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James Paul McCartney was born on on June 18, 1942 in Woolton Hospital in Liverpool, England. His parents were James "Jim" McCartney and Mary Patricia Mohin. He has one brother named Mike McCartney, who later changed his name to Mike McGear. Sadly, Paul's mother died when Paul was only 14 years old. This was when he really got involved with his music, most likely to help deal with his grief. Many years later, Paul's father Jim remarried to a woman named Angie. Paul also has a step-sister named Ruth McCartney. Paul began to blossom musically at the age of fourteen. Rock & Roll had been introduced, and like many other young boys, Paul became interested in it. For his birthday, Paul recieved a trumpet from his father for his birthday. He then relized that he would not be able to sing while he played the trumpet, so he traded his trumpet for a guitar. Paul first met John Lennon in 1957, when Paul was only 15 and John was 16. He was at a garden Fete and he watched a group of teenage boys, called the Quarry Men, playing Rock & Roll. He noticed that John was not playing real guitar chords. (John was actually playing two finger banjo chords). After the Quarry Men finished, Paul was introduced to the band backstage. He played "Twenty Flight Rock" for John on his guitar. John was impressed because Paul actually knew the chords, he knew the lyrics, and he could tune a guitar. Paul had obviously impressed John very much. John was faced with a problem: Should he invite Paul to the band and make the band better with the risk that Paul might take over as leader and John would no longer be the strongest, or should he remane the leader with an O.K. band. In the end, he decided to invite Paul. Paul soon became a member of the Quarry Men. Soon after Paul joined the band, George Harrison was invited to join. George had been Paul's friend for a short while now. They had met on a bus ride and they both became good friends when they learned that they both loved Rock and Roll. George was a great guitarist. He knew chords and he could play very well. It took some convincing to let him into the band though. Paul introduced George to John, but John didn't care for George too much because George was so much younger than him (about 3 years). George was finally let into the band when he played "Raunchy" to John. When Paul was 18 years old, he, as well as George Harrison, John Lennon, Pete Best, and Stuart Sutcliffe, went to Hamburg Germany to play in the KaiserKeller club. This was when they first got a taste of what it was like to be famous. At the time, the group was not yet the "Beatles." They went through many names, such as the Quarry Men (which was the very first band Paul joined), Long John and the Silver Beatles, and finally just the Beatles. They used to play at clubs like the Indra (this was the first club they played at), the Star Club, the Top Ten Club, and the KaiserKeller. They soon met Ringo Starr who was with a band called "Rory Storm and the Hurricanes." They became good friends with Ringo and he would play with them occasionally. In 1960, the Beatles finally left Hamburg. George Harrison was deported because he was only 17, which was underage to play in Night Clubs. Paul and Pete Best were arrested for attempted arsen, and they were later deported. John left Hamburg for Liverpool because he was basically the only bandmember left since Paul, Pete, and George were deported. Stuart Sutcliffe stayed in Hamburg; he fell in love with Astrid Kersherr(?) and decided to live with her. Then the Beatles went back to Hamburg after George had turned 18, and they played at the Top Ten Club. Finally, the Beatles went back to Liverpool, where they began playing at The Cavern Club. That was where they really made their start. It was there that Brian Epstein discovered them and bacame their manager. He soon began getting them more gigs. Brian also got the Beatles into the studio. He showed many producers their demo tapes and George Martin decided to give them their big break. It wasn't long before the Beatles became very famous. They recorded "Please Please Me" and it became a number one record in the UK. Although they had made it big in the UK, they had not yet became famous in America. They decided to wait until they had a number 1 in America before they would actually go there, which is exactly what they did. In 1964, the Beatles had their first hit in America with "I Want to Hold Your Hand." They performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, began to make movies, had numerous concerts and number one records and they ended up becoming the most successful band in history. For dates of album realeases, achievements, etc of the Beatles, go to the Time Line. Throughout most of his Beatle career, Paul had been with a