Editing Ringo Starr (section)

==Artistry==
===Influences===
During his youth, Starr had been a devoted fan of skiffle and [[blues]] music, but by the time he joined the Texans in 1958, he had developed a preference for rock and roll.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|pp=343–344}} He was also influenced by [[country music|country]] artists, including [[Hank Williams]], Buck Owens and [[Hank Snow]], and [[jazz]] artists such as [[Chico Hamilton]] and [[Yusef Lateef]], whose compositional style inspired Starr's fluid and energetic drum fills and [[Groove (music)|grooves]].<ref>{{harvnb|The Beatles|2000|p=36}}: influenced by country artists (primary source); {{harvnb|Clayson|2005|p=20}}: influenced by country artists (secondary source); {{harvnb|Everett|2001|p=119}}: influenced by country artists (secondary source); {{harvnb|Spitz|2005|pp=343–344}}: influenced by jazz drummers [[Chico Hamilton]].</ref> While reflecting on Buddy Rich, Starr commented: "He does things with one hand that I can't do with nine, but that's technique. Everyone I talk to says 'What about Buddy Rich?' Well, what about him? Because he doesn't turn me on."{{sfn|Clayson|2005|p=42}} He stated that he "was never really into drummers", but identified [[Cozy Cole]]{{'s}} 1958 [[Cover version|cover]] of [[Benny Goodman]]{{'s}} "[[Topsy (instrumental)|Topsy Part Two]]" as "the one drum record" he bought.<ref>{{harvnb|The Beatles|2000|p=36}}: (primary source); {{harvnb|Clayson|2005|p=40}}: (secondary source).</ref>

Starr's first musical hero was [[Gene Autry]], about whom he commented: "I remember getting shivers up my back when he sang, '[[South of the Border (1939 song)|South of the Border]]{{'"}}.{{sfn|Clayson|2005|p=20}} By the early 1960s he had become an ardent fan of [[Lee Dorsey]].{{sfn|Clayson|2005|p=76}} In November 1964, Starr told ''Melody Maker'': "Our music is second-hand versions of negro music ... Ninety per cent of the music I like is coloured."{{sfn|Clayson|2005|p=113}}

===Drums===
[[File:20110626 043 All-Starr-Band-in-Paris Ringo-Starr drums WP.jpg|thumb|alt=A colour photograph of Starr playing a dark coloured drum kit on a stage. The background is yellow.|right|Starr with his All-Starr Band in Paris, 26 June 2011]]
Starr said of his drumming: "I'm no good on the technical things ... I'm your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills ... because I'm really left-handed playing a right-handed kit. I can't roll around the drums because of that."{{sfn|Harry|2004|p=44}} Beatles producer George Martin said: "Ringo hit good and hard and used the tom-tom well, even though he couldn't do a roll to save his life", but later said, "He's got tremendous feel. He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support – that rock-solid back-beat – that made the recording of all the Beatles' songs that much easier."{{sfn|Harry|2004|p=44}} Starr said he did not believe the drummer's role was to "interpret the song". Instead, comparing his drumming to painting, he said: "I am the foundation, and then I put a bit of glow here and there ... If there's a gap, I want to be good enough to fill it."{{sfn|Clayson|2005|p=42}}

In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' readers voted Starr the fifth-greatest drummer of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/rolling-stone-readers-pick-best-drummers-of-all-time-20110208/5-ringo-starr-0875383|title=Rolling Stone Readers Pick Best Drummers of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=8 February 2011|access-date=30 December 2012|archive-date=24 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624034914/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/rolling-stone-readers-pick-best-drummers-of-all-time-20110208/5-ringo-starr-0875383|url-status=live}}</ref> Journalist Robyn Flans wrote for the Percussive Arts Society: "I cannot count the number of drummers who have told me that Ringo inspired their passion for drums".<ref name="PAS"/> Drummer [[Steve Smith (musician)|Steve Smith]] said:

{{blockquote|Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo's popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo's great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for the Beatles' songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and still identify the song.<ref name="PAS">{{cite web|url=http://www.pas.org/About/the-society/halloffame/StarrRingo.aspx|last=Flans|first=Robyn|title=Ringo Starr|work=PAS Hall of Fame|publisher=Percussive Arts Society|access-date=6 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707132204/http://www.pas.org/About/the-society/halloffame/StarrRingo.aspx|archive-date=7 July 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}

