portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Saturday, November 24, 2018

I have mentioned this album before but not posted the single which I loved and it struck a chord with me about loss and what it is to be left with just a photograph . . . . . .

On this day in music history: November 24, 1973 - “Photograph” by Ringo Starr hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 1 week. Written by Ringo Starr and George Harrison, it is the first solo chart topper for the former Beatle drummer. Ringo Starr’s self-titled third album, has its genesis in early 1973 after producer Richard Perry (Nilsson, Captain Beefheart) asks Starr if he’ll be a presenter at the Grammy Awards which are being telecast in Nashville, TN that year. Starr in turn suggests to Perry that they work together. Perry accepts the offer, quickly assembling musicians and booking studio time in L.A.. They record five songs in five days including all three major singles from the album.  Ringo calls on his former Beatle band mates including George Harrison, who writes two songs for the project, with he and Starr collaborating on “Photograph”. The track features various musician friends including Harrison on 12-string acoustic guitar and harmony vocals, Nicky Hopkins (keyboards), Jim Keltner (drums), Klaus Voorman (bass), Bobby Keys (saxophone) and is arranged by Jack Nitzsche. Any previous doubts about the former Beatle drummer’s post band fortunes are immediately smashed, when “Photograph” is released as the first single from “Ringo” on September 24, 1973. Entering the Hot 100 at #74 on October 6, 1973, it climbs to the top of the chart seven weeks later. The original 45 pressing of the single come with custom picture labels of Starr lying under a silver metallic sheet with the image cropped in the shape of a star. This same image is used for the single picture sleeve and for the labels of the original vinyl LP. “Photograph” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

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