The Beatles BibleThe last cover version recorded by The Beatles until the Get Back/Let It Be sessions in 1969, ‘Act Naturally’ was sung by Ringo Starr and appeared on the second side of the Help! album.
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WikipediaAppearing on the Help! album, Act Naturally was one of the last covers included on the Beatles original official releases.
By this stage in their career, the available recording and production technology had improved significantly and Act Naturally is also helped by a unironic/sympathetic arrangement – although it’s a Country & Western “pastiche”, the Beatles were enthusiastic enough about the genre to do it justice.
Unlike some of the earlier Starr songs, Ringo chose this one himself. Like many kids of his generation he would have grown up on Western movies. At the time it was the dominant genre – similar to superhero movies today. According to Mark Lewisohn’s Tune In, Western movies played an important role in his development as a musician:
“The trigger came at the pictures, when he watched Gene Autry, on his horse Champion, singing South Of The Border, his three Mexican compadres adding the ay-ay-ay-ays as he rode along in a white cowboy hat, big wide-open prairie spaces all around. This eureka moment in Richy Starkey’s life came together as sound and vision. He’d never forget it, and would call Autry ‘the most significant musical force in my life’.21 From Autry onwards, Richy was and stayed a big fan of cowboys, of America and Americana, of country music, and of maudlin or melodic songs that tell the story of love lost and found. He harboured the dream of so many Liverpool sons: to become a merchant seaman and sail away to the USA, the promised land.”
Ringo retained his love for country music and still sings Act Naturally as part of the Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band set today. He is also just about to release a new country album Look Up.
Act Naturally was a great choice of cover because it highlights the link, in Ringo’s psyche, between country music and movies and also deals with his screen persona. Ringo has a bigger role than the other Beatles in their movies – Hard Day’s Night, Help! and Magical Mystery Tour. As in life, but amplified, on screen he has a natural charisma – the opposite of brash or arrogant – he comes across as a witty, understated and relatable everyman which seems to be the key to a certain type of movie acting (think of Tom Hanks, for example). Because he’s relaxed in front of the camera and because he doesn’t over do the ACTING, the audience has to kind of project feelings and emotions into his character, so they’re more engaged and can identify with him. He’s the STARr because he ACTs NATURALLY. It all fits together. At least that’s my theory