Starr said his favourite drummer is [[Jim Keltner]],{{sfn|Clayson|2005|p=348}} with whom he first played at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971.{{sfn|Madinger|Easter|2000|p=499}} The pair subsequently played drums together on some of Harrison's recordings during the 1970s,{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|p=79}} on ''Ringo'' and other albums by Starr, and on the early All-Starr Band tours.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jim Keltner|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jim-keltner-mn0000849333|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=16 January 2016|first=Bruce|last=Eder|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224144025/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jim-keltner-mn0000849333|url-status=live}}</ref> For ''Ringo's Rotogravure'' in 1976, Starr credited himself as "Thunder" and Keltner as "Lightnin{{'"}}.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|p=79}}

Starr is widely known for sitting behind the drum kit in a higher position than most drummers. This position gives him better access to the tom-tom and cymbals as well as doing the [[rimshot]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bradley |first1=Steve |title="They loom large in his legend..." - Ringo's drums |url=https://arrivewithouttravelling.com/blog/f/they-loom-large-in-his-legend---ringos-drums |website=Arrive Without Travelling |access-date=2 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Starr |first1=Ringo |title=Navigating Your Kit: Tips and Technique |url=https://www.masterclass.com/classes/ringo-starr-teaches-drumming-creative-collaboration/chapters/navigating-your-kit-tips-and-technique |website=MasterClass |access-date=2 December 2024}}</ref>

Starr influenced the [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] drummer [[Phil Collins]],<ref name=battistoni>{{cite web|last=Battistoni|first=Marielle|title=Ringo Starr guards Beatles' legacy with new album 'Liverpool 8'|url=http://thedartmouth.com/2008/01/30/arts/ringo-starr-guards-beatles-legacy-with-new-album-liverpool-8|work=The Dartmouth|access-date=13 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045416/http://thedartmouth.com/2008/01/30/arts/ringo-starr-guards-beatles-legacy-with-new-album-liverpool-8|archive-date=8 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> who said: "I think he's vastly underrated, Ringo. The drum fills on '[[A Day in the Life]]' are very, very complex things. You could take a great drummer from today and say, 'I want it like that', and they really wouldn't know what to do."<ref>''[[The South Bank Show]]: The Making of Sgt. Pepper'' (1992)</ref> Collins said his drumming on the 1983 Genesis song "[[That's All (Genesis song)|That's All]]" was an affectionate attempt at a "Ringo Starr drum part".<ref name="philcollins.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.philcollins.co.uk/hitmen86b.htm |title=HITMEN, 1986 Part Two|publisher=Hitmen|date=1986|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801174547/http://www.philcollins.co.uk/hitmen86b.htm |archive-date=1 August 2008 |via=reprinted at Collins's website in 2009}}</ref>

In an often-repeated but apocryphal story, when asked if Starr was the best drummer in the world, Lennon quipped that he "wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles". The line actually comes from a 1981 episode of the [[BBC Radio 4]] comedy series [[Radio Active (radio series)|''Radio Active'']],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2018/09/11/really-said-ringo-wasnt-best-drummer-beatles-wasnt-john-lennon/|title=Who really said Ringo wasn't the best drummer in the Beatles (and it wasn't John Lennon)|work=The Poke|date=September 2018|access-date=13 October 2018|archive-date=13 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013172519/https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2018/09/11/really-said-ringo-wasnt-best-drummer-beatles-wasnt-john-lennon/|url-status=live}}</ref> and gained more prominence when it was used by the television comedian [[Jasper Carrott]] in 1983, three years after Lennon's death.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Randy |date=2 December 2013 |title=The best Beatles story of all? It may belong to Ringo Starr |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-xpm-2013-dec-02-la-et-ms-beatles-ringo-starr-biography-tune-in-mark-lewisohn-20131202-story.html |access-date=8 August 2018 |issn=0458-3035 |archive-date=29 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129095201/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/02/entertainment/la-et-ms-beatles-ringo-starr-biography-tune-in-mark-lewisohn-20131202 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 1980, Lennon told ''Rolling Stone'' that Starr was a "damn good drummer" whose talent would have surfaced even without the Beatles.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sheff |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HL7X-YyrINUC |title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |publisher=St Martin's Griffin |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-312-25464-3 |editor1-last=Golson |editor1-first=G. Barry |edition=2000 |page=167}}</ref>

