Ringo Starr’s favourite drummer of all time: “My all-time hero”
Despite being one of the most impactful drummers in music history, Ringo Starr isn’t obsessed with the instrument.
While many drummers can lock themselves in a garage for an entire week to hone their craft, that’s never been Starr’s style. He needs to thrive off being surrounded by like-minded musicians in a room, which gives him the energy to hit the drums like his life depends on it.
Starr has never cared about being the flashiest drummer in the world, which has meant that certain members of the general public unfairly undermine his crucial contribution to the Fab Four. While he has never been one for rolling out show-stealing solos, Ringo’s understated presence allowed the rest of the band to flourish, which made him the perfect person for the role.
Starr was always elated to let his bandmates take the acclaim while he quietly went about his business in the background. When it comes to the art of drumming, he likes to see this attribute in others, too, and respects those willing to sacrifice in order to reach a greater collective good.
For Ringo, Jim Keltner is untouchable and the drummer he considers his favourite. While Keltner isn’t a household name like John Bonham or Keith Moon, his resumé includes work with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, George Harrison, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty and Steely Dan.
Within the inner circles of the music industry, Keltner is regarded as a session musician of the highest calibre, a reputation illustrated by his remarkable CV. Additionally, although Starr is a drummer, Keltner was involved in the first All-Star Band tour in 1989 and continues to make sporadic appearances with him when the occasion demands it.
Their relationship began in 1973 when Keltner appeared on Starr’s third solo album, Ringo, and since then, their partnership has grown into something special. While they now perform together less regularly, Starr is still full of admiration for his frequent collaborator, who he considers the best to ever step behind a drum kit.
Ringo told USA Today: “Jim is my all-time hero drummer, no one is as good as him − I love Jim, and that’s about it”. In the same interview, Starr also gave props to another drummer who he considers a great, which is Dave Grohl, noting: “I’ve seen Dave Grohl play straight. He was doing backup at some party, and he was doing it straight. And I was like, OK, wow.”
However, as much as he admires Grohl, nobody comes close to Keltner for Starr. Notably, Starr wasn’t the only Beatle who admired Keltner, either. George Harrison also viewed him as one of the best in the business.
When speaking about his album Cloud Nine, which featured both Starr and Keltner, Harrison explained his decision to employ both drummers: “I always had in mind when I did this record, I would like to have these proper drummers, and more or less do it like I did it in the late ’60s, early’ 70s’, which is to say Keltner and Ringo”.
Harrison then touched upon the chemistry between Starr and Keltner: “Those two are perfect. Jim is a very great session drummer, and he’s always kept ahead of or up to the technology, so Jim could just as well sit down on his drum kit and play whatever you need. At the same time, if you want to have a machine play it, Jim can play that machine like nobody else and make it sound like real drums. I mean, he’s called the ‘Stenographer of Soul’.”
Typically, one drummer is enough for any band, and any more would ruin the musical concoction; however, that isn’t the case with Starr and Keltner. Both know how to play to one another’s strengths, hold each other in the highest regard, and are a match made in heaven.
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