Friday fun: AARP Magazine interview with Ringo Starr, and his comment on the Beatles

The recent (December 2023) issue of AARP Magazine features an interview with Beatle Ringo Starr, in which he shares some of his memories of the Beatles and his interactions with the group.

Normally I wouldn't be all that interested in this type of gossipy interview about a rock band, but since it's the Beatles, and since they had such a profound influence not only on the pop music, but also on the culture of an entire era, it seemed worth taking a few minutes to read the interview.

Excerpts:

[Interviewer]: "We've only met, and I've had an immediate glimpse into Starr's personality and playful sense of humor."

" ... he's 83 and a great-grandfather."

"Trim and l lively, he's precisely what he's always seemed to be: an unpretentious, no-nonsense guy who doesn't take himself seriously, except for his music."

"Paul loves me as much as I love him. He's the brother I never had. As an only child, suddenly I got three brothers. We looked out for each other."

(He had peritonitis as a child, and while being bedridden for a while, he was given) " ... tambourines, maracas, and little 7-inch drums. "It was a magic moment, because once I hit that drum, I only wanted to be a drummer."

[Interviewer: Were you the glue that held the band together?] [Ringo]: "I was the glue.That'll be in big letters: I WAS THE GLUE, SAYS RINGO!"

As for his comment mentioned in the thread title,

"I was 22 when i joined the Beatles in 1962, and I was 30 when it was all over. We did eight years, and look at how much we packed in. We loved to work, well, Paul loved to work more than all of us. John and I would be hanging out in the garden and the phone would ring. We were psychic, we knew it was him. "Hey, lads, should we go into the studio?" Otherwise, we'd have put out three albums and then vanished."

REALLY?

Well, in that case, thank you, Sir Paul, for drumming (good word to use here) up a good work ethic into the guys!

Can you imagine how different things, even the world, would have been if the Beatles had done just three albums and then quit?

(Of course "Imagine" is an appropriate word to use when talking about Beatles music!)

And to put it into perspective, here's a list of the Beatles' albums, in order of release:

https://albumsinorder.com/beatles-albums-in-order/#:~:text=order%20of%20beatles%20albums%20list%201%201.%20please,new%20%281964%29%208%208.%20beatles%20for%20sale%20%281964%29

Imagine -- that word again -- if every one of those albums after the first three had never existed!

What a loss to the world that would have been!

Full interview:

https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/celebrities/info-2023/ringo-starr-interview.html

Ringo (Richard Starkey) is one of the luckiest guys in the world. His musical talent compared to the talent of Lennon/McCartney or even Harrison was next to nothing. But he fit in. Ringo had (and still has) a great sense of humor. He was pretty much the band's clown. His drumming skills were okay. He could keep a beat. But again, compared to the great drummers of our time?....Come on. But I like Ringo. I like his attitude. I like his style. I like the peace sign he gives at every opportunity. And for God sakes, at 83 the man is still a good entertainer! Credit where credit is due!!!

I saw the Beatles live in 1964. Tickets cost $10 a piece for good seats. It's an experience I will never forget. The infrastructure of the arena was shaking like a 3.5 earthquake. Could barely hear the Beatles singing. The girl in front of me was literally eating her scarf. Tearing it up in her mouth piece by piece. Partially naked women jumping one after the other onstage from a height of probably 10-12 feet along the stairwell. Hundreds of cops and military. They were grabbing the encroachers, one cop or military man per arm and leg (4 per girl), and carrying them out of the auditorium. Concert only lasted about 30 minutes. If the big acts tried that today the crowds would rush the dressing rooms.

The Beatles were the greatest. Nothing comparable in my opinion. So many major achievements that will never get broken. #1 achievement in my opinion? They changed the fracken culture. They changed attitudes and opinions. Nixon went after Lennon due to his influence over the American population. Oh, and McCartney is the richest because he's worked the hardest.

But that Ringo Starr? ha. That man is one lucky dog. I hope he lives to 100.

I'm not big on paying $100-$300 a ticket to see these ancient rock stars. I loved 'em in their day but it just ain't the same and I don't want to get let down. I want to remember what they were in their prime. I saw McCartney perform when Linda was alive. Never saw Lennon after the Beatles broke up. Didn't see Harrison either. Saw the Stones many years ago. No desire to see Mick prancing around in his tights at 80+. Although I have total respect for the guy doing what he does at his age. Some of the tribute band are pretty darn good. Saw one last year that mimicked Fleetwood Mac. The Stevie Nicks impersonator was her spitting image (clothes and all) and had that raspy voice. I was impressed. Saw Elton John a couple times years ago when Bernie Taupin used to travel with him. Glad he stopped performing. Like a good boxer, a good musician needs to know when to hang it up. Music died for me back in the 90's. The stuff they play today just makes my head hurt. Although I like some country. Those of us who were in our prime back in the late 50's, 60's and 70's really got a bolus dose of the finest musical talent America has ever seen. But not to diminish the Sinatra era. Those folks were treated to the best of the best as well. I thank the Good Lord for putting me on Planet Earth in the good 'ol USA when he did. about perfect timing, as I slowly descend (hopefully very slowly) for the final landing.