Tjinder Singh of the indie rock band [[Cornershop]] said Starr was a pioneering drummer: "There was a time when the common consensus was that Ringo couldn't play. What's that all about? He's totally unique, a one-off, and [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] has a lot to thank him for."<ref>{{cite book|last=Shaar Murray|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Shaar Murray|year=2002|chapter=''Magical Mystery Tour'': All Aboard the Magic Bus|title=[[The Mojo Collection|Mojo Special Limited Edition]]: 1000 Days That Shook the World (The Psychedelic Beatles – 1 April 1965 to 26 December 1967)|location=London|publisher=Emap|page=131}}</ref> In his book ''[[The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions]]'', [[Mark Lewisohn]] says there were fewer than a dozen occasions in the Beatles' eight-year recording career where session breakdowns were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other Beatles.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=95}} Starr influenced various modern drumming techniques, such as the [[matched grip]], tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings.<ref name="PAS"/> According to Ken Micallef and Donnie Marshall, co-authors of ''Classic Rock Drummers'': "Ringo's fat tom sounds and delicate cymbal work were imitated by thousands of drummers."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLAKB07xk94C|title=Classic Rock Drummers|last1=Micallef|first1=Ken|last2=Marshall|first2=Donnie|publisher=Backbeat Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-87930-907-7|page=95}}</ref>

In 2021, Starr announced a ten-part [[MasterClass]] course called "Drumming and Creative Collaboration".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Rania |last=Aniftos |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/ringo-starr-masterclass-course-1235001598/ |title=Ringo Starr Launches New MasterClass Course on 'Drumming & Creative Collaboration' |magazine=Billboard |date=22 November 2021 |access-date=29 November 2021 |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128233926/https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/ringo-starr-masterclass-course-1235001598/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Vocals===
Starr sang lead vocals for a song on most of the Beatles' studio albums as part of an attempt to establish a vocal personality for each band member. In many cases, Lennon or McCartney wrote the lyrics and melody especially for him, as they did for "Yellow Submarine" from ''Revolver'' and "With a Little Help from My Friends" on ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''.<ref name="harddayswritelittlehelp">{{cite book|last=Turner|first=Steve|title=A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song|editor-first=Nicola|editor-last=Hodge|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=1999|edition=9|page=122|chapter=Sgt Pepper's Lonely hearts Club Band|isbn=978-0-06-273698-7}}</ref> These melodies were tailored to Starr's limited [[baritone]] vocal range. Because of his distinctive voice, Starr rarely performed backing vocals during his time with the Beatles, but they can be heard on songs such as "[[Maxwell's Silver Hammer]]" and "[[Carry That Weight]]".{{sfn|Everett|1999|pp=252: "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", 268: "Carry That Weight"}} He is also the lead vocalist on his compositions "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=206: "Don't Pass Me By", 254–255: "Octopus's Garden"}} In addition, he sang lead on "[[I Wanna Be Your Man]]", "[[Boys (The Shirelles song)|Boys]]", "[[Matchbox (song)|Matchbox]]", "[[Honey Don't]]", "[[Act Naturally]]", "[[Good Night (Beatles song)|Good Night]]" and "[[What Goes On (Beatles song)|What Goes On]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Harry|2004|p=221: "I Wanna Be Your Man", 94: "Boys", 5: "Act Naturally"}}; {{harvnb|Harry|2000|pp=458: "Good Night", 528: "Honey Don't"}}</ref>

