I'M THE GREATEST!
"Now I'm Only 32; And All I Wanna Do Is BooGaLoo"
Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr)
Richard Starkey (called Ritchie as a child) was born on July 7,
1940 to Richard Sr. and Elise Starkey in their house, situated
in a very poor section of Liverpool called The Dingle. He is an
only child. When Ritchie was three years old, his parents
separated. Although the separation was supposedly amicable,
Ritchard Sr. has not been a significant figure in his son's life.
His mother remarried Harry Graves in 1953, a move of which
Ritchie approved.
Ritchie received very little formal education due to frequent
hospitlaizations as a child. When he was five years old,
Ritchie's appendix burst and he developed peritonitis. He was
in the hospital for a little over a year, during which time he
underwent two operations and spent ten weeks in a coma.
Although he returned to school upon his release from the
hospital, he was very far behind his classmates and was
unable to read or write. These skills were taught to him by a
family friend, Marie Maguire. Just after he entered secondary
school, and just around the time his mother remarried, Richie
developed a cold which further developed into pleurisy and an
effusion of one of his lungs. When Ritchie emrged from this
hospitalization it was already two years later and he never
returned to school.
Although Ritchie had not shown any musical interest in the
strict sense, his mother had always noted her son's tendency
to pound out rhythms on objects. When the skiffle craze hit
England, his stepfather bought him a drum set and he helped
form a group called Eddie Clayton Skiffle. Later, he joined Liverpool's top rock and roll band, Rory Storm and the
Hurricanes. It was during this time that Rory Storm convinced Ritchie to adopt a more "show-biz" name. Ritchie
became Ringo Starr.
Ringo met the Beatles while both they and the Hurricanes were getting their start in Hamburg. Ringo became friends
with the Beatles and would occasionally sit in with them. When the Beatles signed with EMI in 1962, and George
Martin demanded that the Beatles fire current drummer Pete Best, the Beatles did so, having not been too happy with
Pete anyway. Ringo was invited to join the Beatles. His transition into the already-established Beatles was not easy. A
week after playing his first studio session with the Beatles, George Martin brought in a session drummer and relegated
Ringo to the task of shaking maracas and tambourines on what would become the single versions of "Love Me Do" and
"P.S. I Love You." However, the tracks recorded a week earlier, on which Ringo played drums were issued on the
album, "Please Please Me" and he would not be replaced with a session drummer again.
In the early days of Beatlemania, Ringo was the most popular Beatle, probably because he so clearly stood out from the
other three. Ringo was shorter than John, Paul, and George, all of who were roughly the same height. His facial
features, his sad blue eyes and prominent nose, were the most noteworthy to fans trying to figure out which Moptop
was which. he was also notable for the many rings he wore and for his singing voice which, if not beautiful, was
certainly distinctive. His drumming style was very straightforward and nothing fancy but always perfectly on-time,
providing the Beatles with the most important part of their sound: the strong backbeat. Ringo's easy-going personality
was a much needed force within the Beatles, particulalry during the uncomfortable last years of the group's existence.
Even during the years of ex-Beatle feuding following the group's break-up, Ringo managed not to be drawn into the
battles, remaining friends with all three former bandmates and sometimes serving as peacemaker between them. Indeed,
his 1973 solo album, Ringo, which contained contributuions from John, Paul, and George, was the closest thing the
public would see to a Beatles reunion until the Anthology project.
On February 11, 1965, Ringo married his Liverpool sweetheart, Mary (Maureen) Cox after Maureen had discovered that
she was pregnant in 1964. Zak Starkey was born on September 13, 1965. Zak was followed by Jason Starkey on
August 19, 1967 and sister Lee Parkin Starkey on November 11, 1970. Ringo and Maureen's relationship was able to
withstand the craziness of Beatlemania and they were considered to be an ideal couple, which is why their divorce in
1975 came as such to suprise. Ringo married actress Barbara Bach in 1980. They had been co-stars in one of Ringo's
many post-Beatles film projects, Caveman.
Ringo's post-Beatles career is most notable for his many film and TV projects
(the latter including the narration of "Thomas the Tank Engine" and his
portrayal of the conductor on "Shining Time Station" and of the Turtle in "Alice
in Wonderland"). He has played drums on solo works by John, Paul, and
George, as well as for many other artists. He has also had a string of solo
albums which, except for Ringo were not hugely successful.
In 1988, Ringo and Barbara checked themselves in to an alcohol rehabilitation
program. Upon completion of this program, Ringo managed to rejuvinate his
career from its mid-80s slump. He organized his first of three versions of his
"All-Starr Band" which included the talents of Billy Preston, Dr. John, Joe
Walsh, Levon Helm and Clarence Clemens among many others. The All-Starr
band went out on the road for Ringo's first solo tour. (This author was
there...what a great show!). Ringo has also released two albums during the
nineties: "Time Takes Time" and the recent "Vertical Man." He has appeared on
VH1's "Storytellers" series as well as their "Hard Rock Live" series. And of
course, he reunited with Paul and George for the Anthology project and
contributed drums and vocals to Paul's most recent album, "Flaming Pie."
