Ringo Starr Biography

Pre-Fame

    Ringo was born Richard Starkey in July of 1940, during World War II.  In fact, a funny story about Ringo's childhood is that during all of the commotion of a bombing from the Nazis, Ringo's mother, Elsie, was hold little Ritchie to protect him.  However, little Ritchie was just screaming while she held him and it was a while before she figured out why: she was holding him upside down.  So Ringo's life began rather turbulently, and it continued to be as he grew up.
     Of all the Beatles Ringo had it the worst in every respect, yet he seemed to be the most happy of the four.  Ringo grew up in the toughest section of Liverpool called The Dingle.  This area was full of the poor, working class, and a lot of rough kids.  By the age of three Ringo's father and mother separated and he lost his father for a number of years, and never had a close relationship with his dad.  Besides being the poorest, and from a broken home, Ringo was also very, very sickly as a child.  At the age of six Ringo was rushed to the hospital with appendicitis, and unfortunately it burst before they could get it out.  After this he went into a coma for two months, during which he was operated on, and eventually he woke up (obviously) but he remained hospitalized for months afterward. 
     Ringo was fairly healthy for a while after this, and his mother remarried to a man named Harry Graves, who treated Ringo very well.  At age 13 Ringo developed a cold that turned to chronic pleurisy, and recquired another hospital stay, (for those that do not know what pleurisy is, I will inform you.  Pleurisy is a problem with the membranes of the lungs, which causes great pain, and difficulty breathing).   He had complications after that, and lived in a children's hospital for the next two years.  The illnesses in Ringo's life account for the fact that he was very uneducated.  He had a neighbor teach him how to read, and he was often poor at that,  and he never graduated high school.  Amazingly, Ringo never lost his cheery personality.  Many that knew him growing up say that he was always happy and cheerful, and a very likeable guy.  At the age of 17, Harry, bought Ringo his first drum set.  Ringo had always been facinated by the drums and being a cowboy. In fact, he almost moved to the Western United States, he wanted to be a cowboy so badly. Fortunately he never got around to mailing his application. 
     Being a drummer guarenteed him being in a group since they were so rare, and he joined the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group in '57.  He then changed groups and joined the popular group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.  Ringo was a star in his own right with the Hurricanes.  He drove an expensive car, and even had a name for his drum solos, Starrtime (he got the name Ringo because he wore so many rings, and this is where "Starr" came from".  The Hurricanes got offered a job to play in Hamburg, Germany, and the took it up.  They were treated much better than the Beatles were since they were much more  popular.  Ringo would often stay in the clubs late to watch the Beatles play, and often made requests and soon befriended the Beatles.  He would sit in with then every now and then when their drummer Pete Best didn't show up.  When the Hurricanes returned to Liverpool they were not as popular as before, and Ringo left to be a backing drummer for Tony Sheridan.  When he returned he rejoined the Hurricanes, but he did not stay with them long.  He was offered a job from the very popular Beatles, and he took it up. 
     He was hurt when he first came to join them because in the studio, he was not allowed to play.  George Martin hired a session drummer to play after the sacking of Pete Best.  So, their first single, Love Me Do, Ringo did not play drums on, he played tambourine.  Eventually he  played, and George Martin found him to be sufficient, not great, but good enough, and he kept Ringo playing in the studio. 
      Ringo was very, very lucky to join the Beatles when he did because it was not long after he joined them, that they were famous.  Many around Liverpool referred to him as being "the luckiest man alive."  They did not believe he was a better drummer than Pete, as has been claimed.  But, he did fit in better with the Beatles.  He was not that quiet, although he was not as outgoing as the others.  He always was cheerful and picked up the groups mood when they were down or tired, and he just fit in well with their type of humor.  It was a perfect fit.  Unfortunately, many fans did not see it that way, and protested Ringo joining the group.  They shouted, "Ringo never, Pete Best forever", and eventually, the attacked him, but he remained unhurt, it was George who suffered with a black eye.
     Ringo, was very fortunate to join the Beatles, but it was all because of his outlook and personality towards life.  He was dealt an ugly hand early on, and is lucky to even be alive.  Many believe he did nothing to help the Beatles, but he was a tremendous influence and help.  As I will discuss later, he often kept them down to earth during the mania.  He was certainly an integral part of the even if he is not believed to be a great musician.