Eight Reasons to Acknowledge that Ringo Starr was a Good Drummer
How many fans of the Beatles have thought about the changes to drumming made by drummer Ringo Starr? So many of those who analyze music have called Starr a mediocre drummer who lucked into the best gig in history, however, many others disagree. These dissenters say that it was Pete Best who was the better drummer, but they forget that producer George Martin was immediately dissatisfied with Best and told the others to get someone better if they wanted the recording sessions to continue. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison did not argue the point. They found another drummer, one with a very good reputation in Liverpool, a man considered to be one of the best in the city. That was Ringo Starr.
Ringo Starr did a lot for drumming. He started new trends. The first and possibly most important one was the new method he used with his drumsticks. Most drummers had learned to hold the sticks in the military grip. This was the traditional way to hold sticks, one stick, the right one, was held straight and the left one was held more like a chopstick, angling in instead of straight like the other one. Starr changed that, and now a high percentage of drummers hold their sticks the way he did. The term for his method of holding the sticks is called a matched grip.
Ringo put drummers on equal footing with the rest of the band. Most drummers spent their careers blocked by the band standing in front of them. Starr’s first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show changed that. He and his drums were put on a riser. This occurred in 1964. People were able to see him and watched the drummer while he bobbed his head to the music, so obviously enjoying playing his drums. Even Elvis’ drummer was not seen, instead playing to the backs of the others in the band.
Ringo also established Ludwig drums as a brand worth exploring. After learning what he played, many young people who wanted to become drummers went out and bought Ludwig sets by the thousands. They became the drums to use to play rock and roll.
Ringo had nearly perfect tempo. This was very important when they were working in the recording studio. The group would often record a song thirty, forty or even fifty times. Then they would take the recordings and piece them together to make the best sound. Since Ringo had such an incredible ability to keep the tempo the same, almost exactly the same, the recordings came out sounding like the piece was recorded once instead of potentially coming from several sources.
Ringo was not a man with a large ego and so he did not desire constant solo work. In his entire career as a Beatle, he only had one solo. It was on Abbey Road and those who have closely listened have said it was near perfect.
Another point for Ringo’s talent was that he easily could change form one genre to another. He could play ballads, swing, rhythm and blues or country. He had played enough nightclubs that he knew the styles
As well, he had good ideas on how to make the music sound better. He tried interesting techniques when recording. He used a method that muffled the sound somewhat while at the same time he put microphones by each drum to make sure the sound was heard. Perhaps the best opinion of Ringo Starr as a drummer came from one of his band mates. When the group broke up, John Lennon wanted Ringo to play with him on Lennon’s first solo album. He valued him as a talented drummer.
