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Following the release of the White Album in 1968, in which Paul McCartney had played drums on a couple of tracks, John Lennon was asked in an interview if Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world.
Lennon quickly responded, "In the world? Ringo's not even the best drummer in The Beatles!"
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Since my 18 year old son gave the same quip the other day, I figured I'd do some Googling™ to see if the quip could be sourced.
Although it's a great line, and apparently just the sort of thing that John would love to have said, no one's been able to track down the quote in any interview.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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That's a fair point, David. I take it on board.
I did a lot of research, and found mountains of sites that referenced the comment. While no one absolutely referenced the time, author and date of the comment, I also didn't find a site that genuinely disproved its authenticity.
One thing for sure, I wish John was still here instead of his Empty Garden.
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Yeah, I could see John saying that.... whether or not he said it, well, that's another story...
IMHO, Ringo did a good job and has some things about his playing that I like and admire.... but it came down to an average drummer was in the right place at the right time and got hired into a band with none of them having a clue about what lay ahead.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 01/22/14 08:11 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Best? I don't think anyone can say since it's a subjective opinion. If you are a fan of British Invasion music you know the music rarely if ever demanded much from the drummer, let alone feature them so there was not much reason to advance or improve their craft. Keith Moon of the Who was most likely a better drummer but imagine how his drumming style would have had to change to play as a member of The Beatles. I can't see it happening. Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five was predominately a jazz drummer prior to putting together his own group yet you would never know it from most of their recordings.
I believe Ringo's personality and his solid as a rock backbeat allowed the other members to grow musically. His job was to provide a foundation. He was the best drummer for that job.
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I'm sure the Ringo quip by John Lennon was made during the Beatle's Australian Tour in 1964. Ironically, Ringo was not with them at the start due to a bout of tonsilitis. His stand in was Jimmie Nichol.
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Keith
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I believe Ringo's personality and his solid as a rock backbeat allowed the other members to grow musically. His job was to provide a foundation. He was the best drummer for that job. According to Bob Spitz in "The Beatles," this is absolutely the case. Pete Best could only play "four on the floor" and had a bad attitude. Ringo had been playing around Liverpool for years and had a reputation for being reliable and competent. He was also two years older than any of the others. It was hoped that his relative maturity would rub off. Oh, well. With the given that I am not a drummer and haven't critically evaluated too many other drummers, having gone back as an adult and listened to Ringo's playing on better sound systems than I had available when I was young, I'd have to say that he was also a master of tone. Maybe other bands' drummers were buried in the mix or something, but Mr. Starkey's sound really stands out IMO. I'd be curious to hear others' assessment.
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Maybe other bands' drummers were buried in the mix or something, but Mr. Starkey's sound really stands out IMO. I'd be curious to hear others' assessment. Ringo's tone was a combo of good tuning/playing & a lot of firsts...placing a mic on the kick and moving it in close....a LOT of the Beatles records benefited from micing everything WAY closer & with more mics than was used at any time before that.
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Thanks for that insight. The Bob Spitz book is great on facts and debunking myths, but not so good on technical details. Sounds like time to go back and read Sir George Martin's autobiography All You Need Is Ears, which has a wealth of information on the recording process.
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You might also want to check out "Beatles Gear" by Andy Babiuk. A must have for the musician and Beatles fan. http://www.beatlesfabgear.com/
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Best? I don't think anyone can say since it's a subjective opinion. If you are a fan of British Invasion music you know the music rarely if ever demanded much from the drummer, let alone feature them so there was not much reason to advance or improve their craft. Keith Moon of the Who was most likely a better drummer but imagine how his drumming style would have had to change to play as a member of The Beatles. I can't see it happening. Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five was predominately a jazz drummer prior to putting together his own group yet you would never know it from most of their recordings.
I believe Ringo's personality and his solid as a rock backbeat allowed the other members to grow musically. His job was to provide a foundation. He was the best drummer for that job. Jim, in that case one would have to include Buddy Rich in the list, but that's not really the focus of the story. We all know that there are great drummers in the world. The focus is really on John Lennon's quip. What a genius that man was. And I'm sure it was tongue-in-cheek.
