George Martin disses Ringo

[Peterson Goodwyn]

"Ringo sucked" is one of those red flags that says to me "DO NOT TRY TO ENGAGE IN A CONVERSATION ABOUT MUSIC WITH THIS PERSON."

Along with...
?Bob Dylan is a great songwriter, but he can?t sing.?
?Today?s music is?? or ?Music used to be??
?I like everything but rap and country.?
?I haven?t heard them, but I?ve heard OF them.?

[jmiller]

Back in the USSR: tracked 22 August 1968...the day Ringo quit the band.

That's another point for Ringo. People often act as if his membership in the Beatles was an act of charity or something. But the minute they started acting retarded, Ringo just says, "Fuck it, I'm outta here." Ringo. Quit. The Beatles.

I think that's pretty badass.

And if you ever listen to the drum tracks from Sgt. Pepper solo'd, there's some pretty rad, subtle stuff going on there. He definitely has great musical instinct.

Plus he's always so great in those movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXtpnmVjieU

[chris harris]

?I haven?t heard them, but I?ve heard OF them.?

I agree with all of them but this one. This is often legit, and not a reason to avoid a discussion with the person who said it.

[CedarSound]

Max Weinberg -- "D. J. Fontana had introduced me to the power of the big beat. Ringo convinced me just how powerful that rhythm could be. Ringo's beat was heard around the world and he drew the spotlight toward rock and roll drummer. From his matched grip style to his pioneering use of staggered tom tom fills, his influence in rock drumming was as important and wide spread as Gene Krupa's had been in jazz." (The Big Beat, 1984)

Phil Collins -- "I think he's vastly underrated. The drum fills on A Day In The Life are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' They wouldn't know what to do." (interview for The Making of Sgt. Pepper, 1992)

Don Was -- "As a drummer, he influenced three generations of rock drummers. It's not very flashy playing, but it's very musical. Instead of just counting the bars, he's playing the song, and he puts fills in unusual places that are directed by the vocal." (The St. Louis Post Dispatch, 1992)

George Martin -- "Ringo always got and still gets a unique sound out of his drums, as sound as distinctive as his voice. ... Ringo gets a looser deeper sound out of his drums that is unique. ...This detailed attention to the tone of his drums is one of the reasons for Ringo's brilliance. Another is that although Ringo does not keep time with a metronome accuracy, he has unrivaled feel for a song. If his timing fluctuates, it invariably does so in the right place at the right time, keep the right atmosphere going on the track and give it a rock solid foundation. This held true for every single Beatles number Richie played ... Ringo also was a great tom tom player." ( Summer of Love, 1994)

[Gregg Juke]

Re: >>>>Quotes<<<<

That's funny. I was just reading an article on Steve Ferrone today, where he was praising Ringo. I was going to post a quote, but it seems anti-climactic now. Point is he was and is good and is probably the most influential rock drummer in history.

My beef with Ringo is that I can never get his website videos to play in my browser...

GJ

[jayf]

One could choose to see Ringo's drum overdubbing as part of his talents as a drummer. Maybe, specifically, because he couldn't play some drum parts in real-time, he, like the rest of the bend, found cool new ways to create music in the studio.

[Seej]

One could choose to see Ringo's drum overdubbing as part of his talents as a drummer. Maybe, specifically, because he couldn't play some drum parts in real-time, he, like the rest of the bend, found cool new ways to create music in the studio.

"A Day In the Life" for sure, and the extra hi hats on "You Won't See Me" and "And Your Bird Can Sing" definitely added depth to the backing tracks. He was clever with some of the tambourine/maraca overdubs too. It was always about fitting the song, and I've always done that as a drummer. Ringo was a huge influence on my playing. A lot of drummers don't LISTEN to the songs that they're playing, and the music suffers a lot.

[gustavobill]

Not only he was a great drummer he also had great people skills. Ringo always played a middle ground on the ego battle and band crises. He sure wasn't the most prolific songwriter or the most instrumental-wise talented member, but for sure his was a enabler for john, paul and george creativity.

