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Ringo Starr always came off as down-to-earth and level-headed, even when The Beatles were at their peak. He had a reaction that was pure Ringo when John Lennon brought Yoko Ono into the Fab Four’s inner circle. Ringo once claimed he was no good as a drummer. He was wrong, but that comment was a display of his humility. Still, Ringo got replaced during one solo recording session because he struggled to play the drums, and the famous producer working the studio called out his skills.

Ringo Starr, who once got replaced on his own record when he struggled to play the drums, during a live performance in 1993.
Ringo Starr | Ebet Roberts/Redferns

Ringo Starr was replaced on The Beatles’ first big hit

Adding Ringo to the fold was the move that helped propel The Beatles to the big time. Paul McCartney knew almost instantly that the former Richard Starkey would be perfect for the band. George Harrison praised him before he kenw Ringo’s name.

Still, it took time for the drummer to find his footing. Ringo didn’t play drums on The Beatles’ first big hit, “Love Me Do.” Producer George Martin replaced him with a session musician since he found Ringo’s drumming substandard. 

The drummer proved his worth time and again after that early hiccup. Ringo’s work with The Beatles helped him enter one hall of fame his bandmates never had a shot at joining. Still, Ringo got replaced when he struggled to play the drums during another recording session, and the producer in charge called out the drummer’s lack of skill.

Ringo got replaced on drums during a session for his solo debut, and producer Quincy Jones called out his lack of skill

Nearly a decade after Martin replaced Ringo on “Love Me Do,” he and Quincy Jones teamed up to do the same thing. After struggling to nail a drum part on his solo debut, “Sentimental Journey,” Ringo got replaced with a session drummer.

“I remember once we were in the studio with George Martin, and Ringo had taken three hours for a four-bar thing he was trying to fix on a song. He couldn’t get it,” Jones said, per Express.

Jones suggested Ringo take a breather. When the drummer stepped out, Jones and Martin called in session player Ronnie Verrell, Express writes. The new drummer perfected the drum part in a few minutes. 

Ringo was replaced by Jones. The famous arranger and producer later called out Ringo’s drumming skills, or what he perceived to be the lack of them.

“Ringo comes back and says: ‘George, can you play it back for me one more time?’” Jones said, per Express. “So George did, and Ringo says: ‘That didn’t sound so bad.’ ‘Yeah, m———–, because it ain’t you!'”

Verrell’s name doesn’t appear in the Sentimental Journey credits, and Jones never specified which song Ringo got replaced on. Still, it seems The Beatles’ drummer wasn’t the only kit man to play on his solo debut.

Ringo’s later solo work made up for his early struggles

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Ringo cranked out two solo albums in 1970. He followed Sentimental Journey with Beaucoups of Blues (no word on if he was replaced while recording that album). Neither album set any chart performance records. 

Sentimental Journey peaked at No. 7 in the United Kingdom (per The Official Charts Company) and reached No. 22 in the United States. Beaucoups hit No. 65 on the Billboard album charts but didn’t land in the U.K.

Ringo returned strong in 1973 with his self-titled third solo record. Paul, George, and John Lennon all contributed songs, and Ringo and George co-wrote “Photograph,” the drummer’s first No. 1 single. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts, No. 7 in the U.K., and spent a combined 57 weeks on the charts in the U.S. and U.K.

The follow-up album, Goodnight Vienna, produced a top-10 Billboard single (“Back Off Boogaloo”) and reached No. 8 on the album charts. He could have had another top-10 song in the 1980s, but Ringo refused to record a song John wrote after his tragic murder.

Ringo Starr got replaced on a solo recording session several years after the same thing happened to him in The Beatles. But he rebounded and put together a solid career after the Fab Four.

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