It was 55 years ago today (March 29th, 1967) that the Beatles recorded "With A Little Help From My Friends." The song, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney specifically for Ringo Starr to sing, was originally called "Bad Finger Boogie" and was one of the standout tracks on their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
In author Hunter Davies' 1968 The Beatles' Authorized Biography, readers were allowed a sneak peak into how Lennon and McCartney worked, as he chronicled them coming up with lyrics for the song's verses and taking suggestions from anyone who happened to be around — even rejecting an idea from Lennon's first wife Cynthia.
The song's basic track included McCartney on piano, Lennon on cowbell, George Harrison on lead guitar, and producer George Martin on Hammond organ. It took ten takes for the song to be completed, after which Ringo recorded his lead vocal. "With A Little Help From My Friends" has gone on to become one of Ringo Starr's signature tunes.