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Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr

Richard Starkey, MBE (born July 7, 1940) known by his stage name, Ringo Starr, is a popular British musician, best known as drummer for The Beatles. Ringo is known for his reliable, steady drumming and innovative fills. His everyman personality made him an easy fit with the other Beatles.

Starr married Maureen Cox in 1965, divorced in 1975 - children Zak, Jason and Lee. He has been married to actress Barbara Bach (most famous for her role as the "Bond Girl" in The Spy Who Loved Me) since 1981.

Early years

Richard Starkey was raised in the working class Dingle section of Liverpool. He went through two serious illnesses as a child and spent a total of three years in hospital, thereby falling behind badly in school. He became the drummer for the Liverpool band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes from 1959 to 1962, playing the same local and Hamburg circuit as the Beatles did. When the Beatles removed Pete Best as their drummer on August 16, 1962, Ringo was their choice to replace him.

Role in The Beatles

Although some have tried to downplay his contributions to the band, Starr's drumming style played a major role in the overall sound of The Beatles. Many drummers list Starr as a major influence including Max Weinberg of The E Street Band, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band, Phil Collins, Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish, and others. According to Collins, Ringo is "vastly underrated. The drum fills on "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' They wouldn't know what to do." in his extensive survey of The Beatles recording sessions, Mark Lewisohn confirmed that Starr was both proficient and remarkably reliable and consistent -- according to Lewisohn, there were less than a dozen occasions in the Beatles' eight-year recording career where session 'breakdowns' were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other three members. Starr has commented that the most difficult drumming he has ever performed was on the Beatles song "Rain."

Lennon, McCartney and Harrison have all said that Ringo was the best rock and roll drummer in the world, although when asked in an interview once "Is Ringo Starr the best drummer in the world?" John Lennon quipped "He's not the best drummer in the Beatles!" This was in reference to the White Album song "Back In The USSR", in which Paul was forced to do the drumming; Ringo had stormed out earlier and didn't return for two weeks. Paul was also on the drums in "The Ballad of John and Yoko" and "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", since only Lennon and McCartney were available.

Ringo's easygoing, everyman personality played a major role in the Beatles' success, combining very effectively with Lennon's wit, McCartney's charm, and Harrison's quiet seriousness.

Ringo generally sang at least one song on each studio album, as part of establishing the vocal personality of all four members. In some cases John Lennon or Paul McCartney would write the lyrics and melody especially for him, as Lennon did with "With a Little Help from My Friends", from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and as McCartney did for "Yellow Submarine" from Revolver. Often these melodies would be deliberately limited to take into account Starr's vocal range—most of "With A Little Help From My Friends" is sung within the space of five notes.

Of all the Beatles, Ringo did the least songwriting. He did, however, write "Don't Pass Me By" (on The White Album) and "Octopus's Garden" on the album Abbey Road, albeit with quite a bit of help from George Harrison. The former continued to show the taste for country music that Ringo had brought into the band on earlier albums, such as on Rubber Soul's co-write "What Goes On."

In addition Ringo contributed a number of lyrical ideas and song titles to Lennon and McCartney, although usually unintentionally. One of the most famous examples of this was the title for the band's first motion picture, A Hard Day's Night. Starr had emerged from the studio after a long day of work and commented to the others that it had been a "hard day's..." - before he finished his sentence, Starr noticed that it was now night time and added "night". Lennon and McCartney liked the twisted phrase enough that they decided to use it as the title for the still untitled movie the band had been filming. Another example is the title to "Tomorrow Never Knows".

After the Beatles

After the breakup of the Beatles Starr scored hit singles with "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", and participated in Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh.

In 1973 the "Ringo" album came out, lushly produced by Richard Perry and with participation by all three former bandmates on different tracks. It was a major triumph and Starr unexpectedly became the most commercially successful ex-Beatle at that time. The Goodnight Vienna album followed the next year and was also successful. Hits and notable tracks from these two collections included "Photograph" (co-written by Harrison), "You're Sixteen", "I'm the Greatest" (written by Lennon), "Only You", and the "No No Song".

