"Early 1970" is a country rock song written and recorded by English musician Ringo Starr, released as the B-side to his single "It Don't Come Easy" on April 9, 1971, in the United States and the United Kingdom.[1] The track, credited solely to Starr under his birth name Richard Starkey, provides a lighthearted yet poignant snapshot of the personal lives and strained relationships among the former Beatles members in the wake of the band's 1970 breakup.[2]Recorded on October 3, 1970, at Abbey Road Studios in London during a break from John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band sessions, "Early 1970" features Starr on vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, dobro, piano, and upright bass, with contributions from George Harrison on electric guitar and piano, and Klaus Voormann on bass guitar and acoustic guitar.[1] The song's working titles included "When I Come To Town (Four Nights In Moscow)" and "When Four Nights Come To Town," reflecting its initial conceptual stages.[1]Lyrically, "Early 1970" chronicles the post-Beatles pursuits of each member: John Lennon's primal scream therapy with Yoko Ono, George Harrison's spiritual explorations as a long-haired guitarist, Paul McCartney's farm life in Scotland with his new wife Linda, and Starr's own modest reflections on his career limitations, punctuated by humorous sound effects like car horns and sheep bleats.[3] Starr later described it as "the first time [he] commented on the breakup and Paul’s attitude towards us at the time," capturing the tensions over band management and McCartney's lawsuit against the others while expressing hope for future reconciliation.[1] Despite its non-album status, the single reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the song later appeared on compilations such as Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr.[1]
Development
Background and inspiration
The Beatles' official breakup was announced on April 10, 1970, through Paul McCartney's press release accompanying his debut solo album McCartney, an event that profoundly disoriented Ringo Starr and prompted deep reflection on the band's fracturing dynamics after a decade of collaboration.[4] Starr, often positioned as the group's mediator, experienced the dissolution as particularly jarring amid escalating tensions, including McCartney's opposition to manager Allen Klein—a choice supported by Starr, Lennon, and Harrison—which culminated in a heated confrontation in March 1970 where McCartney angrily ejected Starr from his home over disputes regarding solo album release timings and business decisions.[3]Starr's transition to a solo career accelerated in the wake of these events, marked by the September 1970 release of his album Beaucoups of Blues, recorded over three intensive days in Nashville in June 1970 with veteran country producer Pete Drake.[5] This immersion in Nashville's music scene exposed Starr to authentic country techniques and personnel, fostering a stylistic shift toward twangy, roots-oriented sounds that would inform subsequent projects, including the country-shuffle rhythm of "Early 1970."[6]The song's creation was directly inspired by Starr's evolving relationships with his former bandmates: McCartney's retreat to his Scottish farm amid withdrawal from group affairs; Lennon's profound personal upheavals, including primal scream therapy and his deepening partnership with Yoko Ono; and Harrison's embrace of spiritual exploration and guitar experimentation, which even extended to contributing to the track itself.[3][6] Initially bearing the working titles "When Four Nights Come to Town" and "When I Come To Town (Four Nights In Moscow)," the piece developed from Starr's private reflections on these separations—capturing his lingering affection and hope for reconnection—into a cohesive song structure.[1]
Composition
"Early 1970" features a verse-chorus structure that underscores its introspective tone, with each verse dedicated to one of Ringo Starr's former Beatles bandmates, culminating in a self-reflective bridge. The opening verse addresses Paul McCartney's retreat to rural isolation on his farm, complete with a family life and a whimsical "beep beep" evoking his car, symbolizing a desire for reconnection amid McCartney's withdrawal from the group's dynamics.[1] The second verse shifts to John Lennon, portraying him with his "cocoanut head" following primal scream therapy.[7]The third verse turns to George Harrison, depicting him as a "long-haired, cross-legged guitar picker" with a "wicked smile," alluding to his embrace of spiritual growth and Eastern influences following the Beatles' dissolution.[1] The bridge then features Starr's candid admission of his own limitations as a songwriter—"No, I can't write no hit songs, I can't even play the piano"—contrasting his humility with the talents of his ex-bandmates while expressing hope for future collaboration.[2] This verse-by-verse progression frames the song as a personal outreach, emphasizing themes of friendship, forgiveness, and forward momentum in the post-Beatles era, often described as a "rough draft of a peace treaty" among the former members.Musically, the track employs a straightforward verse-chorus form in A major, relying on basic I-IV-V chord patterns such as A-D-E progressions that contribute to its unpretentious, reflective mood.[8] A bridge provides a moment of introspection before returning to the chorus, where Starr repeatedly wonders if his friends "will play with me," reinforcing the reconciliatory intent. The arrangement draws from Starr's exposure to country music during his 1970 Nashville sessions for the album Beaucoups of Blues, incorporating twangy acoustic guitar elements and implications of pedal steel-like slides through dobro overdubs, evoking a rustic, heartfelt simplicity that aligns with the song's themes of camaraderie.[9] The overall length clocks in at around 3:00, allowing the composition to convey its message with economy and warmth.[1]
Production
Recording
