When John, Paul, and George decide to make a change, they looked to the best drummer in Liverpool.  Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey) said goodbye to Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and hello to world wide renown as drummer for perhaps the most influential band on earth. 

 

As a self-taught lefty playing a right-handed kit, Ringo’s style has often been considered different or quirky, but always inventive and musical.  His taste and feel are unmistakable throughout a diverse catalogue of music from three of the most prolific songwriters of the 20th century.  While sometimes underestimated, his playing can be deceptively sophisticated.

 

He was not only successful as a Beatle but also as a solo artist and as a guest drummer with an impressive list of artists including each of the former Beatles. He continues to tour with his All-Starr Band to this day. 

 

Ringo is credited by a host of major professional drummers as their inspiration for beginning to play. Max Weinberg expressed it well in The Big Beat, "More than any other drummer, Ringo Starr changed my life. The impact and memory of that band on Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 will never leave me. I can still see Ringo in the back moving that beat with his whole body, his right hand swinging off his sock cymbal while his left hand pounds the snare. He was fantastic, but I think what got to me the most was his smile. I knew he was having the time of his life."