Written by: Bobby Pierce
Recorded: 27 June 1970
Producer: Pete Drake
Engineer: Scotty Moore
Released: 25 September 1970 (UK), 28 September 1970 (US)
Available on:
Beaucoups Of Blues
Personnel
Ringo Starr: vocals
Charlie Daniels, Chuck Howard, Jerry Kennedy, Dave Kirby, Sorrells Pickard, Jerry Shook: guitar
Ben Keith/Pete Drake: pedal steel guitar
Roy Huskey Jr: upright bass
Buddy Harman/DJ Fontana: drums
Charlie McCoy: harmonica
Hoyt Hawkins, Neal Matthews Jr, Gordon Stoker, Ray Walker: vocals
‘Loser’s Lounge’ is the tenth song on Beaucoups Of Blues, Ringo Starr’s second solo album.
The song was written by Bobby Pierce, and first recorded in 1969 by Cal Smith. It was inspired by a real-life bar in Wisconsin that Pierce used to visit.
In the studio
Beaucoups Of Blues was recorded at Music City Recorders in Nashville, TN, with a number of local musicians, some of whom had appeared on Bob Dylan’s albums Nashville Skyline and Self Portrait. The album was produced by Pete Drake, with Elvis Presley’s guitarist Scotty Moore engineering.
The sessions took place from 6pm-9pm and 10pm-1am over three nights, from 25-27 June 1970. ‘Loser’s Lounge’ was recorded during the first session on the night of 27 June.
Lyrics
There’s a honky tonk in this town
They call the loser’s lounge
And I guess I’m a charter member, you could say
Since love has turned me down
Nothing to do but hang around
And listen to all the fools who come to say
That life is full of heartaches for a poor boy
’Cause a bank roll can turn his woman’s head around
Ain’t no use to try and run away or move to another town
’Cause anywhere a poor boy goes there’s a loser’s lounge
Had a real good friend named Sam
Said he just couldn’t understand
Why in the world his sweet love let him down
But a rich man caught her eye
He had the money for things to buy
Now there’s a brand new member down at the loser’s lounge
That life is full of heartbreaks for a poor boy
’Cause a bank roll can turn his woman’s head around
Ain’t no use to try and run away or move to another town
’Cause anywhere a poor boy goes there’s a loser’s lounge
Oh yeah
