Quincy Jones once claimed the Beatles were sucky musicians — but that must’ve been aimed at everyone besides Ringo Starr … because the dude was clearly ahead of his time.
Check out this viral TikTok video from @grahamethedrummer, who breaks down what the band’s drummer could’ve done on famous tunes of theirs … and what he actually did on the final product. It’s pretty obvious — RS was going above and beyond for their songs.
As someone who doesn’t understand much about music, and who doesn’t especially get the Beatles, this made me do a lovely “Ahhhh!” pic.twitter.com/qeUtCJCcsy
— Andrew Ellard (@ellardent) October 29, 2021
@ellardent
Graham argues it would’ve been easy for Ringo to phone it in on the drums if he wanted to — showing he could’ve played along to their melodies with simple drum beats that kept pace, but instead … opted for ingenious patterns that elevated the arrangements.
He showcases what one might see a basic drummer do for tracks like “I Feel Fine,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Getting Better All the Time” and “Come Together” … and then contrasts that with what Ringo actually did in real-life … unique drumming that made the songs stand out.
The TikToker likens this level of drum playing to a “superpower” … and each time he notes, “What Ringo did was way cooler.” The internet seems to agree, BTW — singing RS’s praises … with some saying he’s grossly underrated in the pantheon of drummer greats.
John and Paul obviously got (and still get, for the most part) much of shine … but this dude was putting in WORK back there behind all the guitar/bass players.