The basic track for "Early 1970" was recorded on 3 October 1970 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London, during a break in sessions for John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band project.[10] Ringo Starr led the production, employing a country-rock arrangement that drew from his recent experiences recording in Nashville for the album Beaucoups of Blues earlier that year. The setup featured Starr on rhythm acoustic guitar and drums, with Klaus Voormann contributing bass guitar, reflecting the informal, collaborative spirit among former Beatles associates in the wake of the band's breakup.[1]Overdubs were added after the basic track to complete it; these included Starr's performances on dobro, piano, and upright bass.[10] George Harrison contributed electric guitar and piano parts as part of the session at Abbey Road Studios.[1] The overall recording timeline for the single's related tracks, including the A-side "It Don't Come Easy," spanned from March to October 1970, allowing for iterative refinements across multiple studios.[11]Some accounts speculate unconfirmed participation by John Lennon in the initial session due to the overlapping Plastic Ono Band work, though this is not definitively supported. Participant accounts of the sessions have been hampered by fading memories over time, resulting in some ongoing uncertainties regarding exact instrumental contributions and the sequence of overdubs.[10] Despite these challenges, the production captured a raw, heartfelt country inflection, aligning with Starr's evolving style post-Beatles.[1]
Personnel
Ringo Starr performed lead vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, dobro, piano, and upright bass on "Early 1970".[1] George Harrison contributed electric guitar and piano.[1] Klaus Voormann played bass guitar and acoustic guitar, though some accounts note variations in recollections among participants.[1] These credits, drawn from session documentation, confirm John Lennon's non-involvement despite initial speculations tied to overlapping solo projects.[1] While the song's country flavor has led to speculation about uncredited pedal steel guitar by Pete Drake—stemming from his work on related Ringo sessions in Nashville earlier that year—no verified sources attribute it to this London-based recording.[1]
Release
Single and initial availability
"Early 1970" was released on April 9, 1971, in the UK (Apple R 5898) and April 16, 1971, in the US (Apple 1831), as the B-side to Ringo Starr's single "It Don't Come Easy" on Apple Records.[1][12] Issued in the standard 7-inch vinyl format at 45 RPM, the single marked Starr's initial foray into major solo releases following the recording sessions completed in October 1970.[10]The A-side, "It Don't Come Easy," achieved significant commercial success, peaking at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 4 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[13][14] This performance underscored the single's overall impact, with bundled sales driving its chart achievements, though "Early 1970" itself did not receive standalone charting recognition.[1]As Starr's first prominent post-Beatles hit single, the release highlighted his successful transition to a solo artist amid the group's 1970 dissolution, benefiting from heavy promotion by Apple Records.[11]
Subsequent compilations and reissues
"Early 1970" first appeared on a compilation album with the 1975 release of Blast from Your Past (Apple PAS 10009), a collection of Ringo Starr's non-album singles from the early 1970s.[15]The track was included as a bonus track on the 1991 compact disc reissue of Starr's 1973 album Ringo, appearing alongside the single "It Don't Come Easy" and "Down and Out" to expand the original album's content.[16]In 2007, it featured on the career-spanning compilation Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo, which gathered key tracks from Starr's solo catalog up to that point.[17]As part of Apple Records' 2010 remastering initiative for the solo Beatles' recordings, "Early 1970" received updated audio treatment and became available in digital formats, including enhanced CD editions of relevant albums like Ringo.[18]The song has streamed on major platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music throughout the 2010s and beyond, ensuring its accessibility in modern listening environments.[19]In 2025, as part of ongoing reissues (as of November 2025), Starr's first four solo albums were rereleased on colored vinyl by UMe, though "Early 1970" remained a non-album track.[20]
Upon its release as the B-side to "It Don't Come Easy" in April 1971, "Early 1970" received limited attention in the music press, largely overshadowed by the A-side's success.In The Beatles Apart (1981), Bob Woffinden viewed the song as an admission by Starr that he "clearly needed help" with his songwriting.
Retrospective assessments and legacy
In the 2000s, music historian Peter Doggett analyzed "Early 1970" in his 2009 book You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup as a poignant artifact of the post-Beatles era, portraying it as Ringo Starr's "rough draft of a peace treaty" that candidly addressed the emotional fallout of the band's dissolution while expressing hope for ongoing friendships. This perspective emphasized the song's role in humanizing the former members' transitions to solo careers amid public tensions. By the 2020s, podcasts such as the 2020 episode of The Kinks and Beatles Daily Deep Dive have revisited it as a key chapter in the solo Beatles narratives, underscoring its autobiographical insight into Starr's relationships with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney.[21]The song's legacy endures as a symbol of reconciliation in analyses of the Beatles' breakup, frequently cited in retrospectives for its gentle plea to maintain personal and musical ties despite the split. Doggett highlights how its verses dedicated to each ex-bandmate captured Starr's conciliatory stance, influencing his confessional style in subsequent releases like the 1973 album Ringo, where all four Beatles contributed tracks, marking a thawing of relations. This collaborative effort echoed the song's optimistic tone, transforming individual post-breakup expressions into a shared artistic milestone.Recent coverage from 2023 to 2024 has praised the track's authenticity in follow-up discussions tied to Beatles documentaries, with outlets like American Songwriter in 2024 describing it as a sincere update on the strained dynamics, revealing Starr's "desire for amity" among the group.[3] Similarly, Rolling Stone Australia in 2024 lauded its "friendliest, funniest" handling of breakup pain, reinforcing its emotional honesty.[6]As a rare B-side, "Early 1970" has maintained cultural impact, frequently cited in retrospectives on the Beatles' solo careers. Ties to 50th anniversary reflections on the 1970 breakup, such as Rob Sheffield's 2020 Rolling Stone piece, have cemented its status as the "most candid response" to the era's turmoil, ensuring its place in ongoing narratives of the Beatles' enduring bonds.[22]