Here’s the link to my “Heaviest Beatles Moments” video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Ztt2YNV-2LKak58.html

George Harrison said of Ringo, "he only needed to hear a song once and he knew the drum part it needed". When the songs are being written by 3 of the greatest song composers of all time, that is an extreme compliment to Ringo's genius!!

I had a drummer who had the same mindset towards the Beatles. Said all Beatles songs were boring and simplistic, Ringo is a bad drummer, etc. We wanted to learn the song “Rain”, he couldn’t drum it to save his life. He is no longer my drummer…

There's a great joke that is right on point. Gene Krupa gets a letter addressed to the "World's Greatest Drummer." He doesn't open it and says, "I know who this is for." So, he sends it to Bill Bruford. Bruford smiles and shakes his head and forwards it to Buddy Rich. Rich opens the letter while smiling and saying, "It CAME." He reads the first line, and it starts, "Dear Ringo," ...

Should have asked him to sing Act Naturally while drumming that beat. Ringo pulled it off live, and often. Absolute legend, was Ringo.

Paul McCartney says with Ringo, you never had to worry about him speeding up or slowing down-rock solid.

The best drummer ever is the drummer who plays exactly what the song calls for.

It’s one thing to play a cover perfectly. It’s another to create the music from scratch, like Ringo did hundreds of times. A true musical genius. Any drummer can just fill it with noise, but Ringo was a real artist, adding the perfect fill without overdoing.

Ringo's 'simplicity' was pure genius.

My Father was an Orchestra Leader from the "Swing" era, he was not a rock n roll fan. When the Beatles arrived on the scene, HE bought their first album and sat and listened to it with us. He told us that Ringo was a true drummer, a great musical talent because he understood how important it was the keep the beat spot on always. His talent kept the band in sync, exactly what a drummer's first and foremost function is. He loved the Beatles, thought Lennon/McCartney were an amazing song writing team (as they proved over and over) and would explain why certain songs were such masterpieces. George was equally important because he brought to the band exactly what they needed. My Dad would be 109 if he were alive today - he knew music.

Ringo is a human metronome. He's got perfect timing and his fills were always tasty and only where needed. I hate it when people say he isn't a good drummer. He is a GREAT drummer!

Ringo Starr had to be good enough for The Beatles, and he was. Now, 60 plus years later, he's still doing it. To me, that puts him in a class that very few other drummers have achieved.

I had a drummer buddy back in high school, late ‘60s. He was a fantastic drummer and even then could have replaced or at least competently mimic just about any drummer in the rock ‘n roll universe at that time. He told me back then how great Ringo was. He was one of my best friends and I have lost track of him, and I don’t think he’s with us any more. His name is/was Mike Jenkins. Anyway, he demonstrated several things about the drums and Ringo that I could never emulate in a thousand years on a drum set (I would’ve made a crappy drummer) that totally blew me away, and I have since maintained Ringo’s (as well as Mike’s) greatness to everybody I’ve talked about it with.

You know Ringo was very good because John & Paul were perfectionists & never even looked tp replace him once.

An engineer who worked with the Beatles in Abbey Road said Ringo was the most reliable of the Fab Four because he needed mostly one take to record his parts , no timing problem. Also John Lennon stated that Ringo was already a professional before joining the Beatles and drumming was his job actually. And that since he was a left handed who was mostly self taught on a right handed kit he would come with unusual patterns that a lot of right handed drummer would struggle to replicate. He may not be the most technical drummer, and was not fond of drums solos , but he contributed to a solid rhythmic section and has his own style.

