Weight Of The World

Written by: Brian O’Doherty, Fred Velez
Recorded: September 1991; February 1992
Producer: Don Was

Released: 22 May 1992 (US), 29 June 1992 (UK)

Available on:
Time Takes Time

Personnel

Ringo Starr: vocals, drums, percussion
Mark Goldenberg: guitar
James ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson: bass guitar
Benmont Tench: keyboards
Roger Manning, Andy Sturmer: vocals

‘Weight Of The World’ is the opening song on Ringo Starr’s tenth solo album, 1992’s Time Takes Time.

It was produced by Don Was, who gave it a Beatlesque sound.

That’s Don Was’s input, too. I was getting a bit crazy there for a while because it was sounding not so much Beatles-ish but just like that flower-power period. And with that period you can’t help think about us. Personally, I always think of Procol Harum. Everyone else thinks of me and the Fabs, but I think of Procol Harum, because to me ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ is the ultimate Sixties record. But yes, there were definitely times in the studio when we were getting pretty close. And I got a bit strange about it, but then Don said: ‘Look, all the people I produce want to sound like that. And you were there.’ And I was. So that really cooled me out.

NB Strong and Em tags above are as it was written in the liner notes, but listen to the lyrics and see what he meant and change accordings.

I was really happy with ‘Weight Of The World’, because I was such a fan. I worshipped The Beatles. It was a dream even being in a room with Ringo. Watching him play was incredible – what would The Beatles have been without his drumming? It’s such a unique feel, and you can hear it on this song.

We said to him, ‘Do you want to see a chart?’ and he said, ‘No, just give me the lyrics.’ Because he plays like a guitarist, accompanying the vocals of the singer. He plays like no one else is playing. He plays melodically.

‘Weight Of The World’ was the lead single from the album, released on 28 April in the US and 18 May in the UK. The b-sides were ‘After All These Years’ and a cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, which was also a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Time Takes Time.

A video for the single was filmed on 16 and 17 May, with CNN broadcasting a behind-the-scenes report on the following day. It premiered on MTV and VH1 later that month. It featured Starr performing at a circus, with Jellyfish members Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning singing backing vocals. Joe Walsh also appeared, playing guitar in Starr’s band.

To me, ‘Weight Of The World’ signifies that I was coming out of the fog. This was the first record I made after several years. We started with Don Was and he introduced me to Jellyfish and several other new-ish artists who were great and some of them kind of hippish. I was starting to get on my feet again and doing what I do best. I responded to the actual line in this song, about “The Weight Of The World”, because sometimes it gets heavy.

‘Weight Of The World’ peaked at 74 in the UK singles chart, and 43 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. It also charted in Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The song also appeared on the 1993 album Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band Volume 2: Live From Montreux.