"Stardust"

Another track for the first solo LP by Ringo Starr. The title of the LP was originally to be entitled "Starrdust" with this track being considered the title tune. But it was not to be as the title changed during the sessions.
This particular track was originally written by Hoagy Carmichael. The backing with the orchestra was recorded at Wessix Sound Studios in London on November 07 1969 and Ringo's voice was added at Trident Studios in London a week later on November 14 1969.
A rough stereo mix of the song was attempted at EMI Studios by Geoff Emerick/ George Martin four days later on November 18 1969. It must have been decided around this time to bring Ringo back into the fold to overdub/layer or to once again sing the song.
The reason for Ringo to once again sing the song may have been to double track the vocals in certain sections or to have two choices when mixing the performance. In any case, Ringo came back in and re-did his vocals for the song on November 28 1969. The song was also mixed in stereo at the same session which was completed at Studio Two of EMI Studios and you can hear the results on the official Apple LP/CD.
Although the back cover of the LP credits Paul McCartney as the arranger of this tune, it was actually George Martin who did all the work. The credit was probably some kind of what we would call nowadays a "marketing tool" to try and sell the LP by acknowledging two Beatles involved in the project. Or maybe George Martin was just being kind.

"What's The New Mary Jane" overdubs

On November 26 1969, a session at EMI Studio 2 was booked by John and Yoko for some work on a proposed single containing two unreleased (at the time) Beatles' tunes. This was to be credited as the "Plastic Ono Band" for whatever reason.
The A-side of the single was to be "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" and the B-side of the single was to be "What's The New Mary Jane" - which was recorded during the "White Album" LP sessions back in 1968. The idea was to add some vocals and noises to the already busy "What's the New Many Jane" including John and Yoko and various staff from the studio. This particular song was remixed from the original tape and overdubs were added including the addition vocals and some percussion. The entire exercise took up over 6 minutes. There was also an edited version of the "song" with the overdubs done during this session which took the song about 2 and a half minutes.
Eventually, the A-side of this single ended up on the B-side of "Let It Be" and credited to The Beatles whereby "What's The New Mary Jane" would remain unreleased at this point.
This session with it's overdub can be heard on a 12 inch vinyl single released in 1980 entitled "What A Shame Mary Jane Had A Pain At the Party" with an interesting cover.

"Stormy Weather"

The progression for the first Ringo solo LP continued slowly at the end of the year and picking up speed as it went along. The second session for the LP was undertaken at Wessex Sound Studios in London with another "standard" to be orchestrated, conducted and finally adding Ringo's vocal to the orchestral backing.
The song in quesion was "Stormy Weather" written by Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen.
The recording session took place on November 06 1969 with George Martin conducting the orchestra. The arranger of this piece is unknown to me. Ringo entered the studio in the evening and laid down his vocal over the 18 piece orchestra.
There were no mixes made of the song and it was eventually discarded and not included on the LP but the song can be found on various bootlegs including the John Barrett tapes and put on a Vigotone CD entitled "Through Many Years".
Here's youtube link (Ringo's vocal is a bit flat which may be a reason why is was not used).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwbwDJgrhmM