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Ringo Starr

They are the world’s most famous percussion instrument.

The Black Oyster Pearl, Ludwig Super Classic drum set that bears the name of the most famous band in our history, The Beatles. Certainly no other drum kit is as well known.

It is believed that Ringo may still have this original Ludwig kit.

The Ludwig drums and the Beatles logo became the centerpiece of the Beatles stage set from mid 1963 through August of 1966. Amazingly, not much has been written about Ringo’s drums.

Ringo didn’t always play Ludwig drums. In fact his first drum kit was a used set that was purchased for him as a Christmas gift. Up until this time, Ringo had been playing biscuit tins and pieces of firewood.

In February 1957, Ringo started playing in a band. All of the guys in the group worked at the same factory and played for their fellow workmen in a cellar during lunch. They started playing all the freebies that they could get, such as weddings and clubs. Ringo was becoming a semi-professional. He was an Engineer at the factory by day, and at night he played drums. He would play dances with Eddie Miles and some other groups. Later he would play with Rory Storm, which is where Ringo’s career really got started. He played and practiced with a lot of the groups in Liverpool.

Ringo’s drum kit was old and it was time to step up to something a bit newer. In the summer of 1958 Ringo borrowed £46 from his grandfather, went to Frank Hessy’s Music store, and bought an Ajax single headed kit. The appeal may have been that it looked similar to a Ludwig kit that he had seen.

While playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in Hamburg, Germany, in 1960, Ringo purchased a set of Premier drums. On the front bass drum head was the “Premier” logo and “Ringo Starr” just below it.

When Ringo was asked to join The Beatles, he still had the Premier kit. Many of the early recordings were made with this kit. Sometime between September 4, 1962, and February 17, 1963, Ringo’s name was replaced by a Beatles logo. The logo that appeared on Ringo’s Premier drum kit was based on Paul’s doodles. Terry Tex O’Hara, a Liverpool artist, designed the actual logo. It is a script type font with a “B” that has beetle-like antenna and a tiny “THE” above it. The logo was printed on a cloth banner that was stretched across the drumhead and was held in place by the drums rim. The banner also provided some muffling for the drum. This was one of many of the logo designs to come.

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Extended Analysis

Revolver Super Deluxe Edition (5CD)

Read "Revolver Super Deluxe Edition (5CD)" reviewed by Doug Collette


The five CDs in The Beatles' Revolver Super Deluxe Edition reaffirm a fundamental verity regarding the group's work. The Liverpudlian quartet was never more unified in its creativity than in writing, recording and producing the sixteen tracks that comprise the box in collaboration with producer George Martin, engineer Geoff Emerick and the additional musicians and technicians who participated. The curators of this set in turn have channeled the remarkably pragmatic and disciplined approach of the Beatles and company. ...

5
Extended Analysis

Let It Be - Super Deluxe Special Edition

Read "Let It Be - Super Deluxe Special Edition" reviewed by Doug Collette


It's perfectly reasonable to state that the Beatles' Let It Be Super Deluxe Special Edition is the iconic group's third attempt to release music from their (three weeks of) January 1969 recordings. Originally set to be released as an album titled Get Back Don't Let Me Down and 12 Other Songs (as emblazoned on a contemporary cover photo replicating that shot on their very first long-player from 1963), that collection morphed into Let It Be (Apple, 1970), the initial foray ...

6
Live Review

Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band at Pier 17

Read "Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band at Pier 17" reviewed by Christine Connallon


Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band Pier 17 New York, NY August 18, 2019 They say “It Don't Come Easy" but Richard Starkey has a way of making it look easy. Especially when Starkey, aka Ringo Starr, has a little help from his friends, The All Starr Band, who are spending August of 2019 winding their way across North America and celebrating 30 years of making magic together. Born in an inner ...

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1

Video / DVD

Robbie Robertson. Ringo Starr Play ‘The Weight’ With Musicians On Five Continents [VIDEO]

Robbie Robertson. Ringo Starr Play ‘The Weight’ With Musicians On Five Continents [VIDEO]

Source: HypeBot

Robbie Robertson, the co-founder of The Band and Ringo Starr have joined forces with Playing For Change, a grassroots multimedia music project dedicated to “inspiring and connecting the world through music,” for an epic, global rendition of The Bands' song “The Weight.” Born in 2002 as a shared vision between co-founders, Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke, to hit the streets of America with a mobile recording studio and cameras in search of “inspiration and the heartbeat of the people,” the ...

Performance / Tour

Santana / Journey Founding Member Gregg Rolie Tours With Ringo Starr's All Star Band, Schedules New Solo Dates In August

Santana / Journey Founding Member Gregg Rolie Tours With Ringo Starr's All Star Band,  Schedules New Solo Dates In August

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Houston, TX - Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Gregg Rolie, best known for his vocals and keyboard work with legendary music groups Santana and Journey, is currently on tour with Ringo Starr's All Star Band. So far the response has been no less than phenomenal! Along with Gregg Rolie, you can catch Steve Lukather, Todd Rundgren, Richard Page and of course, Ringo Starr, on the Ringo Starr All Star Band tour this June and July in the US ...

