The moment Buddy Rich heavily criticised Ringo Starr’s drumming
It has long been assumed that Ringo Starr, the much-loved drummer of The Beatles, was the weakest part of the machine, a musician who was labelled as bang average at what he did, there to serve the rest of the band’s undoubted genius. However, over the years, this has been proven to be untrue, with his complex work on cuts such as ‘Here Comes the Sun’ – with its shift through numerous time signatures – speaking for itself.
Often dismissed as purely a happy-go-lucky foil to John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, it is arguable that this is the most preposterous notion in all of popular music, no doubt helped by his strange work as an actor in films such as Frank Zappa’s crazed 200 Motels and the 1969 farce The Magic Christian.
However, those who knew him best – his bandmates – have always defended his drumming. “Ringo’s a damn good drummer,” Lennon told Playboy in 1980. “He was always a good drummer. He’s not technically good, but I think Ringo’s drumming is underrated.”
Paul McCartney later supported this sentiment when remembering Ringo’s first audition for the band, saying: “The first few minutes that Ringo is playing, I look to the left at George and to the right to John, and we didn’t say a word, but I remember thinking, ‘Shit, this is amazing’.”
It’s not just his bandmates that have always flown his flag either, it’s those he has subsequently inspired. As a testament to his work, Starr has influenced everyone from Phil Collins to Dave Grohl, two of the most prominent rhythmic heroes of all time, with the latter once proposing: “Define best drummer in the world? Is it someone that’s technically proficient? Or is it someone that sits in the song with their own feel? Ringo was the king of feel.”
However, one of his most prominent critics was Buddy Rich. A legendary jazz drummer who counts the likes of John Bonham, Bill Ward and Travis Barker as disciples, the American maestro was a notoriously tempestuous character. The stories surrounding him are manifold, including Dusty Springfield’s unfavourable comments about him and his longtime and often violent feud with Frank Sinatra. When asked about Ringo Starr’s drumming, Rich gave a harsh assessment that would go down in history: “Ringo Starr was adequate. No more than that.”
Understandably, Rich’s comments about Ringo Starr did not go down well, particularly with those closest to him, as Paul McCartney heavily inferred during an extensive interview with GQ 2018. At one point in the chat, the subject turned to an interview with New York magazine that Quincy Jones had given earlier that year when he discussed his first impressions of The Beatles, shocking everyone when he said: “They were the worst musicians in the world. They were no-playing motherfuckers. Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard.”
Duly, the interviewer asked Paul McCartney about his old friend’s comments, to which he maintained that he didn’t care, and at the end of his account, the former Beatles man managed to pack in a dig at Buddy Rich for his comments about Ringo. McCartney explained: “So I get a phone call: ‘Is this Mr. McCartney?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Quincy would like to speak with you.’ Because he’s always worked through security guys. I said, ‘Hey, Quince!’ ‘Paul, how you doing, man?’ ‘I’m doing great—how are you, you motherfucker!’ I’m just jiving with him. ‘Paul, I didn’t really say that thing—I don’t know what happened, man. I never said that. You know I love you guys!’ I said, ‘If you had said that, you know what I would have said? Fuck you, Quincy Jones!’ And he laughed. I said, ‘You know I would say to that: Fuck you, Quincy Jones, you fucking crazy motherfucker!’ So actually, we just had a laugh. And he was like, ‘Oh, Paul, you know I love you so much.’ ‘Yeah, I know you do, Quince.'”
He continued: “But he’s an old guy. I don’t know what it was. But I don’t think I’m the worst bass player he’s ever heard. Or maybe he’s never heard bad bass players. He’s talking all of this jazz and musicianship, and he’s an arranger and stuff. This is like Buddy Rich saying Ringo couldn’t drum. Because coming from Buddy Rich’s sensibility, Ringo can’t drum. But coming from our sensibility, Buddy Rich is a load of shit. But God bless him”.
Interestingly, McCartney explained to the publication that the term “bless him” was a longtime euphemism used by the McCartney family. It originated from an old relative, a somewhat eccentric actor refusing to call the man who had wronged him a “fucking cunt” like the rest of the family. Instead, he said, “bless him”, which was then appropriated by the clan to describe someone you hate.
“So this became the thing,” McCartney revealed. “If we ever said, ‘bless him,’ we all knew what you meant. It’s great—if you really hate someone, ‘Bless him.’ It was a great euphemism for ‘What a cunt.’ So if you ever hear me say, ‘Bless him…'”
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