woman named Jane Asher. They had met on April 18, 1963 at a BBC concert Broadcast live from the Royal Albert Hall. Paul and Jane were a very popular couple. They had been together for years, and there were constantly rumors of secret marriages and/or engagements. Paul and Jane did announce a couple of times that they were going to get married, but those plans always fell through. In 1968, Jane and Paul broke up for good. Jane announced that she was breaking off thier engagement on the Television show "Dee Time" on July 20, 1968. Paul nor Jane has ever given any definite reason for the breakup except that they had drifted apart. There are some rumors, however, that indicate that Jane caught Paul with another woman, but that has not been confirmed by anybody. About a year before Paul and Jane ended their relationship, Paul met photographer Linda Eastman at the "Bag 'O Nails" club. They stayed in touch, and Paul invited her to come to London (in 1968). She and Paul ended up getting married on March 12, 1969. They were married ever since until 1998 when Linda died of Breast cancer. By the later 60's, the Beatles were no longer as happy as they once were. They had many musical differences, and they just did not get along as well as they once had. It was time to call it quits. John Lennon was the first to atually decide that he wanted to leave the band, but it was kept quiet until Paul finally officially announced it to the world. In 1970, Paul released his first solo album, simply titled McCartney, which contained some material that was originally intended for the Beatles. In 1972, he released his second solo album, Ram. This album has a song called "Too Many People" on it, and this particular song was meant as a jab to John and Yoko. Paul once said that the lines "You Took Your Lucky break and Broke it in two" and "Too Many People Preaching Practices" were referring to John and Yoko. They picked this up and became upset, and as a result they wrote a song called "How Do You Sleep?" which is obviously about Paul. Throughtout the 70's, there was tension between John and Paul. Both were very competive with their music. Often, they would even say things about eachother to the press. The remarks they made were not exactly friendly. Luckily, by the later 70's, John and Paul had patched up their differences before John was killed on December 8th 1980. Paul did many things during the eighties. He collaborated with other artists for songs, released a movie, and he released a few albums. In 1980, Paul was arrested at a Tokyo airport for possession of Marijuana. He had to serve 9 days in the jail. The incident was talked about everywhere and printed in many newspapers. In 1984, Paul made the movie "Give My Regards to Broadstreet" (I have a review of it in the section "My Reviews"). The movie flopped. It was panned by the critics. The albums that Paul released during the 80's were mostly said to be mediocre. (Bio By: Maccaworld.net) Back To Top John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England, to Alfred Lennonand Julia Stanley Lennon. Early in his life he suffered the loss of both his parents, when his father left the family to become a seaman, and his mother, unable to care for a child on her own, decided to leave him in the hands of his aunt, Mimi. This early feeling of abandonment was to mark John for the rest of his life, and his fear of rejection can be heard in his lyrics, from his early work with The Beatles, all the way up to his pleading 1970's track "Mother. (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band). With his aunt, Lennon experienced a quiet and undisturbed working class upbringing, that left him with many happy memories. Some of thesewould later result in some of his best work .(Strawberry fields forever, the masterpiece single released before Sgt. Pepper was based upon his childhood recollections of happiness). Ever since his early childhood his artistic side found a way up to the surface of his personality and young lennon began to express himself through sketches and artwork. A few of his teachers were impressed with his work, and suggested The Liverpool art school for the boy. Although John Lennon was (even by his own admission) a "child genious", he decided for this option, over a regular academic schedule. During this period, at fifteen years of age, John met Paul Mc Cartney, at a Wooton Parish Garden Fete.The result of their conjoined musical talents was a band called "The Quarrymen", named after Quarry Banks, the school that they attended. Years later this band would become the greatest musical influence of recent recording history, and would define an entire generation. This would be under another name, though:: The Beatles. At age 18, John's life underwent a drastic change, when, shortly after having reunited with