Ringo Starr of the Beatles - Don't Call Him Ringo
by Bill Russo
Ringo – He was the comical
member of the Beatles, the most successful music group in the history of the
world. Though multi-talented he was
considered by many to be the least talented of the Fab Four, as the group was
nicknamed when it had two or three tunes simultaneously in the top ten in the
U.S., the U.K. and a handful of other nations.
But don’t be so quick to
put down this very talented singer and drummer. And don’t call him Ringo.
Since being knighted in 2018, he is now Sir
Richard Starkey. At age 80 in 2020, Sir
Richard is on top of the world. He is
now ranked among the all time top five drummers in the history of Rock and
Roll. He is the richest drummer in
history with a wealth estimated at more than $350 million.
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| Steve Matheson's photo of Ringo in 1987 performing at Wembley Stadium |
On his own, he has two
number one hits, plus the 20 he shared with the Beatles. He has twice been inducted into the Rock Hall
of Fame.
Once as a member of the Liverpool
quartet and one more time on his own hook.
Though he reached dizzying
heights, life was never easy for Ringo, born Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940 in
Liverpool.
His parents separated when
Ringo was just a toddler. His mother moved into a working class suburb of
Liverpool with a man she eventually married.
He became Ringo’s step-father.
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| Ringo's childhood home in Liverpool. Photo credit: Lapinski |
The most serious problems he encountered were
a succession of health issues beginning at age six when his appendix burst. The
poisonous matter released into his system resulted in Ringo falling into a coma
– from which he would not awaken for ten weeks.
Doctors were not optimistic that the youngster would survive, but Ringo
did, and things were going fine until disaster struck again.
Ringo fell out of his
hospital bed six months into his recovery and new injuries resulted in his having
to remain hospitalized for another six months!
Because of his illnesses his
schooling was far behind other children his age. This problem was worsened at age 13, when a
new illness struck – pleurisy, a disease of the lungs. This illness resulted in two more years in
the hospital for Ringo. By the time he
was fifteen, he had spent more than a fifth of his life in a hospital bed. Ringo was so far behind the other kids his
age, that he decided to give up the idea of ever returning to school.
Taking on a series of low
level and low paying jobs, Ringo drifted along for a few years with no real
purpose – except that he was being drawn into music.
His interest peaked during the Liverpool
Skiffle craze in the 1950s, when England’s Lonnie Donnegan pioneered a sound
that emulated a jug band, giving him a dozen or more hits at the top of the
British and American charts.
With Donnegan as his model,
in 1957 Ringo started his first band, The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group. Two
years later, he joined The Raving Texans, and earned his nickname because of
the number of rings he wore. It’s also
reported he took the nickname because he wanted to sound more like a Texan,
since he was in a group called the Raving Texans.
While performing with The
Raving Texans in 1960, Starr met the members of a struggling little group
called The Beatles in Hamburg, Germany. Two years after that first meeting The Beatles replaced their
existing drummer, Pete Best. The year was 1962, and the Fab Four was now ready
for a push to stardom with Ringo as their new drummer.
For the next eight years, Ringo collaborated
on several albums that remain some of the best sellers of all time. The Beatles
were not only a musical, but also a cultural phenomenon, and each member of the
band enjoyed fame and fortune beyond imagination. Though Paul and John were
considered the superior talents, Ringo helped write many of the group’s hits
and he always sang the lead vocal on at least one of the songs on their albums.
 |
| Ringo with the Beatles in 1964 |
After the group disbanded In
1970, Ringo didn’t miss a beat. He went out on his own and released two albums
that same year. He since has produced more than two dozen singles and
albums. He’s had two number one hits on
his own and twenty with the group. Ringo surrounded himself with musical
royalty when he formed Ringo Starr and
His All-Starr Band, a loosely grouped band of all star musicians who spent time
touring together..
Sir Richard is now 80 – so
what has he done lately?
On 13 September 2019, Ringo released his 20th album, What’s My
Name. The album was produced and
recorded in his home studio, Roccabella West in Los Angeles.
In celebration of his 80th birthday in July 2020, Ringo organized
a live-streamed concert featuring appearances by many of his friends and
collaborators including Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Willie
Nelson, Sheila E, Sheryl Crow and others.
. The show replaced his annual public birthday celebration at the
Capitol Records Building, which had to be cancelled due to the virus epidemic
of 2020.
At age 80, Sir Richard is enjoying
reasonably good health, and is enjoying his status as one of the most respected
musicians in the world. He has earned it, every bit of it.
Bill Russo, best known for his appearance on Monsters and Mysteries in America on Destination America, and in the Bridgewater Triangle Documentary; is the author of more than four dozen books and shorts stories, available on all major bookselling sites such as Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble and more. Much of his work is FREE on Smashwords.
He is also the producer, writer, director, and sometimes performer in the free podcast,
Bill Russo's Short Story Theater.
The program is currently in its second season with more than 40 episodes available for listening on all podcast sites from Apple to Zebra, World-wide.
The original audio play of 'Sherlock Holmes on Cape Cod' has had thousands of listeners and even drew high praise from a Sherlock Holmes society based in London. Google Bill Russo's Short Story Theater, Sherlock Holmes on Cape Cod, to listen for free. https://www.spreaker.com/user/11578348/sherlock-holmes-on-cape-cod
