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Richard Starkey
July 7 1940 - present
( Article written by William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide )
Richard Starkey (born July 7, 1940), best known as Ringo Starr, was the drummer for The Beatles from 1962 (when he replaced Pete Best) until their breakup in 1970. Starr was known for his reliable and steady drumming style, and his easygoing personality made him an easy fit with the other Beatles.
Prior to joining the Beatles, he was the drummer for the Liverpool band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, from 1959 to 1962.
Ringo Starr, drummed for
the Beatles from 1962 to 1970 and thus one of the most famous musicians of the '60s. Though the least prominent member of the quartet, he distinguished himself as an occasional singer of good-natured material and as an actor. Upon the group's split, Starr went solo with two novelty projects: the first, an album called Sentimental Journey, found him covering pre-rock standards, and the second, Beacoups of Blues, was a country music collection.
Starr then scored Top Ten hits with two non-album singles, "It Don't Come Easy" in 1971 and "Back off Boogaloo" in 1972. In 1973 he paired with producer Richard Perry and, with assistance from the three other ex-Beatles, made Ringo, which featured two number one hits, "Photograph" and "You're Sixteen." "Oh My My," a Top Ten hit, was also included. Almost as successful was the 1974 follow-up, Goodnight Vienna, which featured the hits "Only You" and "No No Song."
Starr continued to release albums through 1981, though with diminishing success. His 1983 album Old Wave did not find a U.S. distributor. Starr was also suffering from the excesses of his lifestyle, but by the late '80s he had cleaned up, and in 1989 he toured with his "All-Starr Band." In 1992, he signed to Private Music and released a new studio album, Time Takes Time. Vertical Man, his first album for Mercury, followed in 1998, as did a disc culled from his performance on the VH1 Storytellers series. Starr's first seasonal effort, I Wanna Be Santa Claus, appeared a year later.
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