his son, Julia Stanley Lennon, died. She was hit by a bus driven by an off -duty policeman in Liverpool. Lennon never fully recovered from the loss of his mother, and he continued to seek for her love in most of the women he met, finally finding comfort in the person of Yoko Ono, many years later. In the meantime, he met a fellow student, Cynthia Powell, and in spite of their many differences, they soon became romantically involved. In 1959, he left his natal Liverpool for Hamburg, Germany, along with Paul Mc Cartney, guitarist George Harrison, longtime friend Stuart Stucliffe and drummer Pete Best. Their objective was to have a shot at fame and fortune in Hamburg's music scene. It was during this trip that he and his fellow bandmates met Astrid Kilcher and Klaus Voorman; she, a visionary photographer who would document The Beatles' transition from Liverpool lads to full grown muscicians, and would suggest the now legendary "moptop" image. The later, was to become John's close friend, and later play bass on many of his solo projects. Their trip ended when George was deported back to England for being a minor, by which time they had already achived a certain amount of popularity. Lennon also lost Stucliffe, his best friend. At the time, Stuart had become a celebrated artist who died in Hamburg, after a short marriage to Astrid Kilcher. Back in Liverpool, The Beatles were hired to play the "lunch shift" on a little club, "The Cavern". Brian Epstein, a local record store owner and business man, decided to heard them, after their records were requested several times. It didn't take him much to realize the potential of the group. For the rest of his life he would make it his mission to see the boys succeed, and his first step was to get them a recording contract with EMI records. In 1962, The Beatles released "Love me Do" Their first single, and started on the road of musical history. In August 23, 1962, Shortly after the Beatles' Big break, John married longtime girlfriend Cynthia Powell, and she soon gave birth to their son Julian.(April 8th, 1963): Because of the group's increasing popularity in both Britain and the U.S, his marriage was kept secret for a relatively long time. It was Brian Epstein's (the Beatles manager) idea that a married "moptop" would surely be less appealing to their targeted audience: mostly screaming teenage girls. John would later admit to being a failure both as a husband to Powell and as a father to Julian, mostly due to the war that he was still waging with his inner demons, which continue to haunt him, in spite of his success. John Lennon and Paul Mc Cartney close songwriting collaboration was clearly always the driving force of the Beatles' success. They also had very definite roles within the group. John always wrote songs or contributed with lyrics that highlighed his strong rock and roll roots and surfaced his feelings and raw emotions. He was the strong minded and outspoken genious. Paul was the directing part of the duo. He orchestrated the signature catchy tunes that placed the band in the charts. Although they differed vastly in their points of view, their songwriting efforts produced more hit singles (59) and innumerable masterpieces than any other musical partnership in recording history, left as an enduring legacy of their work. For the next seven years, John got caught up on a ongoing cycle of bliss, fame, controversy, drugs and rock and roll that ultimately led him nowhere. In 1964 the Beatles were awarded the MBE (members of the British Empire) title by Queen Elizabeth, honor which infuriated some, but mostly amused both their fans and the group itself. Years later Lennon would return his MBE, citing Britain's involvement in the Vietnam war as reason. Unfortunatly, he also mentioned his first solo single "cold turkey" falling off from the charts, a comment that widely cheapened the gesture. John's dissappointment with the music business can be witnessed by listening to some of the songs he contributed to the Beatles's albums released in the period. After a the first fecund years of boundary-pushing lyrics and melodies he stopped challenging his own songwriting capabilities and simply gave up. Shortly after Sgt. Pepper, his songs clearly reflect how much of his early enthusiam was gone, specially his contributions to the Yellow Submarine soundtrack and The White album, although it contains some of his best compositions ever. In the mist of the sixties' phychdelia, and after a great desilusion with the spiritual world, John met the woman who was to become his life partner: Yoko Ono. She was an avant garde, japanese-american artist, six years his senior. Soon after they met, and in spite of public outrage they were inseparable. John decided to leave his wife and marry Yoko, who was being dubbed by the press as "the