I was never a Beatles guy, just didn't care for their music. I went with the Stones and the Beach Boys. Saw the Stones several times, in 1969 and 1971(?) in Tucson when they were at the top of their game. They opened with Brown Sugar (not PC anymore) and the place went crazy. Fantastic, no special effects or autotune. Little Stevie Wonder was the opening act, and he was also fantastic. We sat close to the speakers, and I couldn't hear for 3 days. Probably why I have tinnitus to this day.

TJ123 said...
.....Music died for me back in the 90's.....

I hear that a lot from my friends. I don't have that attitude and seek out new and contemporary artists and find lots to like.

TJ123 said...
I loved all the old time comedians. As opposed to the rock stars, they only got better with age. Jack Benny, Rodney Dangerfield, Jackie Gleason, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen, of course the master George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Milton Berle, George Burns, Red Foxx, Jonathon Winters, Joan Rivers....etc... All are gone now….[/qoute]

While I sort of take a different view with you as I stated above with music, I’ll have to agree with you on the comedy. I have some comedy records on tape from the 60s with some of the comedians you mention and their stuff was really good and much of it holds up well over time. Also, I’ve been a collector of Old Time Radio shows since the late-60s and have over 65,000 shows in my collection and there is no question that some of that comedy is just classic.

As to current comedy, while I have heard a few funnies, most of it just doesn’t hold my interest. My wife, OTOH, has a whole list of contemporary comedy she really likes and earlier this year drug me to two shows. The first one, the name escapes me, was a mature-aged gay woman who did mostly jokes about being gay. Her “warm up” act was a young gay man who did gay jokes with lots concerning sizes and techniques. My wife mentioned that not only were we apparently the only straight couple there but I was probably the only straight male. But, even though most of the content was lost on me, the crowd really had a good time. The second show she took me to was a guy who does all clean jokes. I found one funny one and the rest almost made me nod off. (The funny one was something like “My friends tell me that I should eat a more ‘natural’ diet but when I look at the obituaries I see that lots of people have died of ‘natural’ causes.”)

TJ123 said...
If Carlin would rise from the dead and hold a venue where he would bring on the comedy, in his unique and masterful way, about the shortcomings of modern-day society, I'd pay $1000 for a nosebleed seat.

Yes, Carlin was the best of his era. A side story…a friend comes to me and says he wants to pay me back for taking him with me to see Pink Floyd do “The Wall” in Los Angeles when that tour opened in 1980 and he showed me two tickets to see George Carlin. Great!!! But it got better. My friend had a scheme where we’d actually get to meet him. It turns out that my friend’s parents divorced when he was really young and he never knew his father other than he’d been a DJ in Casper, WY. So was Carlin who was best man when his parents married. My friend had their marriage license with Carlins signature on it and the scheme was to go backstage and say that he was looking for his long lost father and wanted to know what Mr. Carlin could ell him. We went to the back of the arena after the show and he showed the license and told the story to the guard (a really big guy) who told us to wait. He comes back out a few minutes later and tells us that Mr. Carlin will be coming out in a bit and will walk over to that limo that the guard was pointing at. Mr. Carlin would stop to talk and when he was done he would leave. Got it? Yes, we got it. And that’s what happened. He came out and stopped, my friend told his story, Carlin said he remembered his dad but people moved around a lot in those days and never really kept in touch so, sorry, but good luck to you, and off he went. We did multiple high-fives as we watch the limo drive away.

TJ123 said...
....Music died for me back in the 90's.....]

VinceinMT said...
I hear that a lot from my friends. I don't have that attitude and seek out new and contemporary artists and find lots to like.

There is almost always a yearning for the good old days. It really depends on one's background in my opinion. Some people are listeners, some are singers, some are players, some are all of the above. I tend to think that singers like singers, players like players and they appreciate each other as singing is really just another instrument. As far as listeners go, I am not sure what they are looking for other than "can you dance to it?" yet they drive the business. It was young women when the Beatles arrived and it is young women that drive Taylor Swift's success. Since I am not a young women (no ADT yet), I don't follow that at all.

I learned to appreciate instruments early on from my father (big band and jazz) so naturally learned to play keyboards and guitar a little as I grew up as part of the next generation music. To this day, I still like keyboard and guitar oriented music and various instrumental works. Instruments are in the background of most modern pop music thus my general interest level is low. With rare exception, popular music is computer modified or generated and nothing similar to the older music. I might even call it AI influenced music now. Much of this corresponds to the adaptation of Pro Tools in music and computers getting more procession power as well as the producers and sound engineers having more control over the music.

Lots of good/great new players in the world now and I always keep an eye out for them but another young woman, hip-hop or rap singer that sounds like the last one is of minimal interest here.

Post Edited (Mumbo) : 1/7/2024 3:07:37 PM (GMT-8)

Mumbo, you got those quotes from Vince and myself reversed.

No biggie. But it might confuse the readers.

Mumbo said...
There is almost always a yearning for the good old days….

Well, as Carly Simon said in “Anticipation,” back in the good old days, “these are the good old days.”

