He is a drummer, musician and singer-songwriter born
Richard Starkey in Liverpool, England.As a child he went into a coma,
spending three years in hospital.He missed much of his schooling and when he left he was still
finding reading and writing difficult.In 1957 he formed the group The Eddie Clayton Skiffle
Group with Eddie Miles and then joined the Raving Texans in 1959.It was then that he was given the
name Ringo as he wore several rings as well as being named after the
character The Ringo Kid who was played by John Wayne in the movie Stagecoach.The name Starr came so that when he
did his solo spots it could be billed as "Starr Time".While performing with Rory Storm
and the Hurricanes in Hamburg
he first met The Beatles and sat in for their drummer Pete Best on several
occasions.He was asked to
join them in 1962 which caused controversy with Pete Best fans who held
vigils at his home and fought at the Cavern Club.His style of drumming has influenced many artists
including Phil Collins and Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's Band, and he is
noted for being left handed but playing a right-handed kit and leading with
his left hand.
The other members of The Beatles all said that he was "the best rock and roll
drummer in the world".He left
the band for two weeks in 1969 following a row with John Lennon and spent
two weeks on a yacht with Peter Sellers but all the members asked him to
come back.He sang on each
studio album and Lennon and McCartney wrote these songs especially for him
to suit his range.He also
wrote his own songs such as "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden" and
co-wrote many other songs with the other members of the group.After The Beatles disbanded in 1970
he released two albums with the assistance of George Martin, Paul McCartney
and Quincy Jones.He achieved
chart success in the US
with his No. 1 hits "Photograph" and "You're Sixteen" although he is the
only Beatle never to have topped the British charts as a solo artist.He continued to work with the
members of The Beatles in their individual careers, appearing at George
Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh
and also drumming for Yoko Ono in her early solo work.He moved into film and aside from
appearing in The Beatles films he has appeared in ones including Son of Dracula, That'll Be the Day
and Caveman where he met his
second wife, the actress Barbara Bach. His first release as a director was
a documentary called Born to Boogie
on the band T. Rex and he has narrated the children's series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
as well as featuring on The Point by Harry Nilsson and appearing as
himself on The Simpsons
.George Harrison wrote the song "All
Those Years Ago" for him to sing on his album Stop and Smell the Roses but he took it back and sang a
re-written version himself featuring Ringo, Paul and Linda McCartney
following John Lennon's death.Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band does a
yearly series of concerts where he appears with well known musicians that
cover various music eras.In 2001 he and George Harrison were guest musicians on the Electric
Light Orchestra's album Zoom and
in 2002 he was inducted into the Percussive Hall of Fame.In 2005 it was announced that he
would be collaborating with the comic book creator Stan Lee to produce an
animated musical superhero based on him.The minor planet 4150 that was discovered in 1984 was
named in his honour.
Beatles Recordings
If I Fell (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
Got to Get You into My Life (John Lennon/Paul
McCartney)