===Songwriting===
Starr's idiosyncratic turns of phrase or "Ringoisms", such as "[[A Hard Day's Night (song)#Title|a hard day's night]]" and "[[Tomorrow Never Knows#Title|tomorrow never knows]]", were used as song titles by the Beatles, particularly by Lennon.{{sfn|Harry|2004|p=3}} McCartney commented: "Ringo would do these little [[malapropism]]s, he would say things slightly wrong, like people do, but his were always wonderful, very lyrical ... they were sort of magic."{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=164}} Starr also occasionally contributed lyrics to unfinished Lennon–McCartney songs, such as the line "[[darning]] his socks in the night when there's nobody there" in "[[Eleanor Rigby]]".<ref name="harddayswriteeleanorrigby">{{cite book|last=Turner|first=Steve|title=A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song|editor-first=Nicola|editor-last=Hodge|publisher=HarperCollins|year=1999|edition=9|page=105|chapter=Revolver|isbn=978-0-06-273698-7}}</ref>

Starr is credited as the sole composer of two Beatles songs: "[[Don't Pass Me By]]" and "[[Octopus's Garden]]", the latter written with assistance from Harrison.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|pp=260–61}} While promoting the ''Abbey Road'' album in 1969, Harrison recognised Starr's lyrics to "Octopus's Garden" as an unwittingly profound message about finding inner peace, and therefore an example of how "Ringo writes his cosmic songs without knowing it."<ref>{{cite news|first=Ritchie|last=Yorke|title=George Harrison Talks About the Beatles' Album ''Abbey Road''|newspaper=[[Detroit Free Press]]|date=26 September 1969}} Available at [https://rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/george-harrison-talks-about-the-beatles-album-iabbey-roadi Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813032634/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/george-harrison-talks-about-the-beatles-album-iabbey-roadi |date=13 August 2020 }} (subscription required).</ref> Starr is also credited as a co-writer of "[[What Goes On (Beatles song)|What Goes On]]", "[[Flying (Beatles instrumental)|Flying]]" and "[[Dig It (Beatles song)|Dig It]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Womack|2007|p=204}}: "Flying"; 120–121: "What Goes On"; {{harvnb|Harry|2000|p=339}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|"What Goes On" was a pre-Beatles Lennon song to which McCartney added a middle eight in an effort to provide Starr a lead vocal on ''Rubber Soul''.{{sfn|Clayson|2005|p=147}}}} On material issued after the band's break-up, he received a writing credit for "Taking a Trip to Carolina" and joint songwriting credits with the other Beatles for "[[12-Bar Original]]", "[[Step Inside Love|Los Paranoias]]", "[[Christmas Time (Is Here Again)]]", "[[Let It Be (1970 film)#Soundtrack|Suzy Parker]]" (from the ''Let It Be'' film), "Jessie's Dream" (from the ''Magical Mystery Tour'' film), "Free as a Bird" and "[[Now and Then (Beatles song)|Now and Then]]".{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|pp=134: "12-Bar Original", 181: "Jessie's Dream", 185–186: "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)", 215: "Los Paranoias", 236: "Taking a Trip to Carolina", 244: "Suzy Parker"}}

In a 2003 interview, Starr discussed Harrison's input in his songwriting and said: "I was great at writing two verses and a chorus – I'm still pretty good at that. Finishing songs is not my forte."<ref name="Ruttenburg/TimeOutNY">{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/r-i-n-g-o|title=R-I-N-G-O|last=Ruttenberg|first=Jay|date=24 July 2003|work=[[Time Out New York]]|access-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231074933/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/r-i-n-g-o|archive-date=31 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Harrison helped Starr complete two of his biggest hit songs, "[[It Don't Come Easy]]" and "[[Back Off Boogaloo]]",<ref name="Ruttenburg/TimeOutNY" /> although he only accepted a credit for "[[Photograph (Ringo Starr song)|Photograph]]", which they wrote together in France.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|p=261}} Starting with the ''Ringo'' album in 1973, Starr shared a songwriting partnership with [[Vini Poncia]].{{sfn|Clayson|2005|pp=244–45}} One of the pair's first collaborations was "[[Oh My My (Ringo Starr song)|Oh My My]]".{{sfn|Clayson|2005|pp=244–45}} Over half of the songs on ''Ringo the 4th'' were Starkey–Poncia compositions, but the partnership produced just two more songs, released on ''Bad Boy'' in 1978.{{sfn|Clayson|2005|pp=279, 288}}