The Beatles cover band were rather cool too.
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- His drum set is set for the wrong hand.
- He always had a fantastic work ethic
- He was capable of singing and songwriting
- He was the best actor out of all the Beatles. Caveman is a classic!
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He was lovable in the Magic Christian too.
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Usually this quote comes from Paul fans, since Paul was a decent drummer. I don’t personally think his drumming is better than Ringo’s, but then we have a lot more famous examples of Ringo’s playing to draw from.
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agree 100%. In terms of what makes for a great Rock n’ Roll band, technical chops is way down the list. The 2 most fundamental things you need are good song-writing and charisma (which can express itself in myriad ways, which explains the wide range of styles in RnR).
Sure, being a great musician helps, but it’s complementary, not central. All legendary bands have great songs and great charisma. Some have great musicianship, some don’t. Those that endured generally got much better with age, which, coincidentally also mirrored a loss in song-writing skills or charisma.
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Paul and John specifically tried to squeeze him in on the singing and would try to find songs that fit his voice. He surely didn’t have the best voice in the band, but it was distinctive and broke things up nicely. I think that they should have incorporated him a little more.
I always loved this. Written by John with a Mohammed Ali influence and turned into a Ringo song.
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It’s just unreal how much talent could be in one town at that time and all at a similar age.
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I wonder if it just a case that there is a lot of talent in every town and a lucky break allows it out from time to time.
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That’s an interesting take! I always attributed declining song writing to an increase in wealth and comfort (and in sometimes the decline of recreational drug usage).
Rabbit hole browsing… I was listening to a Moe Tucker interview where she stated she hates CCR because of the perfect polish of their sound and musicianship. I kind of agree, I have watched probably dozens of musicians playing technically great pieces but look miserably bored as hell while doing so (increase the number to hundreds if I am allowed to add in orchestra)
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Ringo was able to hold his own as a singer. He could have been lead in nearly any band other than the Beatles. Brian May was the same way with Queen as with John Entwistle and the Who. They have decent enough singing voices but not nearly as powerful or distinctive as their band mates.
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I can’t speak to CCR live, but recording wise, I hardly find them polished. And, would you honestly argue that Fogerty’s voice is technically great? No, but it has an emotional quality to it (charisma, see!) that people tie into. Plus, the songs are fucking top notch and they hold up to this day.
VU is a great example of what I was talking about. Though they did violate some of my other maxims, but I’m good with that. 
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I always thought Ringo didn’t want, seek,
or need “front man fame”.
It’s like he knew the joke .
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To name one,
The Rolling Stones
Elderly men in Spandex
Major turn off
(No offense to Stones fans. My best friend
still goes to their concerts…w/o me)!
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That’s a great band name.
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That just makes him even more endearing!
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Nobody seems to have mentioned that he has said the reason he sounds that way is bc he is left handed and bought a right handed kit and that’s what he learnt on. So he had to make certain compensations in his style, the kit being backwards as it were. Not saying it MADE his sound, but he seems to think so! I love Ringo so much, and his skill now that you know he had an extra thing to overcome while drumming, you can see the RH kit on a LH drummer just learning added to his style.
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I complained about this to an acquaintance some years ago. I found out that they did some production/audio-engineering and i told him that more bands/artists needed to sound less produced and that i typically love hearing live albums (or as close to it as possible). A lot of my favorite albums are the ones that just sound more real and unpolished. The small mistakes here and there add to the package instead of taking away… as long as the music is great of course.
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A bit like Jimmy Hendrix who, apparently, couldn’t get hold of a left handed guitar, so flipped a right-handed guitar and re-strung it.
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Now you’ve done it.
Is Woodstock on Netflix??
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Yup! I am a photog and I spend a lot of money on crystal clear lenses and sharper than life image sensors only to take most of my favorite pics and add in grain, softness, a little bit of aging, etc.
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