Ringo Starr’s “all-time favourite” blues musician
Ringo Starr is often given a bit of a harsh reputation. Throughout the 1960s, there was no doubt that The Beatles were the most influential band on the planet, as the musical stylings of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Starr came together to make something truly special. They all contributed to this huge sound, but Starr’s contribution is often diminished.
Harrison, McCartney, and Lennon were all praised for their talent, hailed as experts with their instruments, and wrote some of the greatest songs of the decade. Ringo Starr didn’t write too many songs for The Beatles and so was often left out of these conversations; however, he did contribute some numbers.
‘Don’t Pass Me By’ was one of Starr’s, which came out of a period of boredom. “I wrote ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ when I was sitting round at home,” he said. “I only play three chords on the guitar and three on the piano. I was fiddling with the piano – I just bang away – and then if a melody came and some words, I just had to keep going. That’s how it happened: I was just sitting at home alone and ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ arrived. We played it with a country attitude.”
The truth is that while Ringo Starr might not be hailed as a prolific songwriter, he didn’t need to be. There were already three people writing songs in The Beatles and having ideas clash; Starr focused on the drums and provided a solid rhythm section. Regardless of the album and period of time The Beatles were in, his drumming was a quintessential part of their success.
Starr’s drumming sound sounded as though it came naturally. He never wanted to overpower the rest of the band, as The Beatles were such a unit, and each member complimented the other so well that if Starr went too overpowering with his drums, it wouldn’t have worked. He was a genius in this sense, with an excellent and melodic drumming sound that is now buried into the foundation of The Beatles.
Starr listened to many heroes growing up, who helped him become the musician he was. He listened to music far and wide, letting it completely dominate his life, so much so that he nearly left Liverpool at 19 to be closer to his blues hero.
“I also love the blues,” he said. “Everybody should know by now. When I was 19, I tried to emigrate to Houston, Texas. I wanted to be where Lightnin’ Hopkins was, my all-time favourite blues player. John and I went down to the embassy and filled in all these forms. You know, we were just teenagers then.”
“We even had a list of factories where we wanted to apply for jobs because I was working in a factory at the time,” the drummer concluded. “But then, when we went back to the embassy, we were given more paperwork with more questions. We then turned back into teenagers and just ripped them up. Sod it! That would have been an interesting move if I’d have done that.”
