Ringo Starr is celebrating a birthday today and he invites everyone who wants to join him for a celebration of peace and love.
(Photo: Ringostarr.com)
We wish him good health and many more years of music with interesting facts about him:
1. He was born on 7 July 1940 in Liverpool England, named Richard Starkey. An only son of his parents.
2. When he was only 5 his parents divorced and his mother remarried.
3. At the age of 6 he underwent surgery to remove appendicitis which got complicated and forced him to be hospitalized for a long time.
4. The recovery lasted almost a year, during which he was away from school, family, and friends. Even when he returned home his mother did not want to bring him back to school immediately, so it turned out that at the age of 8 he could not really read.
5. During his stay in the hospital and to alleviate his boredom, the hospital staff as well as other patients persuaded him to join the hospital band.
6. Even when he was released from the hospital, his mother did not return him to school immediately, for fear of his health. Ringo used his time listening to music and playing music.
7. Ringo expressed a growing interest in drums. He noted that he got a mandolin and banjo from his grandfather, a harmonica from his grandmother, and at home, there was a piano, but all he wanted to do was play the drums.
8. In 1957 his mother remarried to Harry Graves who was a Big Band fan. He exposed Ringo to music and even bought him the first drum set, which was minimal and second-hand, at Christmas that year.
9. Ringo is left-handed but he plays the drums as a right-handed.
10. Ringo's first band was the "Eddie Miles Band", the band played in the Skyfall style which soon was surpassed by Rock n' roll.
(Photo: Ultimateclassicrock.com)
11. During this time he adopted the stage name, Ringo Starr. The name Ringo came because he had a lot of rings on his fingers.
12. In November 1959 Ringo joined the band "Rory Storm and the Hurricanes". They played Skype-style songs in pubs and clubs and soon became the most sought-after band in Liverpool.
13. They even surpassed "The Beatles" and earned more than they did at that time. "The Beatles" members who then included Pete Best as a drummer, learned to appreciate Ringo and his playing.
14. On October 15, 1960, Ringo played for the first time with Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison on a recording of the lead singer of the band "Hurricanes".
15. In January 1962 Ringo left the "Hurricanes" and went to accompany the singer Tony Sheridan who greatly appreciated his playing and asked him to join him permanently.
16. On August 14, 1962, John Lennon invited Ringo to join "the Beatles". Two days later "The Beatles" manager Brian Epstein fired Pete Best and thus Ringo officially joined the band.
17. He was the oldest friend among all the band members, but the last to join.
18. Ringo's first recording as a member of "the Beatles" was made on September 4, 1962, during the recording of their first album - "Please Please Me". Producer George Martin did not like Ringo's performance in that session.
19. Martin even enlisted a session drummer named Andy White to play the songs "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You." Martin later apologized to Ringo for the move.
20. As a member of the Beatles and beyond his role as a drummer, Starr has won at least one song on almost every "Beatles" album. These songs include "Yellow Submarine", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Good Night", "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Octopus's Garden", "Don't Pass Me By" and more.
21. Ringo also co-wrote some Beatles' songs, including "Octopus's Garden," "Don't Pass Me By," which is given credited only to him, and "What Goes On," "Flying," "Dig It" and more, which he co-wrote with others.
22. Star is also responsible for some interesting titles for "The Beatles" songs such as "A Hard Day's Night" and "Tomorrow Never Knows".
23. In the song "The End" from the album "Abbey Road" Ringo recorded his first drum solo. It was also one of the first in rock music.
24. Despite this Paul McCartney testifies that Ringo simply hates playing drum solos and that he should have begged Ringo to perform the solo on "The End".
25. He was the first Beatles member to experiment with marijuana in the same famous meeting with Bob Dylan in 1964. Dylan suggested to all the other members who were apprehensive, the Ringo experiment.
26. Ringo is the first of "the Beatles" members to sing with another artist. It was with Cilla Black in 1968.
27. After the breakup of "the Beatles", Ringo started his solo career with his first album - "Sentimental Journey" which was released in 1970.
28. To date, Ringo has released no less than 20 albums as part of his solo career, making him the second most prolific of the four fabs.
29. Star is also a film actor. He took on most of the lead roles in "the Beatles" movies, and also starred in quite a few other feature films.
30. In the years 1984-1986 Ringo gave his voice to the television series "Thomas the Locomotive".
31. Ringo's son - Zack Star is also a drummer. He has played with bands like "Oasis", "the Who" and his father.
32. Ringo is allergic to certain onions, garlic, and spices. He never ate pizza.
33. In 1999 he was inducted into the "Modern Drummer" Hall of Fame.
34. In 2015 Star entered the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".
35. Ringo is the richest drummer in the world. His fortune is estimated at more than $ 350 million.
36. He came to Israel and made 2 appearances at "Nokia Hall", in 2018.
37. Ringo is the brother-in-law of guitarist Joe Walsh, known among others from the "Eagles". Marjorie Bach who is married to Walsh is the sister of Ringo's wife - Barbara Bach.
378. In honor of his 81st birthday, 7.7.2021 at 12:00 noon, Ringo invited all fans to join him for a celebration of peace and love. And this was the content of his announcement (with a link to the video at the end):
I’m inviting everyone who wants to join the peace and love celebration for my birthday at noon your time wherever you are, 7-7-21 – you can post it, you can say it, you can even think it – but it would be really cool if you go "Peace and Love" at noon on my birthday – so let’s spread peace and love on my birthday – c’mon everybody! #PeaceAndLove 😎✌️🌟❤️💖🎵🎶☮️