Dedicated to Ringo and all fellow fans.
RINGO: "First and foremost I am a drummer. After that, I'm other things. But I didn't play drums to make money... I didn't do it to become rich and famous, I did it because it was the love of my life."
George Harrison:
"Ringo's got the best back beat I've ever heard and he can play great 24-hours a day."
RINGO: "My favorite piece of me is what I did on 'Rain.' I think I just played amazing. I was into the snare and hi-hat. I think it was the first time I used the trick of starting a break by hitting the hi-hat first instead of going directly to a drum off the hi-hat. I think it's the best out of all the records I've ever made. 'Rain' blows me away. It's out in left field. I know me and I know my playing... and then there's 'Rain.'"
"Rain"
John Lennon: "Ringo's a damn good drummer. He was always a good drummer. I think Ringo's drumming is underrated the same way Paul's bass-playing is underrated. Paul and Ringo stand up anywhere with any of the rock musicians."
Phil Collins: "I think he's vastly underrated. The drum fills on 'A Day In The Life' are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' They wouldn't know what to do."
Jim Keltner: "He's more than a dear friend. He's like an idol. He's everything to me. I still think of him musically every time I sit down and play drums. He's a very important guy to me."
Don Was: "As a drummer, he influenced three generations of rock drummers. It's not very flashy playing, but it's very musical. Instead of just counting the bars, he's playing the song, and he puts fills in unusual places that are directed by the vocal."
Max Weinberg: "Ringo's beat was heard around the world and he drew the spotlight toward the rock and roll drummer. From his matched grip style to his pioneering use of staggered tom tom fills, his influence in rock drumming was as important and wide spread as Gene Krupa's had been in jazz."
Al Kooper: "Sgt. Pepper was the album that changed drumming more than anything else. Before that album, drum fills in rock and roll were pretty rudimentary, all much the same, and this record had what I call space fills where Ringo would leave a tremendous amount of air. It was most appealing to me musically and the sound of the drums got much better."
Alex Van Halen: "One of the most interesting things about Ringo is how he managed to maintain a level of self-esteem -- in addition to being a great player, of course. But he wasn't overshadowed as a human being by McCartney, Lennon or Harrison. I think he did a wonderful thing for drums because drummers would see him and think, 'Hey, he's part of it, too.'"
Bob Cianci: "He must have done something right. People today still look for people who play like Ringo. If you don't believe me, just check the musical ads. On top of all this, he certainly inspired countless millions of teenagers worldwide to learn drums. There's no doubt about it, Ringo's a very important rock drummer. What Ringo does on the most basic of terms is make the music feel good."
Ringo TV Special: April 26th, 1978
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A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Help! (1965)
Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Yellow Submarine (1968)
Candy (1968)
The Magic Christian (1969)
Let It Be (1970)
The Point (1971)
200 Motels (1971)
Blindman (1971)
That'll Be The Day (1973)
Son of Dracula (1974)
Lisztomania (1975)
The Last Waltz (1978)
Sextette (1978)
Caveman (1981)
Give My Regards To Broadstreet (1984)
... more to come