Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey arrived at 9 Madryn Street in Dingle, Liverpool on the 7th of July 1940. His early years were defined by poverty and severe health crises that kept him away from school for extended periods. At age six he developed appendicitis and fell into a coma after contracting peritonitis. He spent twelve months recovering at Liverpool's Myrtle Street children's hospital where medical staff encouraged patients to join the hospital band. There he struck cabinets next to his bed with a makeshift mallet made from a cotton bobbin. This was his first exposure to percussion instruments and sparked an interest that never faded. By age eight he remained illiterate and struggled with mathematics due to missing so much schooling. A tuberculosis diagnosis in 1953 sent him to a sanatorium for two more years. During this second long stay he received a copy of the song Bedtime for Drums as a convalescence gift. He later stated that he never wanted anything else from that time onward except drums.
After returning home from the sanatorium in late 1955 Starkey entered the workforce but lacked motivation or discipline. He briefly worked as a railway worker for British Rail before quitting due to fear of military conscription. In mid-1956 he secured an apprenticeship as a machinist at Henry Hunt and Son where he befriended Roy Trafford. The pair bonded over music and began rehearsing songs in the plant cellar during lunch breaks. On Christmas Day 1957 Harry Graves gave Starkey a second-hand drum kit consisting of a snare drum bass drum and a cymbal fashioned from a rubbish bin lid. This basic equipment facilitated his progression as a musician while increasing the commercial potential of the Eddie Clayton band. They booked prestigious local gigs before the skiffle craze faded by early 1958 when American rock and roll became popular in the UK. By November 1959 Starkey joined Al Caldwell's Texans looking for someone with a proper drum kit to transition into a full-fledged rock and roll band. About this time he adopted the stage name Ringo Starr derived from the rings he wore and because it implied a country and western influence.
Starr quit Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in January 1962 and accepted John Lennon's invitation to join the Beatles on the 14th of August that year. His first recording session as a member took place on the 4th of September 1962 but producer George Martin thought he was crazy and couldn't play. For their second session on the 11th of September 1962 Martin replaced him with session drummer Andy White while recording takes for what would be the two sides of the Beatles' first single Love Me Do. Starr played tambourine on Love Me Do and maracas on P.S. I Love You. He considered himself fortunate to be on the same wavelength as the other Beatles stating that he had to join them as people as well as a drummer. His playing style emphasized feel over technical virtuosity and influenced many drummers to reconsider their playing from a compositional perspective. He did not believe the drummer's role was to interpret the song but rather to act as a foundation and fill gaps with glow. In 2011 Rolling Stone readers voted him the fifth-greatest drummer of all time. Journalist Robyn Flans wrote that thousands of drummers have told her that Ringo inspired their passion for drums.
Shortly before Paul McCartney announced his exit from the Beatles in April 1970 Starr released Sentimental Journey which peaked at number seven in the UK and number 22 in the US. His most successful UK single was Back Off Boogaloo which reached number two and peaked at number nine in the US. A commercial and critical success his 1973 album Ringo included Oh My My which became a US number five hit. Goodnight Vienna followed in 1974 and featured Only You which peaked at number six in the US and No No Song which was a US number three. On the 23rd of July 1989 Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band gave their first performance to an audience of ten thousand in Dallas Texas. Setting a pattern that would continue over the following decades the band consisted of Starr and an assortment of musicians who had been successful in their own right at different times. The concerts interchanged Starr's singing with performances of each of the other artists' well-known material incorporating either Starr or another musician as drummer. Since 1989 he has toured with thirteen variations of this innovative format.
On the 11th of February 1965 Starkey married Maureen Cox whom he had met in 1962 while they were both teenagers. They had three children: Zak born on the 13th of September 1965 Jason born on the 19th of August 1967 and Lee born on the 11th of November 1970. In 1971 Starr purchased Lennon's home Tittenhurst Park at Sunninghill in Berkshire and moved his family there. The couple divorced in 1975 following repeated infidelities alcoholism and volatile behavior. Cox died from leukaemia at age 48 in December 1994. In 1985 he was the first of the Beatles to become a grandfather upon the birth of Zak's daughter Tatia Jayne Starkey. He met actress Barbara Bach in 1980 on the set of the film Caveman and they were married at Marylebone Town Hall on the 27th of April 1981. As of 2026 Starr is the longest-living member of the band. He has eight grandchildren and became the first Beatle to become a great-grandfather in 2016.
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Common questions
When and where was Richard Starkey born?
Richard Starkey arrived at 9 Madryn Street in Dingle, Liverpool on the 7th of July 1940. His early years were defined by poverty and severe health crises that kept him away from school for extended periods.
How did Ringo Starr get his first drum kit?
Harry Graves gave Starkey a second-hand drum kit consisting of a snare drum bass drum and a cymbal fashioned from a rubbish bin lid on Christmas Day 1957. This basic equipment facilitated his progression as a musician while increasing the commercial potential of the Eddie Clayton band.
What date did John Lennon invite Ringo Starr to join the Beatles?
Starr quit Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in January 1962 and accepted John Lennon's invitation to join the Beatles on the 14th of August that year. His first recording session as a member took place on the 4th of September 1962 but producer George Martin thought he was crazy and couldn't play.
Who is the longest living Beatle as of 2026?
As of 2026 Starr is the longest-living member of the band. He has eight grandchildren and became the first Beatle to become a great-grandfather in 2016.
When did Richard Starkey marry Maureen Cox?
On the 11th of February 1965 Starkey married Maureen Cox whom he had met in 1962 while they were both teenagers. They had three children: Zak born on the 13th of September 1965 Jason born on the 19th of August 1967 and Lee born on the 11th of November 1970.