dragon lady", the woman who had cast a spell on "prince charming". They didn't seem to care. John married Yoko in March 20th 1969. , in Gibraltar. In the years to come, she would be accused of creating tension between the Beatles, and ultimately forcing John away from the group, thus inciting to their 1970 break up. They became close collaborators, not only artistically or music, but also as peace promotors. They staged "bed-ins" during their honeymoon in Amsterdam; elaborate press conferences conducted from their honeymoon suite, that centered on their peace efforts. Their marked eccentricities quickly alienated them with the british public opinion, and in the end they were force to seek refuge in America. And they fled for New York City. John and Yoko settled in New York City, and he remained there for the rest of his life. There were clearly a great number of qualities in NYC that reminded John of his native Liverpool. He was also very attracted to the city's communication capabilities. In his opinion, New York was capital of the world. He even went as far as saying "If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else? Today, America is the Roman Empire, and New York is Rome itself" .But as fond as John and Yoko were of New York City, not all New Yorkers were particulary fond of the Lennons. Politicians and government organizations, specially, thought that they could only mean trouble. An exhaustive undercover prosecution campaign against John would later unveil the tight scrutiny they were under. The FBI went as far as tapping their telephone conversations, and having agents pose as groupies or fans, all in an effort to deport them. Between December 1971 and August 1972, John and Yoko collaborated with numerous protests and spoke out whenever they felt worthy a cause. Good examples of this are Benefit at Apollo, where they perfomed "Attica State", protesting in favor of the infamous upraising in the prision and the Geraldo Rivera One to one concert. The pressures of their hectic lifestyles, combined with the ones of the outiside world, finally affected the couple. After only three years of marriage, John and Yoko decided to take a brake from each other. That two year period would later be known as John's infamous "lost weekend". John took off May Pang, his assistant andwith some of his old friends, feeling carefree for the first time since he was 20. He reunited with Ringo, and helped him work on his album, and also played with the likes of David Bowie and Elton John. He was a bachelor once again, but only enjoyed it for a short period, before he started to long for home. Yoko Ono developed into her own person, after being criticized for so long, and being in the shadow of the genious of John. She became very active in the Avant-garde New York scene, regaining her place as an accomplished artist. She would often check in with May Pang, to catch up with his life without him finding out. John's work during this 18 month period clearly reflect the pain that being away from his beloved Yoko caused him. "What you got" "Nobody loves you when you're down and out" and "Sweet bird of paradox" share the same theme: Fear of abandonment and isolation. Even "whatever gets you through the night, the peppy single that propelled him back to the top of the charts, was based on the assumption that getting by alone is not easy. Soon it became clear to everyone who knew him that Yoko was not only the woman under John's shadow; she was also indispensable to him. John and Yoko finally got back together in 1974, after being set up at an Elton John concert, where John was making a guest appearance. They would remain together for the rest of his life. In 1975, John retired from public life, after releasing his last album of new material. On October 9 of that same year, Yoko gave birth to Sean Lennon, after several miscarriages. John was delighted with his life as a "house husband" and decided to stay home, to take care of Sean, while Yoko took care of business. He felt no urge to record or release any music during the next five years, although he continued to write songs as always. From time to new he would release statements, or give interviews, but amazingly he managed to regain his private person status and his inner peace. Sean had given him a second chance at parenting just as Yoko had given him a second shot at love. He kept away from the same music business he had pursuit with so much enthusiam before. With the release of 1980's "Double Fantasy" John came back to the public eye. In this album, at the age of 40 he targeted audience had changed from screaming teenage girls to an entire generation: His generation, his age group. "How did things turn out for you" he seemed to asked the same persons he had moved to believe that "all you need is love" and to Imagine. The