Thanks to hindsight, we know Ringo Starr possessed tons of skills as a drummer and had a huge impact on future timekeepers thanks to his work with The Beatles. He once said drummers aren’t treated like humans, and sometimes fellow kit men inflicted the pain. Ringo never really got the credit he deserved while with The Beatles, and contemporary drummer Kenny Aronoff once explained why.
Ringo Starr was one of the first superstar rock ‘n’ roll drummers
Ringo didn’t learn to play drums in a formal setting. Instead of taking lessons or attending a musical academy, he learned on his own after taking to percussion as an activity to break the boredom during a lengthy hospital stay.
He became one of the first superstar drummers as The Beatles found success soon after adding him behind the kit. Ringo once said he was no good as a drummer (he was wrong) because he wasn’t a technical ace. Jazz drumming legend Buddy Rich called out Ringo’s lack of technical skills, which later led Paul McCartney to savagely rip the drummer.
As the songwriters, Paul, John Lennon, and George Harrison earned most of the praise when The Beatles were active. Ringo never received the credit he deserved, and the well-qualified Kenny Aronoff explained why.
Modern drummer Kenny Aronoff explains why Ringo never received the credit he deserved
What Rich didn’t see, but Paul knew about Ringo right away, was that what he lacked in polish, he made up for with charisma and influence.
Kenny Aronoff, who drummed for John Mellencamp’s band and spent four years as an associate professor of music at Indiana University, explained why Ringo never received the credit he deserved at the time. His success crowded the playing field, Aronoff told Michael Seth Starr in With a Little Help:
“Pretty quickly, in rock and roll, you had drummers with technique, and a lot of people were saying, ‘Oh, Ringo’s no good,’ including me. We were going, ‘What the f—? I can play The Beatles.’ We didn’t understand Ringo’s feel, his technique, his style — it’s all so unique. That’s the problem. He wasn’t getting any good credit because his technique wasn’t at the level of other people around who had mad technique, and that’s how people judge other people. Nobody understood.
“[R]ingo doesn’t get credit because he was surrounded by people with massive technique. People didn’t understand this new movement and all the different factors involved in the English [rock] movement, which was not just about technique. That’s why he got nailed.”
Kenny Aronoff explains why Ringo Starr never received credit while with The Beatles
Big bands and jazz weren’t too far back in the rearview mirror when The Beatles hit it big. When other hopeful drummers saw his success, many set goals of becoming rock ‘n’ roll timekeepers. Talented percussionists, such as John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Neil Peart, and Keith Moon, soon recorded on rock instead of jazz records. Their power and precision soon made Ringo’s work seem pedestrian, when he was less noticeable but just as skilled.
The drummer eventually earned the praise he deserved
Ringo endured criticism from Buddy Rich. His skills got overshadowed by drummers who soon followed him (including one with whom he had an incredibly intimate relationship). Yet Ringo eventually earned the credit he deserved.
Ringo entered a hall of fame the other Beatles will never join in 2002 (alongside Rich!) because of his percussion skills. He walked into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 after also being inducted with the Fab Four. Heck, his fame was worth $7 million to a lucky group of people not affiliated with The Beatles.
Aronoff said Ringo Starr never received the credit he deserved because the establishment wasn’t ready for rock ‘n’ roll, and because his infuence crowded the playing field with talented drummers. As the years have gone on, however, Ringo earned praise that he probably should have been given all along.
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