Starr's recording career subsequently diminished in impact, although he continued to sporadically release albums. Beginning in 1989 he became a visible presence on the summer touring scene, organizing a series of concert tours called Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, teaming with well-known musicians from various different rock eras. The format of the concerts has Ringo singing a couple of his Beatles or solo songs, then each of the other musicians taking a turn to sing one of their songs with Ringo behind the drums, then Ringo singing a couple more, then another go around, and so on. The eighth such All-Starr Band tour took place in 2003.

Starr has acted in several films such as Candy (1968), The Magic Christian (1969) (alongside Peter Sellers), Son of Dracula (1974) and Caveman (1980). He starred as Larry the dwarf in Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (1971). He was especially well-received in the British film That'll Be the Day (1973) where he co-starred as a Teddy boy.

In 1984, he narrated on the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and portrayed the character Mr. Conductor on that program's American spinoff Shining Time Station, which debuted in 1989. In 1991, he appeared as himself on the cartoon The Simpsons.

In January of 2005, it was announced that comic book creator Stan Lee would be working with Starr to produce a new animated musical superhero based on Starr.

Hit singles

  • 1971 "It Don't Come Easy" #4 US, #4 UK
  • 1972 "Back Off Boogaloo" #2 UK, #9 US
  • 1973 "Photograph" #1 US, #8 UK
  • 1974 "You're Sixteen" #1 US, #4 UK
  • 1974 "Oh My My" #5 US
  • 1974 "Only You (And You Alone) " #6 US, #28 UK
  • 1975 "No No Song" b/w "Snookeroo" #3 US
  • 1975 "(It's All Da-Da-Down To) Goodnight Vienna" #31 US
  • 1976 "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" #26 US
  • 1981 "Wrack My Brain" #38 US
  • 1992 "Weight of the World" #72 UK
  • 1993 "Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go"
  • 1998 "La De Da"
  • 2003 "Never Without You" (with electric guitar played by Eric Clapton)

Trivia

  • In 1996, Ringo Starr appeared in a Japanese advertisement for apple sauce, which coincidentally is what Ringo means in Japanese.

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In January of 2005, it was announced that comic book creator Stan Lee would be working with Starr to produce a new animated musical superhero based on Starr. The band has made music videos for many of their songs. In 1991, he appeared as himself on the cartoon The Simpsons. The band's name is parodied in Terry Pratchett's novel Soul Music by the dwarf "rock band" "We're Certainly Dwarfs". Conductor on that program's American spinoff Shining Time Station, which debuted in 1989. Playfair defends Don Quixote's tilting at windmills, saying that the windmills of course were not giants, but thinking they might be shows imagination:. In 1984, he narrated on the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and portrayed the character Mr. Scott plays Justin Playfair, a man who believes he is Sherlock Holmes; his psychiatrist (last name "Watson") goes along with him in search of Moriarty.

He was especially well-received in the British film That'll Be the Day (1973) where he co-starred as a Teddy boy. Scott and Joanne Woodward (based on the play of the same name written by James Goldman.) In the film, George C. He starred as Larry the dwarf in Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (1971). The band takes its name from the 1971 movie "They Might Be Giants" (IMDB listing (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0067848/combined)) starring George C. Starr has acted in several films such as Candy (1968), The Magic Christian (1969) (alongside Peter Sellers), Son of Dracula (1974) and Caveman (1980). He designed many of their album covers — including the famous podiums of Lincoln — and performs and sings on many of their songs, both in their albums and occasionally live. The eighth such All-Starr Band tour took place in 2003. Throughout their career, Brooklyn musical inventor Brian Dewan has been a frequent collaborator and friend of the group.

The format of the concerts has Ringo singing a couple of his Beatles or solo songs, then each of the other musicians taking a turn to sing one of their songs with Ringo behind the drums, then Ringo singing a couple more, then another go around, and so on. Disney Sound released the CD and DVD separately on February 15th. Beginning in 1989 he became a visible presence on the summer touring scene, organizing a series of concert tours called Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, teaming with well-known musicians from various different rock eras. 2005 saw the release of Here Come the ABCs, TMBG's follow-up to the successful children's album No!. Starr's recording career subsequently diminished in impact, although he continued to sporadically release albums. Following the Spine Surfs the Hiway Tour of 2004, the band announced that they would take an extended hiatus from performing to focus on other projects, such as a musical produced by Flansburgh and written by his wife, Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser, titled People Are Wrong!. Hits and notable tracks from these two collections included "Photograph" (co-written by Harrison), "You're Sixteen", "I'm the Greatest" (written by Lennon), "Only You", and the "No No Song". TMBG contibuted "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," a political campaign song from the late 1800's.

