Beaucoups of Blues

Beaucoups of Blues is the second studio album by the English rock musician and former Beatle Ringo Starr. It was

released in September 1970, five months after his debut solo album, Sentimental Journey. Beaucoups of Blues is very far removed in style from its pop-based predecessor, relying on country and western influences. A longtime fan of the genre, Starr recorded the album over three days in Nashville with producer Pete Drake. Beaucoups of Blues failed to chart in Britain but achieved moderate commercial success in the United States, where it reached number 35 on Billboard 's Country Albums list and number 65 on the Billboard Top LPs chart.

Recording
Starr's original idea was to have the sessions take place in England and send the master tapes of the finished tracks to Drake. However, Drake convinced him to have the sessions take place in Nashville instead.[6] All of the tracks were cut in three days, on 25, 26 and 27 June, at Music City Recorders. Sessions were engineered by Scotty Moore.[1] All the material for the album was written purposely for Starr.[nb 1][10] Guitarist Charlie Daniels recalled the sessions as "pretty typical Nashville sessions. You know, three songs in three hours. It was go in, sit down and work. Here's the songs, here's the chords, let's get it done. It was not a Beatles-type leisurely session. It was work."[7] Starr sang a duet with Jeannie Kendall on the track "I Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way".[10] Also recorded during the sessions was the B-side to the title track, "Coochy Coochy",[8][11] which originally ran to 28 minutes in length.[4] The sessions went exceedingly well, according to Starr, who has said that they recorded "a few other tracks that we didn't put out"[4] and ended the sessions with two long jam sessions, one lasting 18 minutes and the other 20 minutes.[7] Session drummer D. J. Fontana recalled that Starr "never varied from that tempo. He had the greatest conception of tempo I've ever heard in my life. I have never heard anybody play that steady in my life, and that's a long time."[7] Acetate discs of the album, which were titled Ringo in Nashville, were sold at an auction in August 1992, featured a different track order and included songs not featured on the released version of the album.[nb 2][4] It was clear to all that Starr's vocals were much more suited to the genre of country than the old standards that characterised Sentimental Journey.[10] For Starr, making Beaucoups of Blues had fulfilled a lifelong ambition.[13]