Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Beatles-Related Question of the Day

If Ringo had a good enough voice to sing lead on several numbers, how come they never had him sing backup?

4 comments:

Pike said...

My theory is that Ringo had at best a quirky voice and would flat now and again -- and those aren't the qualities you look for in back-up singers, who need to sing as a unified group and blend.

Scraps said...

I'm guessing that he didn't know how to harmonize.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this blog! As a huge Beatles fan, I find your posts pertaining to them the most enjoyable to read. Good question though...I agree with Pike. Ringo has a quirky, fun voice. But John, Paul, and George did spectacular harmonizing with one another. Ringo's voice would probably stick out like a sore note!

Anonymous said...

Hahaha. Good one. I had never thought of this. Paul used to say they only gave Ringo a song per LP because he had specific fans and they wanted to appease them.

For the record, you can hear him in the background on "Flying," "Bungalo Bill" and "Carry That Weight." He really does stick out. But for that matter, when you hear the odd Bill Wyman vocal on Stones' records ("Yesterday's Papers") that sticks out too.