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I'm certainly no expert on drums. When I first started doing MIDI recordings, I thought "This is easy, no reason bothering with a drummer". But, it just sounded bad. I never got the hang of drum sequencing but I did start to hear drums differently. The better my ears for drums have gotten, the more I appreciate Ringo. He was always tasteful in his playing and added to the music instead of competing with it. He was always "in the pocket". When you imagine Beatles' music in your head (Come together, Tax man, Something), you can always hear Ringo's contribution to the greatness. I think it's fair to say he was not the most talented guy in the band (maybe not even in the top 3) but he was, I believe, a great drummer.
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Ringo did a good job and has some things about his playing that I like and admire.... but it came down to an average drummer was in the right place at the right time and got hired into a band with none of them having a clue about what lay ahead. From my perspective.... Being a drummer in bands I see it as stated above. Nothing flashy or distinctive in his playing. Average, simple drummer but he was a good fit for Beatles during their era....I guess history proves that.  Although I preferred the Stones over the Beatles I measure Charlie Watts drumming similarly. They will all be happy to race us to the bank. Carry on....
Last edited by chulaivet1966; 01/23/14 09:03 AM.
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Following the release of the White Album in 1968, in which Paul McCartney had played drums on a couple of tracks, John Lennon was asked in an interview if Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world.
Lennon quickly responded, "In the world? Ringo's not even the best drummer in The Beatles!"
Steve Smith would probably qualify as better than most of the rock drummers. He also played be-bop, fusion and R&B. He gained fame as Journey's drummer. Later, Ray
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Steve Smith would probably qualify as better than most of the rock drummers. He also played be-bop, fusion and R&B. He gained fame as Journey's drummer. Later, Ray And there it is in a nutshell. I would much rather hear someone describe himself as "a drummer" than as "a rock drummer." The latter is double edged. In my experience it generally denotes that the player is good in the rock genre only, but deficient in others. As a result, when I describe someone as a good rock drummer, I mean it as faint praise. (Fortunately no one ever notices that.)
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The 'Ringo - Best Drummer ?' subject, along with the the associated content made me giggle.
Beatles - drummer - Best (okay maybe tasteless but funny)
I personally don't think he did anything noteworthy, just happened to get a seat for the trip that took him beyond his dreams.
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Forgive me for sharing a personal drummer story here guys.
Re: Drummers in general . . . Like most kid guitar players (that was a long time ago) I very foolishly did not give drummers the props they deserved.
This revelation came to the forefront one night when a replacement drummer, his name is Don France, sat in for our regular guy who was ill. Well while playing my solo on an upbeat jazz arrangement of Blue Skies he leans over to me and says, "gimme the bridge man". At first I thought he was kidding but I did anyway, then stood there with my mouth wide open while changing my opinion of the musical abilities of all drummers forever!
That was 40 years or so ago and since then every time I hear Blue Skies, I also hear every "distinct note" Don played on his drums that night.
Amazing thousands of gigs over the years that these days seem to all run together and in my mind this one and that display of musicianship, still rings true as clear as a bell.
Later,
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Great Story Danny
From time to time we all experience great moments
Glad that one stayed with you. Thanks for sharing
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Since my 18 year old son gave the same quip the other day, I figured I'd do some Googling™ to see if the quip could be sourced.
Although it's a great line, and apparently just the sort of thing that John would love to have said, no one's been able to track down the quote in any interview. At last...care of BBC News "10 things we didn't know last week" 2. The line often attributed to John Lennon - "Ringo isn't the best drummer in the world. He isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles" - was actually uttered by British comedian Jasper Carrott in 1983.
Chris
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The better my ears for drums have gotten, the more I appreciate Ringo. He was always tasteful in his playing and added to the music instead of competing with it. He was always "in the pocket". When you imagine Beatles' music in your head (Come together, Tax man, Something), you can always hear Ringo's contribution to the greatness. I think it's fair to say he was not the most talented guy in the band (maybe not even in the top 3) but he was, I believe, a great drummer.
I'll second that Greg. Couldn't have said it better. Josie
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
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