producer: Various

After a nine-year gap, Ringo returned with an album produced by a rotating cast of collaborators including Jeff Lynne, Don Was, and Phil Ramone. Weight of the World was a modest hit. The album marked the beginning of Ringo's rehabilitation as a solo artist.

Key tracks: Weight of the World, Don't Know a Thing About Love
US Chart: #35

The All-Starr Band Era (1989–present)

From 1989 onwards, Ringo has toured regularly with his All-Starr Band — a rotating ensemble of rock and pop veterans that has included Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, Nils Lofgren, Billy Preston, and many others. The All-Starr Band tours have been consistently successful and have introduced Ringo's solo catalogue to new generations of fans.

Multiple live albums have been released from these tours. They capture Ringo at his most natural — on stage, surrounded by musicians he admires, playing the songs he loves.

Later Albums: Vertical Man to Reingo (1998–2023)

Ringo has released a further ten studio albums since 1998, maintaining a remarkable creative consistency into his eighties. Highlights include:

Vertical Man (1998) — Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Steven Tyler contribute. La De Da is a strong single.
Choose Love (2005) — A warm, melodic album with contributions from Van Morrison and others.
Y Not (2010) — Produced by Ringo himself, featuring Paul McCartney on bass and vocals on Walk with You.
Postcards from Paradise (2015) — His most personal late-career album, featuring a tribute to George Harrison (Rory and the Hurricanes) and a duet with Paul McCartney (Not Looking for Love).
What's My Name (2019) — Features Paul McCartney on bass throughout. One of his strongest late albums.
Reingo (2023) — A collection of re-recorded classics with new arrangements. His most recent release.

The Singles: It Don't Come Easy and Photograph

Two singles stand above everything else in Ringo's solo catalogue:

It Don't Come Easy (1971) — Co-written with George Harrison (though Harrison declined a writing credit at the time). Reached #4 in the UK and #1 in the US. One of the great post-Beatles singles — a driving, optimistic rocker with a gospel-influenced chorus and a Harrison guitar solo that is unmistakably his.

Photograph (1973) — Co-written with George Harrison. Reached #1 in both the UK and US. A melancholy, beautiful song about loss and memory that is the finest thing Ringo ever recorded. Harrison's slide guitar is heartbreaking.

Legacy

Ringo Starr's solo career is the most underrated of any former Beatle. Ringo (1973) is a masterpiece of post-Beatles pop — warm, funny, and shot through with the affection of three men who loved their drummer enough to make a record with him even after the band had fallen apart. Photograph is one of the great singles of the 1970s. And his longevity — still recording and touring in his eighties — is a testament to a man who has never stopped loving music.

He is, as he has always been, the most likeable Beatle. And that is not a small thing.