album was an inmediate success, mainly because of the honesty of the songs it contained. The plans of a follow up album were cut drastically short, as so was his life. In December 8, 1980, in front of his NYC home, he was shot down by Mark David Chapman and died instantly. The unfinished "Milk and Honey" was released in 1984 by Yoko Ono. John Lennon's legend lives on and will remain alive as long as his vision of peace and love keep inspiring new generations of dreamers--To Love and Imagine. thank you to (http://go.to/john-lennon) for the bio. Back To Top Of the four Beatles, George Harrison came from the most traditional and stable family. His early life was untouched by death, grave illness or major family discord. What the Harrisons didn't have in money and possessions, they more than made up for in love. The youngest of four children, George was born February 25, 1943 at 12:10 a.m. to Harold and Louise. George has a sister, Louise, and two brothers, Harold and Peter. The Harrisons lived at 12 Arnold Grove, Wavertree, Liverpool 15 until 1949 when the family moved to 25 Upton Green, Speke, Liverpool. George began his education at Dovedale Primary. In September 1954, George began attending the Liverpool Institute where Paul McCartney was already a student. They often met on the bus going home and soon became friends. Influenced by Carl Perkins, Lonnie Donegan and others, by age 13 George had developed a strong interest in music. His wonderfully supportive mother bought George a used guitar and encouraged him when he became frustrated learning to play the more difficult chords. Long before Paul met John Lennon, George and Paul spent many an afternoon going through George's chord manual together. In 1956, George, his brother and friends performed once as the Rebels. After that, George sat in on gigs with other groups, and worked Saturday mornings in a butcher shop. One of the butcher's assistants was in a group with whom George also played. Through this group, George met Pete Best, future drummer for the Beatles. At this point, history gets a little shaky with contradictory accounts. Possibly upon Paul's suggestion, George saw the Quarrymen perform, and met John backstage. With the hope of joining the Quarrymen, George impressed John and Paul, who by now was also a member of the group, with his rendition of "Raunchy." John was unsure at first, George being three years younger than him. But George's ever-growing knowledge of chords inspired John and Paul's songwriting. By early 1958, in part possibly to irritate his Aunt Mimi who saw George as a bad influence, John relented and George became lead guitarist for the Quarrymen. By August 1962, Pete Best was out, Ringo Starr was in, and the Beatles were born. On February 7, 1964, the Beatles -- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- arrived in America. Their music exhilarated while their wit charmed. George's often unsmiling, brooding demeanor earned him the nickname The Quiet One. On March 2, 1964, on the set of "A Hard Day's Night," George met 19-year-old model, Patricia Anne Boyd. Though she initially rejected him, eventually they start dating. Just before Christmas of 1965, Patti accepted George's proposal of marriage, and they married on January 21, 1966. It was Patti who opened George's heart and mind to "all things Indian" -- an ongoing passion that has not diminished for more than 30 years. In summer 1966, George met classical sitarist Ravi Shankar. In September, George visited India to study sitar and Eastern philosophy with Ravi. To this day, George is the only Beatle who has studied music formally and can read music (Indian notation). While many believe Paul reads western musical notation, Paul himself has denied this many times in many interviews over the years, and most recently and clearly in the CD booklet accompanying his 1997 symphonic poem 'Paul McCartney's Standing Stone.' The next year, at Patti's suggestion, the Beatles went to London to attend a lecture on Transcendental Meditation given by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Beatles were so intrigued, the next day they left for Bangor, Wales to continue studying with the Maharishi. Their stay in Bangor was cut short by manager Brian Epstein's sudden death. In February 1968, the Beatles and their entourage spent several weeks at Rishikesh, India to begin a teacher's training course at the Maharishi's ashram. George continues to support the Maharishi, now 81 years old, and his Natural Law Party. Late 1968 saw the release of the soundtrack to the film "Wonderwall," composed and produced by George. It was the first solo album by a Beatle, and the first album issued on the Beatles' Apple label. (While Paul helped write the soundtrack to the film "The Family Way" the year before, George Martin wrote the