Ringo Starr released the single “Only You (And You Alone)” in the UK on November 15, 1974. It arrived alongside Goodnight Vienna, his fourth studio album, with a familiar song chosen by John Lennon. The Platters had made it a hit in 1955, and Lennon’s involvement in Starr’s remake went beyond the suggestion: he played acoustic guitar and recorded a guide vocal for Starr to follow.
Starr was working again with producer Richard Perry, who had helped him make Ringo in 1973. Their sessions drew on the musicians and friendships around them. In a 1998 interview with Paul Du Noyer, published in MOJO in 2001, Starr recalled Perry inviting him to Los Angeles to make that earlier record and finding friends available to join in. “On albums I’ve always had lots of friends come and play,” he said. Harry Nilsson was among the returning collaborators who helped carry that approach into Goodnight Vienna.
For “Only You,” Starr had to find his own way through a melody that sat high for his voice. In the liner notes for his 2007 compilation Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr, he explained that the difficulty led him into what he called “this strange falsetto.” He liked the result. Nilsson supplied the harmony vocals around Starr’s lead, giving the recording another singer with whom he had already worked.
Lennon also wrote “(It’s All Down to) Goodnight Vienna” for the album. Those two contributions gave Starr both a new song and a route back to a 1950s hit. For the single’s flip side, Apple used “Call Me,” Starr’s own composition, which also appeared on Goodnight Vienna. American listeners had received the single four days before its British release.
Nilsson’s involvement carried into the promotional film, which placed him with Starr on the roof of the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles. Starr wore a spacesuit, while Nilsson appeared in a dressing gown. The setting extended the science-fiction imagery of Goodnight Vienna: its cover adapted a still from the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, substituting Starr’s face for the alien visitor’s. A flying saucer on the Capitol tower took that idea into the single’s promotion.
“Only You (And You Alone)” reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 28 in Britain. It also topped Billboard’s Easy Listening chart in early 1975, giving the recording a No. 1 showing beyond the main pop chart.
Listeners got to hear the recording with Lennon singing lead in 1998, when his guide vocal appeared on John Lennon Anthology and the companion collection Wonsaponatime. The vocal came from the 16-track master for Starr’s recording, produced by Perry. A performance made to guide Starr through the song had become part of Lennon’s officially released catalog.
