Happy Birthday Ringo.

Today is the 70th birthday of Ringo Starr, one time drummer with, probably, the most famous & influential rock band on the planet, The Beatles.
Now, apart from making me feel old, after all, i grew up listening to The Beatles' music. This also makes me think aboutf Ringo's place in rock & roll history.

As you are probably aware, Ringo has often been a bit of a figure of fun. Who hasn't heard that old chestnut, "Ringo is not the best drummer in the world. In fact he's not even the best drummer in The Beatles"?
And, yes, his drumming may not have been as flamboyant, or as well thought of as many other rock drummers of his time. People like Keith Moon, Ginger Baker & John Bonham spring to mind.

But, The Beatles would not have been The Beatles, that we know & love, without him. If Pete Best had remained as The Beatles' drummer, as good as he might have been. I don't think they would have been the same band & would not have made the same impact.

Why?
Because, all bands are a sum of their different parts.
Just because a particular member of the band doesn't write the songs, or doesn't sing on the records, doesn't mean that they are not an integral part of that band.

I can think of many bands where, if you were to take one member out of that band, they just would not be the same. Obviously, the impact that would have would depend on which member was missing. It seems pretty obvious that if you took Jim Morrison out of The Doors, or even John Lennon out of The Beatles, they would be seriously lacking a vital element.

But, a drummer? Surely nobody would notice if they went missing? After all, all they do is sit at the back & make a noise, don't they?
Well, i may be biased having been a drummer years ago. But, i disagree with that.

Some might even say that the drummer is the most important member of a band.
They provide the beat & they provide the rhythm. The rest of the band follow the drummer. You can have the best songs in the world. But, if the beat & the rhythm are wrong, all is lost.
And that is why Ringo was such an important member of one of the most important bands of all time.
He was the man who put the beat in The Beatles

And also, let us not forget that without Ringo, we would not have had such great song titles as, "A Hard Days Night" & "Tomorrow Never Knows"

Happy birthday Ringo. May the beat go on.