score. Paul wasn't as extensively involved in "The Family Way" as George Harrison was with "Wonderwall." However, the point is arguable :-)) Starting in 1968, George performed and recorded with friends he'd made while a Beatle. After years of being eclipsed by the brilliant genius of John and Paul, of having to fight for every song he wrote that was included on an album, superstars such as Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan treated George as an equal. No longer second fiddle, George was recognized as a great musician in his own right. In 1970, George bought the gothic and ornate Friar Park, complete with a 120-room mansion, fantastical caverns (including a skeleton cave!), underground lakes, stone-carved gnomes and gargoyles, acres of meticulously cared-for gardens . . . and some say even the ghost of Friar Park's designer, Sir Frankie Crisp. At Friar Park, George discovered another passion: gardening. It's not unusual for George to be hip-deep in fertilizer tending to his beloved gardens. How far George had come! The gawky 15-year-old who tagged along at the heels of his idol, John, was now master of Friar Park estate and a world-renowned rock star. Long in coming, by April 1970 it was no longer a secret that the Beatles had broken up. Though legal entanglements would maintain the Beatles' existence on paper, they no longer functioned as a musically productive entity. On July 7, 1970, George's mother died from brain cancer. A warm, loving, jovial woman, Louise Harrison enjoyed hearing from George's fans, corresponding with them and sometimes inviting them into her home. So dearly loved was George's mother, after her death a group of George's American fans started the Louise F. Harrison Memorial Cancer Fund. 1971 was George's year to shine! That year he was unquestionably the most successful Beatle. On August 1, The Concert For Bangla Desh, organized by George and featuring an array of megastars, was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Perhaps spurred by his accomplishments and blooming self-confidence, George's creativity exploded like a supernova with the release of his first post-Beatles record. The triple-album set, "All Things Must Pass," flew to the Number One spot on American and European charts, and was hailed as a masterpiece. In 1974, George went on a North American concert tour -- the first Beatle to have done so. On a personal level, his marriage to Patti was at an all-time low. Years earlier, Eric Clapton had declared his love for Patti. At first Patti put him off, but in time came to return his love. On the plus side, George met his wife-to-be, Olivia Trinidad Arias, an employee at A&M Records, the distributor for George's Dark Horse Records. With the 1976 release of "Thirty-three & 1/3," things started looking up. That is, until George lost his copyright infringement case over "My Sweet Lord." Its melody and chord structure were similar to the 1963 song "He's So Fine." George was found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism." On June 9, 1977, George and Patti's divorce came through. Two years later, Patti married Eric Clapton. George, Paul and Ringo were among the guests/performers at the wedding celebration for George's ex-wife and his dearest friend. In May 1978, George's father died from emphysema. As did his wife, Mr. Harrison enjoyed chatting with George's fans, and by all accounts was a delightful gentleman. On August 1, 1978, George and Olivia's son, Dhani (pronounced "DAH-nee") was born. On September 2, George and Olivia were married. George's new career as a film producer came about as the result of generosity and friendship. In 1978, after the original backers backed out, HandMade Films was formed to fund Monty Python's movie "The Life Of Brian." HandMade Films made possible fascinating films that in time became cult classics, as well as popular films which, if not for George's farsightedness, might never have seen the light of day. Among them are "Time Bandits," "Nuns On The Run," and "Shanghai Surprise" starring then-husband and wife Madonna and Sean Penn. Altogether, HandMade Films produced about 26 movies. George made cameo appearances in and wrote the soundtracks or songs for a few. In the late 1980s, HandMade Films had a run of bad luck, and was acquired by Paragon Entertainment Corp. in May 1994. Eight months later, George sued his former business partner, Denis O'Brien, for $20 million for breach of contract and fiduciary duties, and disposition of assets. George was awarded $10.9 million by the court, but has yet to collect this money. George's autobiography, "I Me Mine," was published on August 22, 1979, first as a leather-bound collector's edition, and later as a mass market hardcover. George dedicated it "to gardeners everywhere." Though not especially informative, George's