We all know “Here Comes the Sun.” It’s one of the world’s favorite Beatles songs–which is saying a lot given how many hits they have between the four of them. Despite the sun-soaked musicality of this 1969 release, one band member found it more of a pain in the studio than a potential hit.
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Ringo Starr‘s drumming is as distinctive as anything else about the Fab Four. Though he may not be as splashy as other drummers, he has always known exactly how to suit the song. “Here Comes the Sun” was no exception.
[RELATED: 5 Times Ringo Starr Stepped into the Spotlight as The Beatles’ Lead Singer]
Starr’s drum fills are what give this track its gravitas. They are the only break from the continuous beat he has to keep up throughout the entirety of the song. Apparently, he had trouble switching back to that simple beat after the rapid drum riff he used to signify the end of each chorus.
“Ringo’s tom fills really make the song, but funnily enough, he hated doing them because he could never remember what he was doing one take to the next,” engineer Geoff Emerick once recalled. “I think that’s why his fills are so spectacular—he felt that he would never reproduce them, so he’d better get ’em right.”
“What was great was in the intro to that song, before we did it, [the song’s writer, George Harrison] said, ‘Hey, Ringo, I’ve got this song, it’s in 7/4 time,’” Starr further explained to Esquire. “I said, ‘What are you telling me for? I’m 4/4 or 3/4, you know that.’”
Despite his trouble, he always pulled off the song in spades. It’s hard to not get a rush when his first riff comes in at the beginning of the song. Revisit the classic track, below, paying extra attention to the steady beat in the background.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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