I used to be a drummer. The biggest argument among drummers was always Ringo and there was no "He's okay." middling opinions about him. Thing is, there was a guy who was on the Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson, a lot, named Buddy Rich. He was the bona fide winner of a contest for the world's best drummer, over and over again. And, one time he said he had Ringo Starr over at his house and he'd like to show a clip of his playing. Johnny was not going to have it, thought it sounded mean and beneath B.R. to be that way, expecting it to be a terrible joke. But, no, Buddy convinced him and he showed Ringo when he was not just playing what was needed for a Beatles song and told Johnny that after a while he, Buddy Rich, had to quit because he could not keep up with Ringo. It was an awesome clip! Didn't find that, unless it turns out to be on this vid, but here' the guy that admitted he could not keep up with Ringo: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aJOphLqBxtS4qas.htmlsi=cYF7uK1xsyUKlmwp

Also, listen to the drumming on two of my fave Ringo moments: "Rain" and "Come Together".

The fact that the other three Beatles still used Ringo as their drummer on solo albums says a lot.

The weirdest and best thing about Ringo is if you just looked at his face you would think he wasn't doing anything at all, he looks like he's chilling watching TV

Ringo STILL has that relaxed, completely comfortable look when he plays. He's just that naturally good.

Ringo's image as a semi-clownish character distracted from his deep talent.

John and Paul referred to Ringo as a human metronome. They hired him as he was THE BEST DRUMMER they had heard. Ringo was grossly underrated. He revolutionized hold the drumsticks (both in same position). He didn't hold 1 stick like a spoon, as most drummers do. He put Ludwig drums on the map. The band loved his drumming and perfect beat. One of the best in history.

Really impressive work. And ringo could do this with no clock track or backing at all. He was really incredible.

Ringo is great for what he didn;t play as much as what he did. His fills are magic and he always does the song justice in my mind. Cant find one song where he hams it up.

My wife and I got to see Ringo in concert with his All Stars. He and his All Stars was great. He is underappreciated as a singer too.

I used to be the guy that thought Ringo was overrated. I was a teenager when I started playing drums, and I was really into much busier drummers like Bill Bruford, Tony Williams, Barriemore Barlow, etc. As I got older, I realized that it wasn't always about the fills and speed. Sometimes keeping a steady beat was all that was needed, and depending on where you were coming from as a musician, that simplicity could be pretty challenging. Ringo was one of the greats from back in the day when playing drums was still in it's infancy, and people like him were creating patterns that we now look at as basic. Ringo definitely deserves all the praise he gets.

My dad played drums professionally from the early 60s to the late 90s. He always said that Ringo is one of the hardest drummers to replicate, because he did his "simple" stuff so well.

Plus being left handed playing a righties kit. Can’t wait for my Slingerland kit from my dad! 🥁🥁🥁🥁

Ringo is not only talented, he is quite charming. I hope to see a lot more of him playing music with other great musicians.

Ringo making it look easy is part of why he's a great drummer.

As a drummer I've always respected Ringo. A lot of his parts are technically simple...but he always wrote/played the right part for every song. There's a lot to be said for that. It reminds me to ask myself, "Am I putting this fill/beat in because it's tough and I can play it, or because it enhances the song?"

I enjoy his drumming. It's perfect for what is required in each song. Absolutely LOVE what he did in "Something" - the drums, brilliant bass tune, and guitar blends beautifully ❤

Well done! You taught us non-drummers some cool nuances!

My dad has always said that Ringo wasn't all that because he was simple, so i put him to the test with him playing through an extended fan mix of Helter Skelter and he got tired at the 3 minute mark with 11 minutes to go. He looked up at me and laughed, and he said "son, this is one of those rare times i'm going to say that you're right". And he's never said anything bad about Ringo ever since lol.

Ringo did what many drummers / percussionists cannot do. He played appropriate, musical parts that supported each song.

Fun to observe how the high-hat slowly turns clockwise throughout the song, especially in the sped-up footage. Would be a cool timelapse to lock the frame to the high-hat and everything else spins around

absolutely fantastic video. Rosanna ... walk into any guitar center and there's always someone TRYING but messing it up !!! The second verse of that song when he lets the ghost notes start to have a little more life... its just the best... Of course Jeff said its no big deal, its just 2 iconic songs connected together in a brilliant creative way. A beat thats so easy , rarely can anyone do it and sound natural. Just like that fast shuffle.

