Maybe his role as the “runt” stemmed from the fact that he joined the band at the last moment before they skyrocketed in late ’62.
The fact that the proto-Fab Three had coveted him and his drums for years should certainly say something about how his skills were regarded at that time, and the fact that the great Ringo Starr ditched his sweet gig with the Hurricanes and deigned to join these upstarts should say something about Starr’s own musical judgment. He drove a sporty car while his future bandmates still scrounged for bus fare, wore flashy jewelry (hence the stage name), and cultivated a cool bohemian beard as early as 1960. In fact, “Richy” (his spelling) was considered something of a tough customer, rising up from the lowest of the Liverpool slums (a place called “The Dingle”) to become the powerhouse drummer for the hardest-rocking band on the local “beat” scene, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes. He was the oldest Beatle, and the others have all reminisced about how much more cool and sophisticated Starr seemed before he signed on with them. Out of the spotlight, however, the real-life Richard Starkey could be just as cutting and sarcastic as Lennon, as moody as Harrison, and as savvy as McCartney. He was the mascot, the goofy dimwit, condescended to and put upon by the others, but always childlike and cheery. Starr may have been the Beatle who least matched his public persona, a persona created out of thin air by the early-’60s media (especially the American media, who initially had trouble telling them apart) and reinforced by his “Ringo” character in A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, and especially the ridiculous Beatles Saturday morning cartoon. But the experience of listening to all of them actually turned out not to be excruciating. Most folks who lead normal lives are blissfully unaware that the former drummer for the Beatles has released sixteen solo albums.
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