conversational manner and Derek Taylor's side notes make "I Me Mine" a delightful read. George's commentaries on every song he composed up through 1978 make it "must reading" for all George fans. On December 9, 1980, George was awakened by Olivia. John Lennon had been shot and killed. "All Those Years Ago" was George's musical tribute to John. (John died just after 11 p.m. on December 8 in New York City, which made it December 9 in Europe.) In 1988, George formed the Traveling Wilburys. The other Wilburys were Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison. Both albums were highly successful. "The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1" went multi-platinum and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance. In 1990, Olivia founded the Romanian Angel Appeal to aid Romanian orphans. George and Olivia gave much of their time and money to this most worthy cause. In late 1991, George and Eric Clapton embarked on a tour of Japan. In 1992, a recording of some performances, "Live In Japan" was released. Because he released no solo albums during the 90s, fans have the false impression that, except for the Beatles' "Anthology," George was not active professionally. Not true! As he had since the Beatles were still together, George continued to work with many artists. All in all, George has produced and performed on more non-solo albums than any other Beatle. Between 1990 and 1999, George was involved with over two dozen albums and singles. [Please click here for the Discography of George's work with other artists] George survived a knife attack and three occurrences of cancer. In 2001, he and Olivia bought a villa near the ocean in the south of Switzerland. George was in the final stages of recording a new solo album, as well as a box set of demos, outtakes and other unreleased material. Wait, there's more! Ownership of his solo Dark Horse 1976-92 catalogue and the two Traveling Wilburys albums were to have reverted back to George, and he had been considering re-circulating these currently out-of-print CDs with possible bonus tracks. All of this is now in Olivia's (and maybe Dhani's?) more than capable hands. On a U.S. morning news show aired June 12, 1997, George said, "For every human is a quest to find the answer to, Why are we here? Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? That to me became the only important thing in my life. Everything else is secondary." On November 29, 2001, after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by those he loved, George leaves his body and moves on to wherever his spiritual journal will lead him. Gardener, musician, composer, film producer, record producer, philanthropist, car racing enthusiast, spiritual seeker and slide guitarist extraordinaire, the multi-faceted George Harrison continues to enrich our lives. His inner light will shine forever. (Thank you to hariscruffs.com for the bio) Back To Top Richard Starkey was born on July 7, 1940 in Liverpool, England. The oldest Beatle (three months older than John) was born in a two-story house in the Dingle area to Richard and Elsie Starkey. His father was a Liverpool dock worker, and his mother worked in a bakery. Ringo's parents met in this bakery, and later married. When little Richie was three years old, his parents broke up. Ringo's mother later married Harry Graves, who Ringo called his "step ladder". Richard was a happy child despite the various hospital visits that filled much of his life. He entered the hospital for the first time at six years of age for a bout of appendicitis. Ringo became quite bored and even a bit lonely when he was in the hospital, so his parents brought him two toys to keep him entertained. One was a red bus, the other was a small drum...Ringo's first drum! Ringo kept himself well occupied with the drum, but upon noticing the lonely boy in the bed next to him, Ringo decided to give up the pretty red bus. As little Richie leaned out of the bed to give his bus to the other boy, he fell...hitting his head and knocking himself into a coma. Richard remained in the hospital for around another year, putting him behind in his education. When Ringo finally got out of the hospital, he was seriously behind in his schoolwork. He couldn't read very well, and was put in a class with kids much younger than he was. Ringo became quite unhappy with his schooling situation. At 13, Ringo caught a cold which turned into pleurisy, putting Ringo back into the hospital and further behind in his schoolwork. Ringo also started smoking around this time, probably for something to do. By fifteen he could just barely read and write. Like the other three Beatles, Ringo became interested with the Liverpool music known as skiffle. Ringo started his own group called the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group