What John Lennon Thought of People Calling Ringo Starr ‘Dumb’

According to John Lennon, Ringo Starr had a reputation for being “dumb.” John discussed his thoughts on the “You’re Sixteen” singer‘s solo career. John also hypothesized what might have happened to Ringo had he never joined The Beatles.

Ringo Starr’s success made John Lennon ‘happy’

The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon features an interview from 1975. In it, John discussed Ringo’s solo career. “I’m most happy — I guess we all are, in a way — for Ringo’s success, because of the other three of us … It always went around that Ringo was dumb, but he ain’t dumb,” John said.

“But he didn’t have much of a writing ability and he wasn’t known for writing his own material, and there was a bit of a worry that … you know, although he can make movies and he does make movies and he’s good at it, but how is his recording career gonna be?” John said, laughing. “And in general, it’s probably better than mine, actually.”

John Lennon said he could have created The Beatles without 2 members of the band

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. In that interview, John took Ringo down a peg before backtracking. “Let’s say, I think it’s possible for John and Paul to have created the same thing with two other guys,” John opined. “It may not have been possible for George and Ringo to have created it without John and Paul. OK?

“But that doesn’t take away from the individual talents that they have,” he added. “Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met.” John said Ringo had a “spark” in him that would have taken him places, whether it was as an actor, a singer, or a drummer. In the “Instant Karma!” singer‘s opinion, Ringo was a “damn good” drummer who didn’t always receive credit for his talent.

It wouldn’t’ve been possible for The Beatles to exist without Ringo Starr and George Harrison

Ringo is most certainly not dumb. He’s one of the most talented drummers from the classic rock era. Regardless, John’s (perhaps facetious) claim that Ringo had a better solo career than him is ridiculous. Ringo’s best songs (e.g. “Back Off Boogaloo,” “It Don’t Come Easy,” and “Photograph”) don’t live up to John’s best solo songs (e.g. “Imagine,” “#9 Dream,” and “Mind Games”).

Could Paul and John have created something just as good without Ringo and George? It sounds plausible at first. After all, George and Ringo don’t have nearly as many writing credits on The Beatles’ songs as Lennon-McCartney. However, The Beatles just wouldn’t have been the same without the personal dynamics that existed between the four members of the band. John and Paul could have started another band with Pete Best or Stuart Sutcliffe, but it’s unlikely they would have been able to capture the lightning in a bottle that was The Beatles.

Ringo was never dumb and John appreciated his greatness.