The Beatles’ 1968 self-titled album had most of its songs written in the spring of that year when the band were at a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India.
From May to October, the Fab Four recorded the album at Abbey Road, where arguments broke out over creative differences.
Tensions also weren’t helped by the continual presence of John Lennon’s new girlfriend Yoko Ono, who broke The Beatles’ rule of not having wives or partners in the studio.
However, in one interview, Sir Ringo Starr – who turns 84 this weekend – claimed that a song Lennon wrote for the record reunited The Beatles, making them closer than ever before.
Ringo features as a talking head in the Abbey Road Studios Disney+ documentary, If These Walls Could Sing, alongside Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and more.
In the film directed by Macca’s daughter Mary McCartney, The Beatles drummer said: “When it came to the White Album, I loved the White Album because it wasn’t really mentioned, but we knew we wanna be a band again.” The 84-year-old then revealed his favourite song from the record.
Ringo continued: “My favourite track is Yer Blues, where we took everything into a room, not as big as this [small] carpet.” The Beatles recorded Lennon’s track in the Abbey Road Storage Room, a large closet in the studio’s control room.
The drummer said with glee: “We just, like, rocked it. We just, y’know, turned into this incredible, closest band. It’s one of the all-time great memories for me.” Lennon penned Yer Blues in India when he was “trying to reach God and feeling suicidal”.
Yer Blues is a parody of blues music, especially by white English musicians during its boom in 1968. Speaking previously with Rolling Stone, McCartney said of the recording: “We were talking about this tightness, this packed-in-a-tin thing. So we got in a little cupboard – a closet that had microphone leads and things, with a drum kit, amps turned to the walls, one mic for John. We did Yer Blues live and it was really good.”
Later that year, Lennon would perform Yer Blues at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus with his supergroup The Dirty Mac, which also included Eric Clapton and Keith Richards.
If These Walls Could Sing is streaming now on Disney+. For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123 or visit a local Samaritans branch.
