Drummer of the Week: Ringo Starr

The more I read about drummers, the more I read about Ringo Starr and am shocked to hear his reputation for being an OK drummer. Supposedly, he does not have great technique, mostly because he is a left-handed drummer playing on a right-handed set up. How could the drummer of the greatest rock and roll band of all time have a reputation for being just OK?

I don't have enough expertise at the moment to comment on Ringo's technique, but I love his drumming (my drum teacher agrees). When I listen to the Beatles, many of the songs have unique drum fills, such as the song "Something." During 1:16-1:40, the fill is absolutely crazy -- the tom-toms are played heavily, moving from one tom to the next quickly, and it sounds like he's playing the hi-hat, too. I can't figure out what he's doing, but I hope to one day.

When the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, his four-piece Ludwig set became the most popular drum set at the time. Meanwhile, Ringo inspired a whole generation of new drummers. Before Ringo, drummers were not considered equal members in a band.

I love this Ringo quote:

First and foremost, I am a drummer. After that, I'm other things. But I didn't play drums to make money. I played drums because I loved them. My soul is that of a drummer. It came to where I had to make a decision -- I was going to be a drummer. Everything else goes now. I play drums. It was a conscious moment in my life when I said the rest of things were getting in the way. I didn't do it to become rich and famous, I did it because it was the love of my life. -- Ringo Starr, in The Big Beat by Max Weinberg