25

Performance / Tour

Ringo Starr: 13th All Starr Band and Summer Tour Dates

Ringo Starr: 13th All Starr Band and Summer Tour Dates

Source: JamBase

13TH ALL STARR BAND FEATURING STEVE LUKATHER, GREGG ROLIE, RICHARD PAGE, TODD RUNDGREN, MARK RIVERA, GREGG BISSONETTE Today Ringo Starr announced his 13th All Starr Band, which will launch June 14, 2012 from Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario and conclude July 21, 2012 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California. New to the All Starrs are Steve Lukather (Toto) and Gregg Rolie (Santana & Journey) who will join All Starr alumni Richard Page, Todd Rundgren, Mark Rivera, and ...

153

Recording

Gimme Five: Beatles Songs Where Ringo Starr Doesn't, You Know, Suck

Gimme Five: Beatles Songs Where Ringo Starr Doesn't, You Know, Suck

Source: Something Else!

By Pico, and Nick Deriso Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has taken his share of knocks over the years. Some of those, in the interest of full disclosure, came from us. Then there was legendary jazz figure Buddy Rich's blunt assessment: “Ringo Starr was adequate. No more than that." Still, it wasn't like he didn't have his moments—often curiously effective moments, but moments nonetheless. As former band mate John Lennon told Playboy in one of his final interviews: “He's not technically ...

147

Event

The Story Behind Ringo Starr's Gold-Plated Drum Headed to New York's Met

The Story Behind Ringo Starr's Gold-Plated Drum Headed to New York's Met

Source: Michael Ricci

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is known for its grand exhibitions of iconic visual artists, most of them dead, but also a few living ones who have attained high-ranking stature in their fields.

So it struck many in the art world as strange when the museum announced this week that it would be taking a step -- albeit a small step -- in the direction of pop culture by displaying former Beatle Ringo Starr's gold-plated snare drum that he ...

102

Performance / Tour

Hot Summer Nites at the Greek

Hot Summer Nites at the Greek

Source: All About Jazz

Live music under the stars in the heart of Los Angeles. The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles premiere outdoor theatre, is nestled in the picturesque tree-enclosed setting of Griffith Park.

This award-winning theatre is one of Los Angeles' most historic entertainment venues and has played host to some of the biggest names in entertainment, from pop to classical, reggae to rock.

The legendary Greek Theatre offers entertainment to every segment of the population. Recent seasons have featured performances by ...

106

Event

Ringo Gets Star

Ringo Gets Star

Source: Michael Ricci

Legendary Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a ceremony that also marked the 50th anniversary of the tourist attraction's groundbreaking.

Starr's name was the 2,401st to be unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, bassist and music producer Don Was, singer-songwriter Ben Harper and actress-wife Barbara Bach were by Starr's side for the unveiling Monday night.

Starr's star is near the stars of his late bandmates ...

171

Performance / Tour

Ringo Starr's Q&A at the Grammy Museum

Ringo Starr's Q&A at the Grammy Museum

Source: Michael Ricci

The Grammy Museum has landed an impressive roster of artists for its series of question-and-answer and performance sessions in the year since it opened at the L.A. Live complex downtown.

Among the participants: Brian Wilson, Smokey Robinson, Annie Lennox, Dwight Yoakam, Herb Alpert, Harry Connick Jr. and Clive Davis, Rage Against the Machine / The Nightwatchmans Tom Morello and Dave Matthews. But even in such rarefied company, a former Beatle commands special attention, which helped explain the star-dotted turnout for ...

220

Recording

CD Review: Ringo Starr, "Y Not"

CD Review: Ringo Starr, "Y Not"

Source: Pop Dose

I know that I have a tendency to dwell on the past, but it seems somehow sad to me that the release of a new album by a member of the Beatles no longer gets much attention, especially when its something new from Ringo. I suppose people still look forward to a new album from Paul McCartney. The hope dies hard that he will be able to recapture the magic, maybe because on occasion he has. But its been more ...

113

Performance / Tour

Praising Ringo Starr One Drummer to Another Happy Birthday

Praising Ringo Starr One Drummer to Another Happy Birthday

Source: All About Jazz

The Beatles maintain a stronghold on the imagination and hearts of music lovers. They win over new generations without trying, and their appeal shows no signs of waning. So when Ringo Starr turns 69 on Tuesday, his status as one of rock's most renowned drummers is secure, if only by association with the greatest show on earth.

Yet inexplicably, Starr's legacy is clouded by misconception and ignorance. Some say he was the luckiest guy on earth, a competent player who ...

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