Ringo starr the beatles biography

6 July 2023, 16:23

Not just a key member of the Fab Four, but also an incredible Starr in his own right.

"Ringo wasn’t the best drummer in the world... Let's face it, he wasn’t even the best drummer in The Beatles," so joked John Lennon, Jasper Carrott Phillip Pope (with the line written by Geoffrey Perkins).

A funny-if-cheeky gag, and obviously one that has zero basis in reality.

Yeah, Paul McCartney could hold down a beat, but Ringo Starr's mistake-free, metronomic drumming was the backbone of The Beatles' music, and on songs like 'A Day In The Life' and 'Tomorrow Never Knows' he proved he could do the fancy stuff, too.

The Beatles only really became The Beatles when Ringo Starr joined the band, replacing the "mean, moody, and magnificent" Pete Best.

So it's long overdue a celebration of Ringo Starr, with a closer look at his life before, during and after his time in the Fab Four.

How old is Ringo Starr and where did he grow up?

Ringo Starr was born on July 7, 1940 at 9 Madryn Street in Dingle in Liverpool. He celebrated his 82nd birthday in 2022.

He was the only child of confectioners Richard Starkey and Elsie Gleave. The family moved to Admiral Grove, still in Dingle, when Ringo was just four.

With Ringo's dad frequently absent, his mum took on jobs as a cleaner and then barmaid to make ends meet.

Ringo was frequently absent from his Sefton Park school. He contracted peritonitis after an appendectomy and ended up in a coma for several days, with a year-long recovery away from his family at Myrtle Street Hospital.

With extra tuition, he soon caught up, but poor Ringo then contracted TB and had to spend two years in a sanatorium. He eventually attended St Silas primary school, and then Dingle Vale Secondary Mod

“Ultimately what’s most impressive about Ringo Starr isn’t what he’s been, but rather who he is,” wrote Rolling Stone rock critic David Wild. “The man’s great heart and soul, his wit and wisdom.” Indeed, his music has always emanated from his warmth, humor, and exceptional skill, manifesting in songs we know and love: With A Little Help From My Friends, Don’t Pass Me By, Octopus’ Garden, Photograph, It Don’t Come Easy, Back Off Boogaloo, You’re Sixteen (You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine), Don’t Go Where the Road Don’t Go, The No No Song, and Never Without You, to name a few. Since beginning his career with The Beatles in the 1960s, Ringo has been one of the world’s brightest musical luminaries. He has enjoyed a successful, dynamic solo career as a singer, songwriter, drummer, collaborator, and producer – releasing 18 solo studio albums to date. He is also an acclaimed actor appearing in over 15 films. Drawing inspiration from classic blues, soul, country, honky-tonk and rock ‘n’ roll, he continues to play an important recording, touring, and unofficial mentoring role in modern music.

Born Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940 “at a very young age” he knew from very early on what he wanted to do. “When I was 13, I only wanted to be a drummer,” remembers Ringo. Four years later, he joined the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Band, and in 1959 hooked up with the Raving Texans, who later became Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Just three years after that, Ringo was asked to join The Beatles. Worried that he might cost the Hurricanes a summer-long residency if he left, he delayed his departure until they could find a replacement. On August 18, 1962, Ringo Starr officially joined Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison in what would become one of the most important popular music acts of all time, or as Ringo says, “the biggest band in the land.”

In 1970, EMI released Ringo’s first solo album, Sentimental Journey. It was exactly that: a record of the music h

1940-present

Latest News: Ringo Starr Releases New Country Album and Hosts Benefit Concert for Wildfire Recovery

Ringo Starr is back to his country and western roots with his new album Look Up, released January 10. The record is the former Beatle’s first country album in more than 50 years. His previous western-inspired album, Beaucoup of Blues, released in 1970. Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, Look Up features 11 original songs that show off Starr’s underrated singing voice and includes collaborations with Larkin Poe and Allison Kraus. “I like old country, old style, and that’s what we’ve got,” he told Rolling Stone earlier this month.

While the 84-year-old has spent much of his career as a rock musician, his passion for rootsy country music goes back to his childhood. Growing up, Starr’s favorite films were Westerns with singing cowboys. “I was a lad in the movies, and they had Saturday morning for kids, and one of his movies were on. He started singing ‘South of the border, down Mexico way,’ and two other guys on horses went ‘Aye, yi, yi, yi,’” he said. “It was just one of those musical thrills for a kid. So, that’s how it started.”

On the heels of his album release, Starr is putting together a benefit concert, Ringo and Friends at the Ryman, with proceeds to aid the recovery of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Starr will be joined by artists including Emmylou Harris, Jack White, Sheryl Crow, The War and Treaty, and more. The special will be recorded at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville to be released later this year on CBS, and available to stream on Paramount+.

Who Is Ringo Starr?

Sir Ringo Starr is a British musician best known for his stint as the drummer in the legendary pop rock group The Beatles. The Liverpool, England, native took an interest in music at an early age and rose to fame in the early 1960s at the height of Beatlemania. Primarily a drummer, Starr also sang and occasionally wrote songs for the group,

Sir Richard Starkey MBE (born 7 July 1940 in Liverpool, England), known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor, best known as the drummer of The Beatles. He was the oldest member of the band, and the last to join the now familiar 'Fab Four' line up.
While he was sometimes the least visible member of the band, Ringo's drumming style played a pivotal role in the music played and recorded by The Beatles. He filled the role he was hired for in 1962, then went on to establish a new approach to rhythm in popular music that some claim continues to grow in its significance and influence with every decade since The Beatles recorded their music.

Ringo is left-handed yet plays a right-handed kit; his tendency to lead with his left hand contributes to his distinctive drumming style.

Many drummers list Starr as an influence, including Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters/Nirvana, Danny Carey of Tool, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band, Phil Collins, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater and others. According to Collins, "Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' They wouldn't know what to do."

In his extensive survey of The Beatles' recording sessions, Mark Lewisohn confirmed that Starr was both proficient and remarkably reliable and consistent. According to Lewisohn, there were fewer than a dozen occasions in The Beatles' eight-year recording career where session 'breakdowns' were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other three members.

Starr is also considered to have advanced various modern drumming techniques (for playing and recording) such as the matched grip, placing the drums on high risers for visibility as part of the band, tuning th