The Goodnight Vienna album followed the next year and was also successful. All proceeds went to progressive orginizations such as Music For America and MoveOn.org. It was a major triumph and Starr unexpectedly became the most commercially successful ex-Beatle at that time. The compilation was released by Barsuk and featured indie, alternative, and high-profile acts such as Death Cab For Cutie, The Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes. In 1973 the "Ringo" album came out, lushly produced by Richard Perry and with participation by all three former bandmates on different tracks. TMBG also became slightly involved with the electoral process by contributing a track to the Future Soundtrack For America compilation, a project compiled by John Flansburgh with the help of Spike Jonze and Barsuk Records. After the breakup of the Beatles Starr scored hit singles with "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", and participated in Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh. (TMBG MP3 Music Store (http://www.theymightbedownloads.com/)).

Another example is the title to "Tomorrow Never Knows". By doing this, the band gets to keep money that would otherwise go to record companies. Lennon and McCartney liked the twisted phrase enough that they decided to use it as the title for the still untitled movie the band had been filming. In addition, they started one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers can buy MP3 copies of their music for US$10 an album. Starr had emerged from the studio after a long day of work and commented to the others that it had been a "hard day's..." - before he finished his sentence, Starr noticed that it was now night time and added "night". They also went on tour again, visiting over 30 cities. One of the most famous examples of this was the title for the band's first motion picture, A Hard Day's Night. TMBG teamed up with Homestar Runner to provide music for several cartoons as well as hiring its creators to do an animated music video for their song "Experimental Film".

In addition Ringo contributed a number of lyrical ideas and song titles to Lennon and McCartney, although usually unintentionally. They followed that up with a new album, The Spine, and an associated EP, The Spine Surfs Alone. The former continued to show the taste for country music that Ringo had brought into the band on earlier albums, such as on Rubber Soul's co-write "What Goes On.". In 2004 they released their first new rock work in years, the EP Indestructible Object. He did, however, write "Don't Pass Me By" (on The White Album) and "Octopus's Garden" on the album Abbey Road, albeit with quite a bit of help from George Harrison. They followed it up in 2003 with their first book, an illustrated children's book with an included EP, Bed, Bed, Bed. Of all the Beatles, Ringo did the least songwriting. In 2002 they released their first album "for the whole family", No!.

Often these melodies would be deliberately limited to take into account Starr's vocal range—most of "With A Little Help From My Friends" is sung within the space of five notes. The film was released on DVD in 2003. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and as McCartney did for "Yellow Submarine" from Revolver. The film, released in 2002, won rave reviews and several awards, and was featured in dozens of film festivals. In some cases John Lennon or Paul McCartney would write the lyrics and melody especially for him, as Lennon did with "With a Little Help from My Friends", from Sgt. In 2001, they released the album Mink Car and were filmed as the subject of a documentary made by AJ Schnack titled Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns. Ringo generally sang at least one song on each studio album, as part of establishing the vocal personality of all four members. "Boss of Me" became the band's second top-40 hit in the UK.

