Lorne Greene - "Ringo"
Hit Number 1: December 5, 1964
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
The only reason this song ever became a #1 hit had to have been because it had the name of a Beatle in the title. At a time where anything Beatle related was selling well, the time couldn't have been more perfect for "Ringo". And the artist who released it was none other than "Bonanza" star Lorne Greene. Greene had said the song was written as a typical western ballad, a lot like what we saw earlier with "El Paso", and that before the song was written, had asked for something that fit with his persona on the show "Bonanza". The funny thing is, Greene himself acknowledged the theory that his song only became a real hit because of having a Beatle name as the title. However, he still believed that the teens who were likely buying his song wouldn't be disappointed, as seeing it was about a country outlaw instead. It's worth noting that reportedly the song was recorded before the Beatles arrived, so Greene wasn't actually taking advantage of anything or anyone.
Greene was known to throw little intros into all of his songs without any instruments, and of course "Ringo" is no different. After his intro, the backing track begins, and the narrator begins to tell his story about this fictional "Ringo". (Though Greene was under the impression the song was about the famous outlaw Johnny Ringo, the song doesn't match his story at all) It's about a Western lawman (the narrator) who tells of his own experiences with Ringo. The narrator (before he became a lawman) saves Ringo's life at the beginning after he was nearly dead from a gunshot wound, and he nursed him until he made a full recovery. The narrator notes how impressive Ringo's gun draw was as he practiced with his gun, and he seems to end up gaining some respect for him. After he's at full strength again, the two go their separate ways, with the narrator becoming a lawman and Ringo committing senseless crimes with his gun. The now-lawman knows that the day will come when the two will have to face off against each other, and when that day comes, he hears that Ringo was "holed up in the town". He goes into where Ringo was alone, and as he draws his gun, Ringo shoots it out of his hand. Instead of killing the narrator he just looks at him and says "We're even friend".
However, the song doesn't have a happy ending. Ringo knew that he was screwed, and the narrator blocked his only way of escaping. So as Ringo went into the street with the rest of the townspeople, he was shot several times, and died instantly. The town began to cheer and celebrate, and no one mourned Ringo's loss. It's certainly a lot better of a story than "Leader of the Pack", but it's not that great of a SONG. Greene never sings anything, in fact the only singing comes from a male backing chorus singing the song's title. There aren't any amazing qualities to speak of with this song, except maybe the dramatic tone in which Greene speaks. But at the end of the day, all "Ringo" is, is Lorne Greene telling us a story, albeit a pretty cool story. But the song sounds pretty dull and gray. It's not one I'll be going out of my way to listen to anytime soon.
GRADE: 3/10
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