Ringo Starr explains his approach to drum fills
There’s a long-standing rumour that, when an interviewer raised the prospect that Ringo Starr might be the best drummer, one of his Beatles bandmates quipped in response, “He isn’t even the best drummer in The Beatles.” It’s a quote that has been attributed to both parts of the central songwriting duo, to Paul McCartney and to John Lennon, though neither of them ever actually said it.
Starr’s fellow Beatles may never have ever uttered those words, but the fabled statement seems to have followed the drummer in his legacy nonetheless. While Lennon and McCartney’s names have earned near-permanent places on lists of the greatest songwriters of all time, Starr often loses out to more technically talented players, to the pioneering work of Ginger Baker and the rock and roll stylings of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.
Starr may not have been as showy or as technically skilled as the drummers who seem to dominate those top ten lists, but he didn’t need to be. Instead, he honed a style that served the song, allowing the talents of his other bandmates to shine and concocting a beat or groove that worked in tandem with Lennon’s lyrics or McCartney’s basslines. His talent is evident in just how much fellow drummers appreciate his style of playing.
Though Starr certainly wasn’t known for being an out-there player, he was no stranger to a drum fill. From ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ to ‘Day Tripper’, Starr dropped in fills as he saw fit, always making sure not to get in the way of his fellow bandmates. Still, he managed to amass an impressive number of them throughout the Beatles’ discography, making it a difficult task to pick out a favourite.
“There’s too many great drum fills,” he commented when Uncut asked him to pick out a favourite. He went on to describe his “whacky attitude” to the art of drum fills, noting that his left-handedness influences his playing. “I can only go floor tom, top tom, snare, because I lead with my left. So for me, the fills were fine,” he explained, adding, “I always put them in what I call ‘the right place’, never over when the singer was singing.”
Starr described his work on ‘Free As A Bird’ as “one of the all-time killer drum fills”. The track was released decades after the break-up of the Beatles, in 1995, borrowing from a demo Lennon had made in the late 1970s. It’s a fine example of Starr serving the song, ensuring that his fills are perfectly placed amidst the tender lyrics.
Starr also picked out ‘A Day in the Life’, which appeared on the band’s iconic 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. “I like the whole song,” he enthused, “the whole track,” suggesting that George’s guitar was “in some cases as important as any words.” But, ultimately, Starr admitted that he couldn’t pick out just one favourite from his catalogue.
“I think they’re all my favourite,” he concluded, “If I’m doing them”. It makes sense that Starr couldn’t single out just one fill from decades-worth of drumming and that he enjoys whichever one he plays most, but ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘A Day in the Life’ are both worthy contenders for the title. Each shows off why Starr may not have been the most show-stopping drummer but why he was the perfect player for the Beatles.