in 1957. In 1959, Ringo moved on to The Raving Texans, a quartet led by Rory Storm. Ringo became quite a good drummer with the added performance practice, even taking advantage of solos called "Starr Time". Ringo got his nickname here because of the numerous rings he wore on his pinky and ring fingers. The name Starr was chosen by dropping the "key" from his last name. This gave him the catchy title we know him by today--Ringo Starr. Rory Storm changed his band name to "The Hurricanes", and they became a big success in Liverpool and Germany. It was in Hamburg in October of 1960 when Ringo first met his fellow Beatles. At the time, Rory Storm's band was much more popular than the "Beetles with an A". Nevertheless, the interest in Ringo Starr led to his joining the band in 1962. Rory Storm was quite unhappy to lose such a great drummer, and Pete Best, the Beatles original drummer, was less than happy to be replaced. Many Pete Best fans rejected Ringo, holding vigils outside Pete's hous and rioting at the Cavern Club. The should of "Pete Best forever! Ringo, never" were prevalent. Still, there was a wonderful connection between Ringo's drumming style and the music of the Beatles. Ringo's fun-loving attitude was appealing, giving the rest of the Beatles a head-start on their special humour. Ringo's health would continue to cause problems again later. In 1964 Ringo missed three quarters of the tour of Scandanavia, Holland, the Far East, and Australia, to have his tonsils out. Once this was resolved, the Beatles were underway. Ringo contributed many interesting quotes to the Beatles repertoire, some of which became song titles. "Eight Day's A Week" was written after one of Ringo's expressions. The Beatles' first movie, originally called Beatlemania, was instead called A Hard Day's Night after something Ringo said one evening after a particularly grueling session. Because he seemed content to sit at the back, Ringo was sometimes considered to be the least important Beatle. He was not one of the main writers, nor was he a strong vocalist. Ringo was only given one song per album, but in my opinion Ringo used this valuable space well. Ringo became an integral part of The Beatles. Not only did his inventive drumming help provide The Beatles distinctive sound, but he fulfilled other very real needs. Ringo was the most down-to-earth member of the Fab Four. Ringo was the friendly Beatle. He recieved more fan mail than any of the others, and he became the mediator in many of the later arguments of the band. The Beatles benefited from his sensitivity, wry sense of humor, and his "peace and love" way of dealing with the world. His modesty and kind heart was as important to the Beatles as John and Paul's musical talents. Ringo always seemed a bit overwhelmed by the success of the Beatles -- as if he were pleasantly surprised by what was happening to him. Ringo really looked upon John, Paul, and George as his three brothers and continues to love them as such today. He gave of himself to them the best that he could with love and without ego. Ringo had his most important dreams come true with the Beatles. The only dream Ringo never fulfilled was to sit in the audience at a Beatles concert. Ringo has been married twice. First to his long-time girlfriend Maureen Cox. Ringo met Maureen in the Cavern club when he was still with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Ringo and Maureen were married at Caxton Hall in Westminster on February 11, 1965. They had three children, Zak on September 13, 1965, Jason on August 19, 1967, and Lee on November 17, 1970. Ringo and Maureen were divorced in 1975, and sadly Maureen died Decmber 30, 1994 of Leukemia despite a bone marrow transplant from her son Zak. Ringo married Barbara Bach, whom he met on the set of Caveman in 1983. They are still happily married today. Ringo not only had a successful musical career with the Beatles, but also on his solo efforts and with his All-Starr Band. Ringo has had many great solo hits such as "Photograph", "Back Off Boogaloo", "You're Sixteen", and "It Don't Come Easy". Ringo has worked with many famous and wonderful artists such as Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Peter Frampton, Steven Tyler, Tom Petty, and even Ozzy Osbourne. A lot of you have contacted me asking for books about Ringo. Here is the best one I know, and this is the book where I got most of the information for this page. It's not expensive, has great pictures, and is a fun and interesting read! If you click on the cover below, it will take you to Amazon.com where you can see it and read a few sample pages! (thank you to, http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Balcony/3862/MAIN_PAGE/HTML/RINGOSTARR.html, for the bio) Back To Top |
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