Ringo’s drumming made Paul’s bass really stand out. They make a perfect combo

People just don't realize how exceptional together were the four talents that comprised the Beatles.

best description for Ringo. Star is he’s a very solid drummer and he’s also very intuitive. He able to come up with some very memorable drum parts.

We drummers all have our "Ringo" moment after talking shit about him. For me, it was realizing that A Day in the Life is a goddamn drumming masterwork. So unorthodox and off-kilter while managing to stay in the pocket the whole time. Just brilliant.

Ringo is a human metronome, flawless time. His originality was beyond amazing. And even as a boy when I first heard the Beatles, I knew it was actually Ringo that gave the Beatles their exciting sound, their music always sounded like it was moving a thousand miles per hour. One of the greatest.

As far as I'm concerned, Ringo doesn't have to prove ANYTHING to ANYBODY. His drumming speaks for itself, and his drumming is top notch👍

On the point - brilliant. 👍 Nobody has to or can be good at everything, but everyone has their strengths. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses makes you a tastefully good musician. Thank you for your video.

New to the channel: very impressed with the quality and range, professionalism of your work. 👋👋👋👋

What I respected about Ringo is that the other Beatles threw so many styles of music at him and he make the drumming work so well.

You should have mentioned that Ringo was not only a human metronome, but he could repeat the same beat, over and over during 12 hour recording sessions! The man's a legend!

Love this video - shuffles are deceptive because they sound so relaxed and easy, but are a real bear to play and play well.

I'm surprised you didn't pick "Tomorrow Never Knows". I'm not a drummer but I'm a BIG Beatles fan. To me, that beat is just CRAZY... and yet soothing. I just freaking LOVE this song.

Ringo is so underappreciated. He is so good that he goes unnoticed. He works to support the band instead of showing off.

I heard Dave Grohl say that Ringo is left handed but had learn to be right handed, so that's why he's unique as he's able to put a slight twist in his drumming style that others find hard to do.

Great commentary, thank you...❤

Ringo's playing fit the song, which is a high compliment. Same with George's guitar solos. The Beatles embodied taste. They weren't virtuosos and they knew it. But they parlayed a great blend of intelligence, taste, humor and talent into a legacy loved by music appreciators everywhere.

Ringo's brilliance lies in his musicality. He doesn't just hit the skins, he does it in perfect time and add fills at just the right musical moment. For a drummer who doesn't appreciate this they are merely a drummer. Ringo is a musician.

I think a lot of people who dismiss Ringo don't appreciate that he didn't play to stand out, but rather played to complement the song. He wasn't playing to show off but his drumming enhanced the songs beautifully.

His drumming on "Here comes the Sun"" really impresses me...not being a drummer, I don't know how difficult it is.

Wow that drum beat you done on 2.45secs was brilliant. It sounded (to a layman) very much like Goody to Shoes. It is an old Adam Ant song.. Great story btw. 👍🙂

I've worked with so many drummers. Usually, the ones who loved to show off can't keep time to save their lives. Keeping time, knowing when to embellish and when to just keep simple time, and knowing how to play for the sake of the song and not for yourself is something that takes skill and maturity. Good drummers are NOT a dime a dozen.

As a non-drummer, I think the best thing about Ringo is that he's like a composer. His parts are so organically intertwined with the song that you can easily tell what song it is from hearing just the drum track.

I don't much about drum tech but Ringo is a phenomenal human being and the entire list of the worlds greatest artists who had the honour of joining him on stage would most certainly back that fact.

There's this video I watched on Deftones' unique songwriting approach, and the guy narrating talked about Abe's "Ringo-like" tendency to always play what's necessary, and not go for what's flashy. Clean, precise, consistent pocket drumming, never sounds like they're getting tired. Rammstein's drummer is another great example. Other ppl hear "basic", but the songs would be terrible if someone else tried to make them flashy for no reason.