Ringo's easygoing, everyman personality played a major role in the Beatles' success, combining very effectively with Lennon's wit, McCartney's charm, and Harrison's quiet seriousness. This owes largely to the use of songs from all of the Giants' previous albums: the infamous punching-the-kid-in-the-wheelchair scene from the first MITM season, for example, was done to the strains of "Pencil Rain" from Lincoln. Paul was also on the drums in "The Ballad of John and Yoko" and "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", since only Lennon and McCartney were available. The decision to include the TMBG single "Boss of Me" as the theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle, as well as on the show's compilation CD, has brought a new audience to the band. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison have all said that Ringo was the best rock and roll drummer in the world, although when asked in an interview once "Is Ringo Starr the best drummer in the world?" John Lennon quipped "He's not the best drummer in the Beatles!" This was in reference to the White Album song "Back In The USSR", in which Paul was forced to do the drumming; Ringo had stormed out earlier and didn't return for two weeks. More recently, they composed and performed the music for the TLC series Resident Life and a song about the cartoon Courage the Cowardly Dog. Starr has commented that the most difficult drumming he has ever performed was on the Beatles song "Rain.". They also perform the theme music ("Dog on Fire", composed by Bob Mould) for the Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' They wouldn't know what to do." in his extensive survey of The Beatles recording sessions, Mark Lewisohn confirmed that Starr was both proficient and remarkably reliable and consistent -- according to Lewisohn, there were less than a dozen occasions in the Beatles' eight-year recording career where session 'breakdowns' were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other three members. They Might Be Giants have also performed on other movie and television sound tracks, including The Oblongs, the ABC News miniseries Brave New World, and Ed and His Dead Mother. The drum fills on "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. Also in 1999, They Might Be Giants became the first band ever to release an entire album exclusively on the Internet with Long Tall Weekend, available through Emusic's "TMBG Unlimited" service. According to Collins, Ringo is "vastly underrated. In 2004, however, Dan Hickey left the band and was subsequently replaced by Marty Beller, who had already played with TMBG for kids' shows and other projects. Many drummers list Starr as a major influence including Max Weinberg of The E Street Band, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band, Phil Collins, Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish, and others. The Band of Dans was a trio of guys named Dan: guitarist Dan Miller, drummer Dan Hickey and bassist Danny Weinkauf.

Although some have tried to downplay his contributions to the band, Starr's drumming style played a major role in the overall sound of The Beatles. In 1999, the ever-changing backing band lineup settled on The Band of Dans, forming a full house line-up of Johns and Dans for almost five years. When the Beatles removed Pete Best as their drummer on August 16, 1962, Ringo was their choice to replace him. Several albums have followed, including John Henry (1994) and Factory Showroom (1996). He became the drummer for the Liverpool band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes from 1959 to 1962, playing the same local and Hamburg circuit as the Beatles did. The 1992 release of Apollo 18 saw Flansburgh and Linnell attract a supporting band, consisting of former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Brian Doherty. He went through two serious illnesses as a child and spent a total of three years in hospital, thereby falling behind badly in school. Following those successes, Bar/None Records released the B-sides and rarities compilation Miscellaneous T in 1991.

Richard Starkey was raised in the working class Dingle section of Liverpool. This reflects the high "kid appeal" that TMBG has, resulting from their often silly or absurd songs and poppy melodies. Starr married Maureen Cox in 1965, divorced in 1975 - children Zak, Jason and Lee. He has been married to actress Barbara Bach (most famous for her role as the "Bond Girl" in The Spy Who Loved Me) since 1981. Further interest in the band was generated by a pair of music videos featured in Warner Brothers cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man". Ringo is known for his reliable, steady drumming and innovative fills. His everyman personality made him an easy fit with the other Beatles. Flood earned them a gold album, thanks to the singles "Birdhouse in Your Soul", which reached number 6 in the UK charts, and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". Richard Starkey, MBE (born July 7, 1940) known by his stage name, Ringo Starr, is a popular British musician, best known as drummer for The Beatles. In 1989, they signed with Elektra Records, and released their third album Flood the following year.

In 1996, Ringo Starr appeared in a Japanese advertisement for apple sauce, which coincidentally is what Ringo means in Japanese. The first single from Lincoln, "Ana Ng", reached number 89 on the UK Billboard charts, and was No.1 in the College Charts, earning the attention of major labels. 2003 "Never Without You" (with electric guitar played by Eric Clapton). This album caused a major shock within the US music industry when in its first week of release it knocked U2's The Joshua Tree off the top of the Billboard College Charts (the US music industry's equivalent to the "Alternative/Independent" charts elsewhere in the world) after only a one week stay at the top (most were expecting U2 to be on top for the remainder of the year). 1998 "La De Da". In 1988 they released their second album, Lincoln. 1993 "Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go". The video for "Don't Let's Start" became a hit on VH1, earning them a broader following.

