Ringo Starr has celebrated his 70th birthday, and
I want to use that as an excuse to celebrate a life marked by charm, hard work,
and success; all gathered in the person of this man, who can be considered real
rock 'n' roll royalty and a living legend.
And by charm I don’t mean lucky charm, because, contrary to a lot of
people’s belief, I don't think that it was luck what got Ringo so high in life,
but something very different: talent and perseverance.
For those of you
who don’t know, Ringo Starr became the drummer for the greatest rock 'n' roll
band of all times, The Beatles, when he replaced their original drummer, Pete
Best. So once the Beatles became rich and famous, people started referring to him
as “the luckiest man in the world,” assertion that I would dispute by referring
to some statements made by none other than John Lennon. Mr. Lennon said that the Beatles probably
wouldn't have been the same without Ringo; and he also declared in an interview that,
before the Beatles hit the big time, Ringo Starr was the one who showed more
possibilities of making it in show business.
It has been said
of Ringo that he is a natural actor, with an unaffected display of versatility, which has allowed him to play a variety of characters -- in movies of decent
reputation-- such as a caveman, the Pope, and even a Mexican gardener.
As a musician,
Ringo is the most underrated drummer in rock 'n' roll, mainly for his lack of
technical ability that he compensated with an original way of playing, which got the job done more than well. He was a drummer that would not
indulge much in drum solos (there’s only one on record, toward the closing of
the album Abbey Road) because of the difficulty that being left-handed
represented for him which, in turn, made
his drum rolls come across in a sort of syncopated way.
Ringo’s drumming
style was neither aggressive or flashy, but it's energetic. And it had an interesting way of making
itself present in the band’s music dynamics, to the point that it is impossible
to imagine songs like “Strawberry Fields,” “A Day in the Life,” and “Come
Together” without the drummer’s personal touch.
There are four drummers in rock that can be considered the top ones in
their respective areas or styles, all four with a very distinctive approach: Keith
Moon (The Who), Ginger Baker (The Cream), John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), and Ringo
Starr. I would like to mention here, by
the same token, that the offspring of the latter two are amongst the best
drummers in the contemporary rock scene: I am talking about Jason Bonham and
Zack Starkey.
Ringo was also
the one who made fewer mistakes during recording sessions, keeping always a perfect rhythm
--“that rock-solid back-beat”, as George Martin called it-- and making it easier
for the other three to tag along. Ringo was also the one to judge if a song was
working out, and he would say it bluntly when something that they were
rehearsing was a piece of junk, without mattering whether the author was John,
Paul, or George.
So no, I don’t
think that it was luck what made Ringo Starr a Beatle, but it was the fact that,
just like John, Paul and George he was an integral and essential part of the
band. It was actually Ringo, and not Paul, the first one to walk out on the
Beatles, after getting fed up with the other guys’ antics, during the recording
of the White Album. They begged him to come back and, upon his return, there
were flowers all over his drum set.
As a singer and
composer Ringo has not done bad. In fact, after the Beatles split, Ringo had a
number one hit even before John Lennon. His songs “Photograph” and “It Don’t
Come Easy,” that he co-wrote with George, put him on the charts with #1 and #4,
respectively. And he would also make wonderful cover versions of some oldies
like “Only You,” “Hey Baby,” and “You’re Sixteen,” the latter becoming his
second number-one; a song that still gets air time on oldies and classic rock stations
all over the world.
To close my note
I want to toast to the fact that Ringo still gets on the road, with a group of
music enthusiasts called Ringo Starr and his All Star Band, all of whom are
stars in their own right and who have the flexibility of being in and out of
the band as their individual obligations demand. Hard hitters like Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter, and
Dr. John, to name a few, have all been part of Ringo’s band. Not to mention the
line-up that included Peter Frampton, Jack Bruce, and Gary Brooker, the one I
personally have enjoyed the most.
Note: This article appeared before (2010) on a now defunct online magazine, and I wrote it on account of Ringo's 70th birthday.
Music for
appreciation, probably on YouTube:
“Back Off Boogaloo”
“Photograph”
“I’m the Greatest”
“No No Song”
“Only You (And You Alone)”
“A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll”
“Las Brisas”
“Who Needs a Heart”
“Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses”
“Wrack my Brain”
“Never Without You” (for George)
“Don’t Hang up” (with Chrissie Hynde)
“Hard to Be True”
“Gone Are the Days”
“Harry’s Song” (for Harry Nilsson)
Ringo is an old man and he still rocks.
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