I've no doubt that, if there was anyone else behind that kit, the beatles would never be THE BEATLES.


In his first solo album Paul recorded all the tracks. The drums are clearly trying to sound a little Ringo but they just don't get there. The sensibility for details was the real Ringo Magic.

[LazarusLong]

And that's another thing. If Ringo sucked so bad, why would already and legitimately accomplished drummers like Bernard Purdie try to scam his credits on a regular basis? Who wants to steal credit for something that's no good?

GJ

I'm sure the possibility of winning a lawsuit over unpaid royalties just MIGHT have something to do with it.

[Gregg Juke]

LazarusLong wrote:

>>>>++++Gregg Juke wrote:
And that's another thing. If Ringo sucked so bad, why would already and legitimately accomplished drummers like Bernard Purdie try to scam his credits on a regular basis? Who wants to steal credit for something that's no good?

GJ++++

I'm sure the possibility of winning a lawsuit over unpaid royalties just MIGHT have something to do with it.<<<<

It might, but that doesn't change the fact that he wouldn't be entitled to them (royalties) even if his ridiculous claim had any merit (which it doesn't), and as an actual pro session player who has done many legit major records over the years, BP should/would know that.

Record royalties go to artists (actual signed band members or solo artists), based on sales and recoupment position.

Publishing royalties go to songwriters or publishers (which of course in some cases can be both).

ASCAP/BMI fees go to songwriters and publishers.

Session players get one-time union scale (or double scale, or triple scale, or whatever non-union wage is agreed upon by the parties involved for non-union/"dark" dates).

At best, and in lieu of some signed written agreement outlining something different, Purdie would be a session-player who would have performed on a work-for-hire basis; no royalties involved.

Session players do sometimes get a form of royalties (residuals) for commercial/jingle work on the national level, but obviously the Beatles' sessions in question would not qualify.

Purdie would have to prove that he was a) the actual drummer on the recordings, b) that there was some agreed-upon promise that he would be paid more than the standard, customary fee, and c) that he was something other than a work-for-hire player (i.e. a bona-fide band member).

Even if he was (hypothetically) entitled to some monies in the European market (which operates somewhat differently), all of this is moot, because Ringo was the Beatles' drummer, not Purdie.

GJ

[Gregg Juke]

BTW--Apparently some of the early, early Beatles material did have different session drummers on them... George Martin was not an early supporter of Ringo, although he certainly proved himself later on (it seems that "Love Me Do" had a British session player on it, with Ringo on tambourine, if I rememeber correctly). None of this stuff was Bernard Purdie, though.

ANYWAY, here's a great thread at a Beatles site that I found, that puts Purdie's claim to bed once and for all (if you're willing to read down to the bottom of the page).

Thank God for discography!


http://www.beatlesagain.com/breflib/purdie.html


GJ

[TV Lenny]

Ringo is one of the nicest guys I know. What has always amazed me is how he usually plays drums wearing flip-flops.

[ott0bot]

ugh....now I hate Ringo. All this recognition of his skill and influence from actual drummers is ruining his status as a whipping boy for prog-rock drumming enthusiasts.

you're all terrible people.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

Ringo is one of the nicest guys I know. What has always amazed me is how he usually plays drums wearing flip-flops.

really? that's awesome. i play either barefoot or socks, i don't know how anyone plays with shoes (other than chuck taylors) on. which of course everyone does so i'm the weird one i guess. i've seen ladies playing with heels on. that seems like it would be impossible.

[JGriffin]

ugh....now I hate Ringo. All this recognition of his skill and influence from actual drummers is ruining his status as a whipping boy for prog-rock drumming enthusiasts.

you're all terrible people.

Don't worry, man; I'm sure somewhere out there is a 17-year old drummer in the throes of his Neil Peart phase who thinks Ringo totally sucks.