Ringo the 4th *** 1977

Ringo Starr - "Ringo the 4th" [Full Album]

01. 00:00 "Drowning In the Sea of Love"
02. 05:09 "Tango All Night"
03. 08:08 "Wings"
04. 11:35 "Gave It All Up"
05. 16:17 "Out On the Streets"
06. 20:48 "Can She Do It Like She Dances"
07. 24:01 "Sneaking Sally Through the Alley"
08. 28:19 "It's No Secret"
09. 32:02 "Gypsies In Flight"
10. 35:06 "Simple Love Song"

Ringo the 4th is the sixth album by Ringo Starr, released in 1977. It is in fact, his sixth studio album, but his fourth rock album. Ringo the 4th has more dance-oriented context, not typical for Ringo Starr.

After the commercial disappointment of Ringo's Rotogravure (1976), Starr decided to shift his formula of using his well-known musician friends (notably his fellow ex-Beatles) to write songs and appear on his albums. Instead, he intensified his partnership with Vini Poncia, with whom he wrote several of the songs featured here, while using the input of different musicians. The album was produced by Arif Mardin. The cover photos were by Starr's fiancee, Nancy Lee Andrews. David Foster played keyboards on a couple of songs, while Melissa Manchester and Bette Midler occasionally appeared on backing vocals.

Ringo the 4th was reissued on CD in the US by Atlantic Records on 18 August 1992 without any bonus tracks.

The song "Wings" was re-recorded years later and released on Ringo's Ringo 2012 album and again as a lead single in 2012.

Ringo the 4th was a dismal failure upon its release, both commercially and critically. Never touching the UK charts, the album limped to a paltry #162 in the US, before expiring. Shortly thereafter, Atlantic Records dropped Starr from their roster. In the UK, Polydor fulfilled its three-album contractual requirement by following up with a children's album, Scouse the Mouse which featured Starr, in the lead role, performing the lion's share of the material.

Journalist Peter Palmiere states in his front cover story on Starr for DISCoveries magazine in January 2003 that "The music critics and the record buying public took the album as a joke for Ringo's voice was not suitable for the disco flavored music on Ringo the 4th". Palmiere went on to claim that Ringo the 4th destroyed Starr's career and that he never commercially recovered from it.

Of the 45s pulled from Ringo the 4th, "Wings" and "Drowning in the Sea of Love", neither charted (in the US). However, both featured what is now probably one of Starr's most sought after rarities on the flip side: "Just a Dream". The US stock copy of "Drowning in the Sea of Love" is ultra rare and copies in any condition tend to fetch a hefty sum amongst collectors. In foreign countries, other songs were released as singles: "Sneaking Sally through the Alley" / "Tango All Night" (Australia) and "Tango All Night" / "It's No Secret" (Argentina).