Sir Richard Starkey, more commonly known as Ringo Starr, is the former drummer for The Beatles. His active tenure with the band was an eight-year period that saw the release of the albums A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Revolver, Abbey Road, and other equally famous collections. To many, their rise to stardom was a picture-perfect story of four young, talented, and handsome musicians that were to take the world by storm.

Behind closed doors, the band frequently faced tumultuous disputes over both interpersonal matters and matters of style and creativity. The band itself was founded on the controversy of their drummer, Pete Best. Best joined the Beatles on their first tour of Hamburg, Germany. His good looks and poor sense of time led to great popularity with the fans, but Paul, George, and John had their reservations. Best lacked the personality match with the rest of The Beatles and the musicianship to remain a long-term solution to the drummer problem.

The group had aspired to its signing with EMI and would soon begin the process of recording, yet frequently regretted the limitations of Best’s percussive talent. Best was great for showmanship and ensuring a full crowd, but his skillset was not oriented with the long-term goals of the ensemble. In September of 1962, Pete Best was hastily dismissed from his role in The Beatles. In his own autobiography, A Cellarful of Noise, manager Brian Epstein stated he “was not anxious to change the membership of the Beatles at a time when they were developing as personalities.”

Pete Best

A simple technical analysis of the two drummers tells the tale: the Pete Best scandal was inevitable. Any deviation from the Ringo option may have completely changed the trajectory of the ensemble. While Pete is well known for wild, almost erratic changes in tempo, his lack of coordination is not as commonly known. On occasion, Pete’s left-hand snare would fall out of coordination with his right hand hi-hat and his right foot bass drum. Not only was Ringo far more consistent, but his creativity around the kit demonstrated his significant value to the ensemble.

“Advanced” usage of dampening techniques on all sides of the drums helped Ringo achieve his classic, dry, and tight sound which was integral to The Beatles’ late discography. In actuality, advanced dampening techniques consisted of the use of towels and duct tape to take any resonance out of the drums. This is commonly referred to as the elimination of overtones: i.e., the “ringing” sound which lingers after initial contact of the stick with the drumhead. Next time you listen to The Beatles’ 1963 “I Saw Her Standing There” versus their 1969 “Come Together,” think about the difference in sound of the two drumkits. While Ringo’s techniques were not incredibly difficult to recreate, they were ultimately far more original than the majority of the drummers in continental Europe at the time.

From the musician’s perspective, Ringo is an inspiration – both for the consistency of his performance and the creativity with which he achieved simple yet pleasing sounds. His techniques are pervasive today in both the live and studio setting, whether it is a rock band, jazz band, or marching band with a need to eliminate excess overtones. His influence on modern drumming could not be more underappreciated at present than it is right now.

Links - Drumming:

Pete Best’s Drumming, “Like Dreamers Do,” 1962

Ringo Starr’s Drumming, “Come Together,” 1969