He sang lead on some of the band 's songs including `` Yellow Submarine '' , `` Act Naturally '' , `` Do n't Pass Me By '' , and `` Octopus 's Garden '' . In addition to his contribution as drummer , Starr featured as lead vocals on a number of successful Beatles songs ( in particular , `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' , `` Yellow Submarine '' , and The Beatles version of `` Act Naturally '' ) , as co-writer with the song `` What Goes On '' and primary writer with `` Do n't Pass Me By '' and `` Octopus 's Garden '' .