The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are two of the best bands in classic rock, and now they’re working together. The latter band invited Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney to play on their new album. Frankly, Ringo is the perfect choice to drum with The Rolling Stones. Hopefully, his contributions make the final cut.
Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are rumored to appear on The Rolling Stones’ new album
The Rolling Stones haven’t released an album since 2016’s Blue & Lonesome, but that album contained all cover songs. The last time they put out a record with new, original material was 2005’s A Bigger Bang.
It seems the Stones will receive a little help from their friends on their first album in nearly 20 years.
Paul’s collaboration with The Rolling Stones comes via his bass as he laid down some tracks for the yet-untitled record. Ringo won’t completely replace original Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts, who recorded some drum tracks before he died in 2021, but the rumor is the former Beatles’ timekeeper appears on the record.
Hopefully, for classic rock fans, his beats make the cut. Ringo is the perfect drummer to record with The Rolling Stones.
Ringo is the perfect choice to play on The Rolling Stones’ new record
He won’t completely replace Watts, but Ringo is the perfect choice to record with The Rolling Stones. And not just because he’s one of the last links to the legendary drummers that came out of England in the 1960s.
Watts was famous for his tactful drumming. He played beats that served the song. Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, The Who’s Keith Moon, and Cream’s Ginger Baker played drums as if they were lead instruments (in their bands, they almost were). The modest Watts sat in the back, played his beats right on time, and let his bandmates shine.
Ringo is the ideal choice because he possesses a similar style. He praised his own drumming later in his career as it grew more sophisticated, along with The Beatles’ music. Earlier in the band’s run, however, Ringo kept his beats more sparse when the Fab Four’s music was a bit simpler. His playing precisely fit the music. Watts was the same way, and Ringo described Watts’ drumming style in just a few words.
Those similar styles will help Ringo adjust to the Stones chemistry, who take their musical cues from Keith Richards instead of the drummer. That sets him apart from other guitarists, according to Ronnie Wood. He’s accustomed to playing a beat that fits the song as well as drumming for demanding guitarists, so Ringo should perfect fit the Stones’ style.
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He also has some experience playing with Rolling Stones members. Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood played on Ringo’s 1981 album Stop & Smell the Roses.
For what it’s worth, Watts supported having The Rolling Stones replace him if necessary.
“I think they would, if they wanted to. If I hadn’t been well enough to do this tour, someone else would have done it — if Mick and Keith wanted to do it. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t, if people turn up to see them,” he told Rolling Stone in 2005.
The Beatles and Stones were never true rivals
Similar to England’s mod vs. rocker divide in the 1960s, there was also a Beatles vs. Stones rivalry. The bands traded insults several times, but they were never true enemies. Even as they jockeyed for chart supremacy in England, Paul said the press manufactured the rivalry between the bands.
Both bands’ actions bear that out.
Three Beatles songs include Stones members performing on them. John Lennon appeared in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus video special, filmed in 1968. John and Paul gave the Stones their first hit song. None of that would have happened if The Beatles and Rolling Stones were truly rivals.
As if to hammer home that last point, The Rolling Stones invited the two remaining Beatles to play on their next album. Ringo Starr is the perfect choice to sit in Charlie Watts’ drum seat as he records with the Stones.
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