Ringo Starr

About

Richard Starkey, MBE (born 7 July 1940) commonly known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He joined the Beatles in August 1962, taking the place of Pete Best. In addition to his drumming, Starr is featured on lead vocals on a number of successful Beatles songs (in particular, "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Yellow Submarine", and the Beatles' version of "Act Naturally"). He is credited as a co-writer of the songs "What Goes On", "Flying", and "Dig It" and as the sole writer of "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". As a musically creative drummer for the Beatles, Starr's contribution to their music has received high praise from notable drummers. Starr described himself as "your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills". Drummer Steve Smith said that Starr's popularity "brought forth a new paradigm" where "we started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect" and that Starr "composed unique, stylistic drum parts for the Beatles' songs". In 2011, Starr wa…