In 1973, John Lennon wrote a song he was afraid to release. So he gave it to Ringo Starr instead
John Lennon wrote ‘I’m The Greatest’ in 1970 as a tongue-in-cheek reflection on his fame, but worried it might be taken as another boast after the backlash to his claim that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”. In 1973, he gave the song to Ringo Starr, whose self-deprecating delivery made its joke about celebrity and success feel more playful.
The track opened Starr’s album *Ringo* and brought three former Beatles together in the studio for the only time between the band’s 1970 break-up and Lennon’s death in 1980. Starr sang, Lennon played piano and added backing vocals, and George Harrison played guitar; Billy Preston also contributed, while Klaus Voormann played bass. Lennon’s own lead-vocal version later appeared on the 1998 box set *John Lennon Anthology*.
In short
- Lennon gave his song ‘I’m The Greatest’ to Ringo Starr.
- Starr’s version opened his 1973 album *Ringo*.
- Lennon, Starr and Harrison recorded together on the track.
Explained simply
The Beatles were a British pop group whose members were John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. After the band split in 1970, the four musicians pursued separate careers, though they sometimes worked with one another.
Lennon wrote the song as a joke about fame and success, themes closely tied to the Beatles’ extraordinary popularity. He had faced criticism after saying the band was more popular than Jesus, so he was concerned listeners might see the song as a serious boast.
Starr’s relaxed, self-mocking style gave the song a different feel. Its recording also matters as a rare occasion when Lennon, Starr and Harrison played together after the Beatles split; McCartney was not part of the session.