1992 "Weight of the World" #72 UK. The duo released their self-titled debut album in 1986, and it became a college radio hit. 1981 "Wrack My Brain" #38 US. It soon caught the eye of Bar/None Records and earned them a review in People magazine. 1976 "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" #26 US. They did many live performances in New York but when Linnell broke his wrist in a biking accident and Flansburgh's apartment was broken into and all his guitars stolen, they set up the Dial-A-Song system with an answering machine hooked up to a tape of them playing popular songs. 1975 "(It's All Da-Da-Down To) Goodnight Vienna" #31 US. Although they had a strong local following, they had a hard time getting a record deal.

1975 "No No Song" b/w "Snookeroo" #3 US. The band began performing their own music, accompanied by a drum machine, and soon became fixtures on the Manhattan underground. 1974 "Only You (And You Alone) " #6 US, #28 UK. The two finally reunited, and moved to Brooklyn to continue their career. 1974 "Oh My My" #5 US. Eventually the two went to separate colleges after high school, and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a New Wave group from Rhode Island. 1974 "You're Sixteen" #1 US, #4 UK. They began writing songs together in high school, but they never officially formed a band.

1973 "Photograph" #1 US, #8 UK. The two Johns first met as children in Lincoln, Massachusetts. 1972 "Back Off Boogaloo" #2 UK, #9 US. They are also known for "Boss of Me," the theme to the hit television comedy, Malcolm in the Middle for which they won a Grammy Award. 1971 "It Don't Come Easy" #4 US, #4 UK. Their appearance on the show Tiny Toon Adventures also gained recognition for their songs "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". TMBG's most famous songs are probably one single from each of their first three albums, "Don't Let's Start" (from They Might Be Giants), "Ana Ng" (from Lincoln), and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (from Flood).

They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is a pop/rock duo consisting of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, collectively known as "the two Johns" or "John and John". The Spine Surfs Alone (2004). Indestructible Object (2004). Bed, Bed, Bed (2003).

They Might Be Giants In Holidayland (2001). Music From Malcolm In The Middle (2000). Man, It's So Loud in Here (2000). Boss Of Me (2000).

Working Undercover For The Man (2000). S-E-X-X-Y (1996). Back To Skull (1994). O Tannenbaum (1993).

Why Does The Sun Shine (1993). The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) (1992). I Palindrome I (1992). Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990).

Birdhouse In Your Soul (1989). Purple Toupee (1989). They'll Need A Crane (1989). (She Was A) Hotel Detective (1987).

Don't Let's Start (1987). 1985 Demo Tape (1985). Wiggle Diskette (1985). Users Guide to They Might Be Giants (album) (2005).

Almanac (album) (2004) (Internet release only). Venue Songs (2004) (Internet release only). Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants (2002). They Got Lost (2002).

Long Tall Weekend (1999) (Internet release only). Live (1999). Then: The Earlier Years (1997). Live!! New York City 10/14/94 (1994).

Miscellaneous T (1991). Here Come the ABCs (2005) (CD and DVD released separately). The Spine (2004). No! (2002).

Mink Car (2001). Severe Tire Damage (1998). Factory Showroom (1996). John Henry (1994).

Apollo 18 (1992). Flood (1990). Lincoln (1988). They Might Be Giants (aka The Pink Album) (1986).

Experimental Film (2004) (animated, with Homestar Runner characters). Courage The Cowardly Dog (2003?) (computer animated, aired on Cartoon Network). Boss Of Me (2001) (premiered on FOX, some airplay on MTV2 and other stations). Doctor Worm (1998).

Snail Shell (1994). The Guitar (1992). The Statue Got Me High (1992) (two versions exist - the BBC aired a different variation). Particle Man (1990) (animated, with Tiny Toons characters).

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990) (animated, with Tiny Toons characters). Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990) (claymation version). Birdhouse In Your Soul (1990). They'll Need A Crane (1988).

Purple Toupee (1988). Ana Ng (1988). Rabid Child (1986) (home video, not released publicly). Don't Let's Start (1986).

Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head (1986).