What makes Ringo one of the best drummers ever is his talent for CREATING beats. It's relatively easy to play most Ringo's parts, but the difference is that he actually created them from scratch.

My late uncle used to say, whenever you see someone doing something and it looks so very easy, it never is. It is usually the result of a lot of work and talent. That surely applies to Ringo Star's drumming. He looks so relaxed and at ease when he is playing the drums, but if you try to replicate it, you are in for a big surprise.

All My Lovin'. I could go through and pick out a lot of Beatles songs where even though the beat is not complex, it's still challenging and the stuff he did earlier tended to be harder to play because of the speed of the beat he played, often as you highlighted, with a shuffle. The stuff they played later didn't really lend itself well to a shuffle.

In those early days, Liverpool bands left and right were playing in Hamburg for weeks and months at a time.. Pete Best, as you well know, was The Beatles' drummer at that point, and Ringo was with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. I don't know it as fact, but my belief is that the Hurricanes more than likely did a stint in Hamburg. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison all talk(ed) about how Hamburg was like a proving ground, with sets lasting 10-12 hours a night if not more. With a schedule like that, you can see why Preludin became essential. If Ringo had a residency in Hamburg, where all bands played exponentially more hours than they would have in England, he probably plays that way from having that many hours behind the kit. Great video, sir.

I've always said that Ringo Starr is not the flashiest of drummers, but he is basically a human metronome.

I think people need to understand that just because a drummer isn’t smashing cymbals and doing a bunch of rolls or double foot kicks, it doesn’t mean they suck. Doing beats like these and holding them is incredibly challenging.

His son Zak is incredible. Saw Zak with The Who a handful of years ago and I was amazed at how much he played and sounded like Keith Moon.

Not a drummer, but I loved playing the drums on Beatles Rockband. So nice beats on the base drum.

The same is true with funk guitar. A lot of guitarists think funk is easy, but maintaining a fast and complex strumming pattern throughout an entire song, and staying in the pocket the whole time, is no easy task.

Early ringo has a way of swishing his stick on the hi hat left/right which I think is part of how he kept such a fast and swinging groove going. His parts are so inventive and perfectly supportive to every song.

Yes, I frequent the sports blogs and I get the same ignorant-type comments about certain players. When something is removed from a vacuum, it completely changes the depth of the subject. I'm not a musician, but great job demonstrating your point.

I've always thought Ringo was absolutely masterful in his drumming style, and the perfect example of that for me was his drumming in "Come Together". I'm not a drummer myself and therefore don't know any of the appropriate drumming terminology, but I just can't imagine a cooler beat than Ringo used in that song. I know he wasn't a Neil Peart or any other super-technical drummer. For pure style, though, he's got my vote every time. Thanks for this video! Cheers.

After watching Get Back, seeing Ringo just coming up with beats for each new song like he's already heard that song before is just amazing, nobody even tells him what to do.

There's a video of him playing Act Naturally live on the Ed Sullivan show (no lip-synching!). He's playing that super-fast shuffle on the hi-hat, in perfect time, while singing and looking totally relaxed and at ease, even smiling. Many have said negative things about him - myself included - but I garnered a new respect for him having seen that video.

Ringo played in Skiffle bands before the Beatles so he played a jazz , bluesy, country style of beat with ease before anything rocky so he was very versatile.

Ringo was a metronome! And that is the main purpose of a drummer! He and Charlie Watts were the heartbeats of their respective bands.

