Ringo Starr Made a Huge Understatement When He Achieved 1 Rare Honor
Ringo Starr achieved international fame and fortune drumming for The Beatles. Even after he made it big, Ringo and his wife lived like simple people inside their mansion. His drumming talent helped make him famous, but his humility kept him grounded. The humble Ringo made a huge understatement when he received a rare honor from the Berklee College of Music.
Ringo Starr was humble when he received a rare honor at the age of 81
Ringo dealt with several childhood illnesses. A bout of tuberculosis kept him under medical care for two years. The drummer, who never showed a great interest in schooling, didn’t go back.
His lack of formal education clearly didn’t affect his abilities as a drummer.
When he committed himself to music full-time, Ringo starred with a band that played in Hamburg, Germany, like The Beatles. George Harrison wasn’t necessarily a fan of that group, but he praised Ringo’s drumming. When he sat in with the group for a show, Paul McCartney needed just a brief moment to know Ringo was the perfect drummer for The Beatles.
The former Richard Starkey didn’t finish his schooling in Liverpool, but his drumming helped him earn a rare honor. The Berklee College of Music, based in Boston, awarded an 81-year-old Ringo an honorary doctorate in 2022, not long before the drummer’s 82nd birthday. One comment during his acceptance speech showed how humble Ringo remains, and his self-deprecating joke was a massive understatement.
A humble Ringo made a huge understatement when he received his honorary doctorate degree
The prestigious Berklee College of Music awarded Ringo an honorary doctorate in June 2022. He took it all in stride. Rather than pump his tires, the level-headed and down-to-earth Beatle made a self-deprecating joke:
“I just, you know, hit them. That’s all I do; I just hit the buggers. And it seems to be [that] I hit them in the right place.”
Ringo Starr
That might be the biggest understatement of Ringo’s life. There’s a lot more to what he did with the Fab Four than “hitting them in the right place.”
Ringo had a self-centered reason for loving the Abbey Road sessions, but you can put on that record and hear some of his finest work. And you don’t even need to wait that long. Lead track “Come Together” features a beat that many music fans recognize even without the guitars or vocals. His fine stick work adds some complexity to the otherwise straightforward R&B of “Oh! Darling.”
Ringo turned in many notable performances behind the kit well before The Beatles began splintering in the late 1960s. He drops several subtle chorus fills on Rubber Soul’s “Think for Yourself.” Meanwhile, “You Won’t See Me” would be far more boring if not for Ringo’s embellishments on the kit.
“Taxman” has a deceptively simple beat with some impressive bass drum work, and “Tomorrow Never Knows,” another Revolver cut, was years ahead of its time.
Even a tune such as “Anna” from Please Please Me displays the Ringo flourishes that came later. He quickly closes his high-hat cymbal to mute it during the verses, then provides an appropriately delicate yet noticeable fill leading into the chorus.
Ringo once said he was no good as a drummer. His own work behind the kit with The Beatles and the honorary doctorate from Berklee are two signs he was wrong. His self-deprecating joke might have been the biggest understatement of Ringo’s life.
Other drummers recognize Ringo as one of the greatest
Ringo’s honorary doctorate places him alongside some famous Berklee graduates. Notable alums include Ye producer Jeff Bhasker, Aimee Mann, John Mayer, Charlie Puth, Hollywood composer Alan Silvestri, and Steve Vai.
Still, it doesn’t take a formal music education to know that Ringo’s “I just hit the boogers” line was an understatement.
He went into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on his own. He has a spot in a hall of fame the other Beatles will never join. Several other all-time great drummers sing his praises.
“Define the best drummer in the world,” Dave Grohl said upon Ringo’s RNR HOF induction (via YouTube). “Is it someone that’s technically proficient? Or is it someone that sits in the song with their own feel? Ringo was the king of feel.”
The humble Ringo Starr made the understatement of his life when he said his drumming came down to “hitting the buggers in the right place.” Decades of his work behind the kit prove his skills were second to none.
