Claim: Ringo Starr was a singer for the Beatles.

`` With a Little Help from My Friends '' is a song by the Beatles , written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon , from the album Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band issued worldwide in June 1967 . The song was written for and sung by the Beatles ' drummer Ringo Starr as the character `` Billy Shears '' . The song , paired with `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band '' and featuring `` A Day in the Life '' as its B-side , was reissued as a single in the U.S. in August 1978 -LRB- # 71 -RRB- and in the U.K. in September 1978 -LRB- # 63 -RRB- . `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' was ranked No. 311 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time .