I love that you made this video. I've been a professional musician almost 40 years and have given the "Ringo Challenge" to countless drummers who believed Ringo was a slouch. I've administered this test at least 40 times and my challenge has always been the same. I ask the drummer to emulate the open hi-hat shuffle Ringo played on so many early songs. It didn't matter which song I chose; the result was always the same. Not a single drummer I've met can emulate the exact feel and groove of Ringo's playing. Some guys came close and most were able to approximate the actual pattern. But none of them could produce the exact swing and groove. These drummers ultimately sounded the way it sounds when you try to program a Ringo beat on a computer or drum machine. The parts are in their proper spots on the grid; but there is nothing even close to the actual feel of those performances. I had one of the first tribute bands in Seattle (The Britt'ns) in the '80s and we played "a tribute to the music of the '60s and early '70s" which of course included note perfect renditions of Beatles songs. We auditioned countless drummers and the test was always how close they could get on those early Ringo parts. I never found a drummer who could play with that special groove; therefore non of those songs ever felt quite right. Another even more difficult test was "Come Together". All drummers think that's easy and a no brainer until you ask them to play the part immediately after playing the Beatles recording for reference. In my 40 years playing with some of the best musicians in Seattle I have never found a drummer who even comes close to copping the way that sounds on the record. I've even had guys put tea rags to deaden their toms (as Ringo did in those days) and they were still nowhere near close. In all fairness I've seen Ringo demonstrating how to play that fill and he doesn't even sound right anymore. In 1969 when the Beatles recorded Abbey Road it was on the tail of the straight full month of jamming the band had been doing to record the Get Back project. If you watch that 8 hour film you can literally see Ringo reaching a new level as a player. Because they had become a studio band after 1966 they really didn't play their instruments unless they were making an album. The Beatles all reached new highs as musicians as a result of all the jamming they did during Get Back. After the rooftop concert they basically went straight into sessions for Abbey Road which in my opinion is the ultimate showcase for all of them to reveal all they had grown as a result of playing so much recently. I believe Ringo's playing on Abbey Road is in a universe all it's own; and when the first song Come Together opens with that incredible (untouchable) drum pattern you know you are witnessing that band in its musical prime. All that to say it's my opinion that no drummer who has lived can recreate that drum part on Come Together. The only guy who could ever do it was Ringo Starr in 1969. I'm so thankful for all the magical moments captured on their albums; and that will always be one of my favorites.

I've met Ringo personally in L.A. at some cafee joint. At first I had no idea of who he was . But he was such a great person to me from the get go till the end of our regular conversations and he taught me lots of real history that he personally went thru . I truly respect that man as a person and as an greatest musicians of all time !!

Love the Jean Miro print! ❤

The other thing Ringo was boss at was repeatability. George Martin said he'd seen nobody like it. The time signature he set in the studio was exactly what he played live. Songs would last within one or two seconds whether months later in a stadium, or on the record. That was incredibly important in the studio, it meant they could switch takes for the final mix easily.

“She Said She Said” in my opinion is his best drumming. Phenomenal. Couple of ghost notes in it. The key to Ringo’s playing is that he’s actually left handed.

I played Ringo in a couple of Beatles tributes over a few years. I’ve always been a Ringo fan, but had started playing as John, and when our drummer quit we auditioned several drummers. Not a one of them could play a shuffle AND sing at the same time. So I ended to taking the Ringo Role and we got a new John. I can attest that the man is no slouch on the drums. His abilities are so much greater than we often hear because he plays to the song, not his ego.

I think a lot of the problems with people judging The Beatles from a musician perspective is that so many people formed their opinions from the original recordings, which were mostly in mono and the level of clarity on most of those recordings made it pretty hard to hear them individually. I've always loved The Beatles, however they were produced and recorded in such a way that they were made to sound like a harmonious band (rightly so). It's only really with the remasters that have come along in the last 15 or so years, thanks to Giles Martin that we have been able to really listen to all the instruments and more importantly, the musicians as individuals that we are really able to hear in clarity the true brilliance of their musicianship. None more so than Ringo's drumming and Paul's bass playing. Those two elements were often hidden in the background of the old recordings. They go from being a cog in a well functioning system to a masterpiece of musicianship in a huge mural of musical work. If you really want to hear a dissected and clear breakdown of all the instruments, watch 3, 2, 1 McCartney with Rick Rubin. There he has the original tracks and isolates each instrument and you hear their true genius

Wow! I'm so glad I found this video because Ringo Starr was the reason I started playing drums as a kid. And I just recently said the same thing to my wife a couple of days ago. Well the shuffle beat is a very challenging groove and I have a new found respect for Mr. Ringo Star.

