Ringo Starr Was Brutally Honest About His Place in The Beatles, but He Didn’t Need to Be Ashamed
The Beatles knew they needed Ringo Starr. The Liverpool band with big ambitions required a more accomplished timekeeper than Pete Best. So the Fab Four sacked Best, added Ringo, and scored nearly two-dozen No. 1 hits in the United States before they broke up. It’s not a stretch to say Ringo was the missing piece of the puzzle, but he once explained his place in The Beatles with brutal honesty, though he didn’t need to be ashamed of his standing in the band.
Ringo was brutally honest about his standing in The Beatles — No. 4 among the Fab Four
Ringo never proclaimed himself to be a musical genius. He wrote a few songs during his time with The Beatles, but they rarely made the cut. The drummer admitted he needed George Harrison’s help to sound like a genius on one of his signature solo songs.
Still, Ringo was brutally honest about his standing in The Beatles — the bottom of the creative totem pole. He handled many things with humor and humility, but as Michael Seth Starr writes in With a Little Help, Ringo might have been slightly embarrassed about his place in the band:
“It can get you down, not being creative. You know people are thinking you’re not the creative one. But out of four people, you wouldn’t expect them all to be creative, would you? Fifty percent is enough. Think of all the groups, good groups, who can’t write anything at all.
[I’d] love to be able to, of course. It’s a bit of a bind when I realize I can’t. I’ve got a piano, but I can’t play it, really. I often get a feeling. I just feel like writing a lovely song today, but I go, and I can’t. I don’t know how to.
“I do sometimes feel out of it, sitting there on the drums, only playing what they tell me to play. Often when other drummers of groups say to me that was great, that bit, I know the others have usually told me what to do, though I’ve got the credit.”
Ringo Starr described his place in The Beatles
Wow.
Ringo didn’t pull any punches about his place in The Beatles, but he didn’t need to be ashamed, and history has been very kind to his legacy.
Ringo shouldn’t have been ashamed of his standing within The Beatles
Ringo helped propel The Beatles to international stardom with his efficient timekeeping. The sea change in musical tastes and cultural norms also played a part. Still, he was brutally honest about his place in the band. He shouldn’t have been ashamed, and history has been kind to his status.
First, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were two of the best songwriters of any generation. When they combined their talents, as they often did in The Beatles, they were nearly unstoppable. Whether apart or together, the John-Paul dyad penned nearly all of the Fab Four’s hit songs.
That duo stifled George Harrison’s songwriting output, but he proved to be a talented songsmith when he released a torrent of hit songs in the wake of the band’s breakup. Being the fourth most creative Beatle (in terms of songwriting) is like being the fourth most talented painter in Renaissance Italy behind Michaelangelo, Leonardo DaVinci, and Botticelli. There’s no reason to be ashamed of being a Raphael.
Plus, Ringo shined when given the opportunity. Songs such as the B-side “Rain,” the hard-to-recreate steady shuffle of “Act Naturally,” “The End,” and “Come Together” (really, everything from the Abbey Road sessions) proved that Ringo was more than a sideman. The other three Beatles grabbed the attention, but Ringo more than held his own when given the chance.
And as the years progressed, history looked kindly on Ringo’s drumming skills. Some of the best drummers to come after him — Dave Grohl, Max Weinberg, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, The Police’s Stewart Copeland — praised Ringo’s game-changing drumming when he entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The RNR HOF doesn’t just open the door if you ask nicely. You have to earn it. Ringo did.
Ringo was viciously honest about his place in The Beatles — No. 4 among the four creatives — but there was no shame in that. The other three were supreme songwriters, and the years since the Fab Four’s disintegration have been kind to his legacy.
The drummer once known as Richard Starkey was the key to unlocking the Fab Four’s success
The Beatles built up a sizable following with Best behind the kit. When it came time to enter the recording studio, however, producer George Martin suggested they use a different drummer. Rather than use two drummers — one for the studio and one for concerts — the other three of the Fab Four sacked Best and added Ringo.
It was only a matter of time before the Beatles booted Best. After all, Paul needed only a moment to know Ringo was the perfect drummer for the band when he nailed a complicated drum part while sitting in for Best.
Putting the former Richard Starkey on drums proved to be the smart move. His controlled and understated playing style fit The Beatles perfectly. His impressive skills shined through on several occasions for those listening closely, but Ringo never received the credit he deserved while with the band at the time.
Ringo Starr was brutally honest about his place in The Beatles’ creative pecking order — dead last. There was no shame in standing in the shadow of relative giants, and keen-eared listeners and other ace timekeepers understood Ringo’s talents even if he didn’t.
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