It’s serendipitous that I just listened to a podcast that discussed the history of nostalgia and the condition used to be considered a form of mental illness.

While I can rummage around in the past with everyone else, I do attempt to focus on the present and not become “stuck” in the past and miss out on the good things around me right now. When it comes to music, I am always on the hunt for something new. It may be in the same vein or style as previous material but if it has a new twist or clever lyrics, I’m there for it. I just looked at one of my playlists and here’s some “newer” artist that I’ve been enjoying:

The Shins (really like frontman James Mercer’s ballads: “It’s Only Life,” “Girl Sailor,” “40 Mark Strasse”)
Camera Obscura (on hiatus but their “Desire Lines” album from 2013 I just can’t get enough of)
The War on Drugs (a young friend turned me on to them)
Lucky Soul (great pop, check out the song “One Kiss Don’t Make a Summer” from 2007)
Allo Darlin’ (a nice indie pop band)
Dirty Cello (they are on my bucket list to go see live)

Those are just a few from my current playlist but the range of what I listen to spans from classical to swing to jazz to folk to rock to pop to….and if I had to name the one artist I’d take to the desert Island it would be Steely Dan.

60Michael said...
…I get the free Spotify and as such I have to listen to commercials….

I agree that these streaming services with their ability to suggest is a great way to find new artists. I used to use Pandora but I have an Apple Music through my son (he works there)and it does the same type of thing.

A funny thing about Pandora was that I was using the free version so I would get the occasional commercial. When I was taking university art classes a few years ago we’d take turns hooking our phones up to the sound system in the studio and listen while we worked. The college-aged students would have free Pandora and we’d hear commercials for stuff like dating apps. When mine was used we’d hear commercials for ED.

Mumbo said...
With rare exception, popular music is computer modified or generated and nothing similar to the older music.

One interesting byproduct of the modern music industry is that artists struggle mightily to make money from their recordings. With streaming services they barely get paid for their creative efforts. Therefore, they depend much more on live music.

A great thing about Youtube is that you can see multiple versions of the same song performed live by artists, which I find very cool. I love to watch how they take their recorded music, which as Mumbo notes can be highly tailored and constructed, and turn it into a live form. Sometimes lightning is caught in a bottle. Sometimes they are just cashing a paycheck.

This is a great example of a song played live. Yes, an oldie...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7VgstsVS44

Post Edited (centralPAdude) : 1/8/2024 6:56:07 AM (GMT-8)

The plight of some musicians, especially the lesser known ones, to earn even a modest income reminds me of the practice that some of them follow, namely what is known as "busking."

Busking (n.): the activity of playing music in the street or another public place for voluntary donations (Bing definition)

We have probably all seen someone doing this at one time or another, perhaps some fellow playing his saxophone or such, while leaning up against a wall along a sidewalk on a city street, with a bowl or even his hat on the sidewalk in front of him, there to receive small cash offerings from the public as they go by, in appreciation of the music he is publicly providing.

Example:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=busking+site%3awww.youtube.com&sp=-1&ghc=1&lq=0&pq=busking+site%3awww.youtube.com&sc=0-28&qs=n&sk=&cvid=24f101f6e3044e4488127d6f70d34b66&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&ghpl=&fpig=ea3ba747851c475a9beb9b4b05b79d0c&first=31&ru=%2Fsearch%3fq%3Dbusking%2bsite%253awww.youtube.com%26sp%3D-1%26ghc%3D1%26lq%3D0%26pq%3Dbusking%2bsite%253awww.youtube.com%26sc%3D0-28%26qs%3Dn%26sk%3D%26cvid%3D24f101f6e3044e4488127d6f70d34b66%26ghsh%3D0%26ghacc%3D0%26ghpl%3D%26fpig%3Dea3ba747851c475a9beb9b4b05b79d0c%26first%3D31%26form%3Dpere2&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=6c97396892c297041d326c97396892c297041d32&form=wrvorc

From Wikipedia:

"The term busking was first noted in the English language around the middle 1860s in Great Britain. The verb to busk, from the word busker, comes from the Spanish root word buscar, with the meaning "to seek."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/street_performance#history

In a way it seems like a kind of strange event, kind of in a grey area between panhandling and a mini-concert, entirely dependent on the generosity, even sympathy, of passersby, as to whether it is successful or not.

Is it even legal to "busk" on city streets?

Again from Bing:

"Busking is generally legal in the United States and is considered a protected act of free speech. However, most cities have noise ordinances that street performers need to be wary of. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, busking became restricted to some extent for security reasons. Some areas, like New York City, prohibit street performers from using any form of amplification. If your area does not have a strict anti-busking law, you are allowed to perform on public property without creating a nuisance and obstructing people."

One can even wonder if some of the now great and famous musicians at one time early in their careers, before they became successful, might have been seen on a city street somewhere, playing their instruments with vigor, as people passing by occasionally threw a coin or two into their upturned hats.

A curious activity.

It’s not just musicians that have a tough go making a living out of what they do but also most creatives in other areas of the arts. I'm glad I'm retired and don’t have to depend on my dabbling in the visual arts to pay the bills.