One thing about Ringo. He is infinitely better than people realise. He is in fact left handed yet played a right handed kit. Incredible

Interestingly, what attracted John and Paul to get Ringo as their drummer was the steadiness of his drumming, the metronome-like quality of his beat. What is probably underrated about his drumming is the sheer inventiveness and creativity of it. If anyone has any doubt about Ringo's quality as a musician, not only as a drummer, should listen to "A day in the life". The way he uses percussions to create a wall of sound is mindblowing.

The great part about Act Naturally is that it's a Buck Owens cover and the drum part is virtually identical, you can tell the influence American country music had on him and the rest of the Beatles. At first I thought you were going to say I Feel Fine which is one of my all time favorite drum parts because it really swings alternates into a rock beat then switches back to the swinging r&b groove.

Ringo is cool. Back in the day when The Beatles returned from a long trip to India where they focused on meditation at various places including the ashram of the Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, they were met at the airport by some reporters, who asked them about their trip. John, Paul and George all gave deep answers about how spiritually uplifting the whole thing was etc. Ringo's response was, "It was a bit like Butlin's but with more drugs." Butlins is a traditional British holiday camp. For me, that spoke volumes about his great personality and how his feet were still firmly on the ground.

In addition to his drumming talents, something also has to be said about his ability to get along with people, because when the Beatles broke up he was the only one nobody hated.

As a fellow drummer, I can honestly say Ringo is one of the most under appreciated percussionists. Not over rated.

Whenever someone says “Ringo isn’t a Great Drummer”… I always offer them the same challenge: _’Name _*_one_*_ Beatles song where the Drumming is _*_not_*_ absolutely perfect for the Music-and tell me how it could’ve been better’._ I’m still waiting for an answer.

Strawberry Fields is some of my favourite drumming in music. He's by no means the best drummer of all time, but he is underappreciated.

Ringo was like a human clock keeping time. & he always kept it "in the pocket" never stepping on anyone's toes or trying to outshine anyone, just provided a steady beat and complimented the song. And for drummers who played too loud, I had a music teacher who always said "a good drummer is felt, not heard."

Ringo developed a completely unique beat for each and every single song. This was a big part of the Beatles sound and what made them stand out.

I think Ringo and Micky Dolenz are underrated as great drummers, especially singing drummers, with how "simple" their songs seem to have been. Not to mention singing drummers weren't too common back then.

Ringo's and the other Beatles formative band years were playing 6-8 hours, sometimes 12 hours long gigs, with intervals every half hour, on Hamburg port's brothels. After 3-4 years like that, everything is playing relaxed.

Great story. Thanks for sharing this. Having grown up in the 1960's and listening to ALL the Beatles albums over and over throughout my life I feel like a am well educated about them. And I've heard the, "Ringo was the weakest of the four musically" argument, and that he relied a lot on George Harrison to keep him up to speed with the band's evolution. Then there is the, "The Beatles were just the first boy band". What a lot of young people fail to recognize is the context surrounding the Beatles and the cultural mood of the time. They were true innovators and the reason the casual listener doesn't appreciate this is because their innovations and style has been used by just about every band since. So, many times when someone scoffs at the greatness of the Beatles it's because they are exposed to their contributions all the time being used by other bands not knowing their origins.

Two things about Ringo's drumming that has always stood out to me are, 1) He has perfect meter, and 2) He plays to the song, without a bunch of excessive junk notes.

Paul McCartney once said in an interview that Ringo's strength was that he could keep going and never miss a beat - which was exactly what the band wanted.