While Starr provided his distinctive drums and backing vocals to the majority of The Beatles' output, he only ever penned two songs of his own – a country rocker called 'Don't Pass Me By' which appeared on 'The White Album' and the jovial children's classic 'Octopus' Garden' on 'Abbey Road'. However, many speculate that George Harrison was instrumental in helping him out with writing 'Octopus' Garden'.

Ringo also sang lead vocals on some Lennon/McCartney songs that were penned to work with his distinct (and somewhat limited) baritone vocal range, in particular 'With a Little Help from My Friends' and 'Yellow Submarine'. In contrast, the unstoppable Lennon/McCartney songwriting machine cranked out around 180 songs which co-credited them both, despite how much input either party contributed. This is similar to the Jagger/Richards partnership in The Rolling Stones.