It’s the spring of 1970, and The Beatles have reached a crossroads, and the rift between the once-lockstep foursome was now growing beyond their ability to stop it. As he did in 1968 when he became the first Beatle to quit the band during the tumultuous double album sessions, Ringo Starr lead the path forward on March 27th by releasing the first commercial solo album by a Beatle: Sentimental Journey. This collection of crooner classics was hardly a masterpiece, but it draws an important distinction in Beatle history from prior solo projects in that it is a studio collection of traditional songs on a full length LP. Ringo would find himself at the center of another crucial event in the spring, when he, George and John (under the influence of Allen Klein) decided it best to delay the release of Paul McCartney’s upcoming solo album release, titled simply McCartney, to avoid direct competition with the forthcoming Beatles soundtrack LP, Let it Be. When Ringo delivered the news to Paul, he was thrown out by a ballistic McCartney who felt under fire by the entire organization. Paul objected to the appointment of Allen Klein as the band’s manager, and was overruled. Paul’s push to get the band back out on the stage to perform was met with laughable rejection. Paul’s songwriting partner, whom he had spent so many months attempting to placate (while making his own fair share of mistakes along the way), had quit the group privately while publicly proclaiming himself a saint of peace. This was the breaking point. Ringo Starr was thrown out of Paul’s house and the release of McCartney would NOT be delayed. As if history was set about repeating itself, on the eve of a new Beatles album, another Beatle quit the band. On April 9th, 1970, the press release for Paul’s solo album brought with it a public proclamation of the end of the Beatles.

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