re: John and Paul, Good God How They Hated Each Other

quote:

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For a musician who was/is not highly skilled, he seems to be cited as a major influence by just about every successful drummer in the years following the Beatles heyday.

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I'm just going along with the cool kids in knocking on Ringo. He was the right drummer for the Beatles - the biggest rock band there has ever been and will ever be. I'm just a schmuck on a message board.

From an objective standpoint, Ringo did not add much via songwriting or singing - and what he did (at least with the Beatles) isn't particularly outstanding. It is also difficult to distinguish yourself in a good way when your bass player is a better drummer than you are.

Having said all of that - Ringo had a unique signature sound on the kit, definitely didn't overplay and while not the greatest timekeeper in the world, presented the right kind of personality, both on stage and in public appearances when you consider 2 of the other 3 were practically hermits.

So, whatever else we can say about him, he is almost synonymous with "drummer" since the mid-1960s.