Going solo after finding success in a band is hard to do, especially when that band is the greatest in the history of music,The Beatles. Some listeners take for granted the post-band success of solo acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Beyoncé, Paul Simon, Lauryn Hill, and Harry Styles. It’s not impossible or a rare sight, but often easier said than done.
That task becomes all the harder when a musician has to break away from a band as influential and vital to music as The Beatles were. Theoretically, a post-Beatles life could only go downhill after walking away from a band that big. Any lesser musician would struggle to find success anywhere near what the Beatles achieved.
Thankfully, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr are all far from being lesser musicians. The success they all produced in their respective careers largely rivals that of what they did together, and the music remains just as good.
10"Photograph" By Ringo Starr
Written by Ringo Starr and George Harrison
Ringo Starr’sRingoalbum is a unique addition to any former Beatles' catalog, as it is the only post-Beatles album to feature contributions from all four former members of the Beatles. “Photograph,” the platinum album’s lead single, was written by Starr with help from George Harrison. They collaborated during a holiday yacht trip with their wives in the South of France, having a brainstorming session of sorts with everyone onboard. The result was an upbeat song with bittersweet lyrics revolving around losing a lover and having nothing after the breakup but a photograph of memories.
In addition to lyricism, Harrison offers acoustic guitar and backup vocals to the record, but the song is ultimately Starr’s.The lyrics may be somber, but the tune itself is so catchy that it’s easy to dance along and ignore the doom that looms over the song.
9"Band On The Run" By Wings
Written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney
Following up a run with a band like The Beatles by joining another band is just as difficult as following it up as a solo artist. Any post-band attempt at a music career comes with expectations from fans wondering how a musician may follow things up. Doing so with another band is a bold choice as it will always come with comparisons and contrasts to the former band, but McCartney was lucky enough to find another good, successful band in Wings.
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Wings would feature a revolving door of instrumentalists but always maintained the core of himself and his wife Linda.One of their crowning achievements as writers and performers was “Band on the Run,” the title track of their third studio album. The song is all about escaping to freedom.
8"Mother" By John Lennon
Written by John Lennon
John Lennon had a complicated relationship with his parents, but he also understood that, good or bad, everyone has a complicated relationship with their parents.He wrote “Mother” with that perspective in mind, as the 1970 record isn’t just about his parents, but parentage as a whole concept. For those unaware, John’s father abandoned him when he was a young boy. Meanwhile, while his relationship with his mother was ultimately positive before she died when she was 17, she did give him away to his aunt when he was but a small boy.
“Mother” speaks to the intricacies of a parent’s relationship with their child, both the good and the bad. This is one of those topics that seems difficult on the surface to lend a voice to, but the masterful lyricism of Lennon manages to pull at the heartstrings.
7"FourFiveSeconds" By Paul McCartney, Rihanna & Kanye West
Written by Kanye “Ye” West, Paul McCartney, Kirby Lauryen, Mike Dean, Tyrone Griffin, Dave Longstreth, Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty, Dallas Austin, Elon Rutberg, Noah Goldstein
An old school artist usually struggles to maintain relevancy in the modern scope of music, something that arguably might be even more difficult than going solo after leaving a band. The fact that Paul McCartney has done so, continuing to work with the top brass of musicians - likethe “Umbrella” songstress Rihannaand the currently rechristened Ye - is a testament of his skill, but also his willingness to take a backseat to his collaborators when appropriate.
Despite receiving a feature credit, “FourFiveSeconds” only features vocals from Ye and Rihanna. McCartney only has some faint adlibs during Ye’s verse. It’s an interesting creative choice, considering McCartney is still a competent singer at his age, but it’s a choice that amounted to dividends. Not only does it feel soulful thanks to McCartney’s acoustics, but the song was a bonafide hit,marking the last time a Beatle peaked at number two on the Billboard charts.
6"All Things Must Pass" By George Harrison
Written by George Harrison
The title track of George Harrison’s third solo album, “All Things Must Pass” in many waysset the tone for George Harrison’s post-Beatles career. The album itself was Harrison’s first post-Beatles project and it was an ambitious effort at that, releasing as a triple album experience. The nearly two-hour odyssey proved to be a folk rock classic, but as with any album, the title track is what draws the most attention from any album.
“All Things Must Pass” stands out as the album’s best song for many listeners. Harrison’s solo songs have been overlooked in more recent years as much as any of theBeatles most underrated tracksthat deserve more attention. If any song in Harrison’s catalog deserves more attention, it’s “All Things Must Pass.” Hopefully more listeners are willing to re-discover the song and its accompanying album as a hidden gem.
5"Beautiful Boy" By John Lennon
Double Fantasyis John Lennon’s fifth and final solo album, and was instantly recognized as the standout of his record. His former Beatles stablemate, Paul McCartney, would call it his favorite Lennon track as a guest on BBC’s Desert Island Discs, and it’s easy to see why. The song is one of the more emotional tracks to come out from any ofthe Beatles since their breakup.
Lennon dedicated “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” to his son, Sean Lennon, expressing the joy that comes from him watching his son grow. Obviously, there is a bittersweet caveat to the song knowing that the elder Lennon would not be able to watch Sean grow into adulthood, but that does not take away from the unapologetic tenderness that the songster carries for his son.
4"Time On My Hands" By Ringo Starr
Written by Daniel Tashian, Paul Kennerley & T Bone Burnett
It is truly a testament to Ringo Starr’s talent as a performer that at 84 years old and in the 21st album of his discography,the former Beatle is still producing some of the best songs of his career. That certainly feels like that is the caseon album #21,Look Up, where “Time on My Hands” can be considered the best song on his most recent album.
In many regards, the album tells a story in total, but “Time on My Hands” tells a story that anyone who has endured a tumultuous breakup can relate to. It’s merely about a man who was once wholly consumed by the love of his love, only for him to have far too much time on his hands now that the love of his life is no longer in his life. It’s a crushing feeling that words don’t do justice for, but Ringo finds a way to make sense of a universal mourning for love.
3"The Girl is Mine" By Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Written by Michael Jackson
One of the most important friendships that Paul McCartney would make outside of The Beatles would be that which he’d form with Michael Jackson, mutually so. It can be further argued that this isone of the most important friendships in music history.Not just because a conversation inspiresthe iconic singer MJto buy ATV Music Publishing, but because they are among each other’s best collaborator’s, producing some of the best pop sensations within the pop genre.
One of their masterpieces is “The Girl is Mine,” which itself is placed on the tracklist of one of the most critically acclaimed American music albums,Thriller. It is quite a compliment for “The Girl is Mine” to be praised as one of the best songs on an album that includes beloved tracks like “Thriller,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” and “Human Nature.”
2"Say Say Say" By Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Written by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
“The Girl is Mine” received such widespread acclaim and attention that one year later, the duo reunited as Paul McCartney was crafting his second solo album not long after breaking up with his second band, Wings. Granted, the song would not arrive until it was picked for the lead single of his third solo album,Pipes of Peace,but it was well worth the wait.
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Listeners who loved “The Girl is Mine” were certainly waiting with eager anticipation to witness another top-notch song from the two, and “Say Say Say” absolutely delivered. It’s truly a toss-up to argue for which song is better than the other. If one thing is undeniable, it is thatsongs like “Say Say Say” speak for themselves, this one being a certified gold recorded ranking as one of the best songs to reach the Billboard 100.
1"Imagine" By John Lennon
Written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
For many, “Imagine” ranks as one of the greatest songs ever made. Few post-Beatles productions hold that same level of critical acclaim, but at the same time,few Beatles songs carry the same level of popularity in a modern context as “Imagine” does. Readers can’t forget that “Imagine” re-entered the pop culture lexicon during the pandemic for the infamous celebrity viral video, which would be parodied byThe Deep onThe Boys. Truth be told, the song never left that lexicon thanks largely to how iteerily predicted the future.
“Imagine” was an instant classic in 1971, and still resonates as strongly with audiences today, if not more so. The Beatles as an entity are timeless, and perhaps the same can be argued for some songs they wrote solo, but even then, no options remain as timeless of an achievement as John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
