February 9, 2014, marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first appearance in America, and it’s only fitting that their legacy be celebrated. That night, the Recording Academy in partnership with AEG Ehrlich Ventures and CBS presented “The Beatles: The Night That Changed America – A GRAMMY Salute,” a celebration of the group’s remarkable legacy and their groundbreaking first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
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Leading up to the Beatles’ television special, the GRAMMY Museum teamed up with Ringo Starr to bring visitors a new exhibit titled “Ringo: Peace & Love.” The exhibit, which included artifacts from Starr’s life, placed great importance on Starr’s stint with the Beatles. At the exhibit’s opening, GRAMMY.com caught up with Starr who walked us through his process of digging up old photos and paraphernalia. He also touched on embracing the modern age of music, his collaborative songwriting routine, and how his process of making an album has changed over the years.
Did putting together this exhibit together bring back a lot of memories?
Oh yeah. We started last year – just Barbara [Bach, Starr’s wife] and I archiving my stuff. We thought this would be a good idea. As it happens in my life, suddenly Barb brings this idea of doing a Ringo GRAMMY Museum [exhibit]. Okay so that made us even get busier because we had a deadline then. Before that, it was sort of casual and seeing those photos. Really we got lucky. We found books of negatives, a box of photos, my mother’s boxes I never opened after she died – she had stuff. Just because we were archiving, we found so much stuff and yeah of course it brings back memories.
Looking through all of your accomplishments, do you have a favorite memory of your career throughout the years?
Well there’s always more than one. You can’t nail that down. It’s like your favorite one record. Oh God don’t! I mean what happens is we’re living our lives and there’s a lot of it that is sort of in there but you’re not dealing with it on a daily basis. One of the letters we found in my mom’s stack was from Rory Storm [of English band the Hurricanes]. He sent me a letter that we had a gig. We knew we were playing Tuesday but this was like for Thursday so he said, “We’re playing the Jive Hive. I’ll bring your cymbals and your money.” So I hadn’t remembered that so that was a great letter that she’d kept, not me. So as we were doing this, it kept unfolding stuff, stuff, stuff. And a lot of it’s out there. We’ve made it Ringo, the Musical, and of course the Beatles are heavily featured. Even that was interesting because there were some photos I’d taken of the boys that I’d actually forgot. A lot of stuff came out of the blue really and we were very lucky.
How does it feel to influence so many musicians?
Well you know I don’t think we got up in the morning saying, “Oh we’re going to be influential.” We got up, we played music, and that’s what we did. And the Beatles were the best band in the land, it’s just how it is. It was great to be part of that. My dream was to play drums. I achieved that and to play with great players and I achieved that and still am with the All Stars so as a musician, my life has been great.
How has your process in the studio and on the road changed over the years? You’ve been there since the beginning and now everything is focused on social media and the digital world…
I’m Twittering away! I love that and I had a record out a couple of years ago and it was on a USB stick. I’ve downloaded – I’m paying of course. For me, what’s great on iTunes is I can listen to a lot of new acts but I don’t have to buy the CD. I can pick a track or leave a track but it’s interesting because I get that opportunity to listen to what’s out there.
So you’re embracing the new technology?
I am embracing the modern age!
What’s your gear of choice in the studio and out on the road?
It’s still the basic kit. I have a Roland kit, which I play. It’s really weird because when I play it – I call it the organic kit – there is my style but on the Roland, it’s like another person takes over. It’s really fun. It’s like Jekyll and Hyde on the drums so I have a lot of fun on them but basically I like the real kit. That’s what I play.
When you get an idea for new songs, do you use any technology to record them?
You can just put it down on the iPhone. It’s great for wherever you are. You can just say, “Oh I’ve got a line.” Pen and pencil—you don’t need that anymore. You just say it. But I am old school. I do like to write it too because I say it and then I like to see what it looks like when I’m writing songs. I’m not a 100% new age guy but I have no problems with what it gets me.
Is there something that you haven’t accomplished in your career yet that you’d like to take on?
Nothing. Mt. Everest? No I played with so many great players. I was in an incredible band, we made great music and that’s still around. It’s not like a play I want to be in. I just want to keep playing really. That’s the dream and it’s unfolded up to now so I see no reason why it should stop.
Are you going to continue to make albums? What are you working on right now?
That’s part of me. You play in the band and then you make a record. What I don’t do is I don’t go to studios now. I’ve started a new record and it’s all in the guesthouse here in L.A. and I’ve made the last two in the guesthouse and this is the next one that will be made here. Because there’s so many great musicians here. They come up for a cup of tea or whatever and we write or we play so I put a basic track down and then write to that. That’s how I’ve done the last ones, which is in reverse really because usually you’d write the song and then you’d create the music where I’ve enjoyed lately doing a basic track with the chords. What is great in the new age is sometimes I do stuff that, “OK that’s a verse, that’s a chorus, that will be a middle 8”—whatever, and then suddenly when you’re writing with someone, the verse actually works better if we use it on the music that I designated as the chorus. These days, that’s just a press of a button. It’s not roll back the tape! So I like the speed of that.
Are you far along on the album now?
I’ve got 7 basic tracks already and this year touring changed. Usually I tour every summer but I toured in February in Australia and Japan and I’m having a summer holiday. I haven’t had one in 4 years because we usually go out. That’s when bands play and so November we do South America. And two days in Las Vegas. That’s the end of the South American tour is Vegas.
Any musicians that you are planning to feature on the album?
No. A lot of it is random. People come over. I mean Joe Walsh will always come over so he’s family so he’s been on all the records. I have a set of writers that I call if they are in town. I love L.A. for that – musicians a lot of us hang out and we do a little bit of work and hang out. So there’s no pressure of the studio where you’ve got a lot of people around you and a lot of time and a lot of money. You just hang out. That’s how we do it.
What’s the official Ringo Starr advice for aspiring musicians?
Well you’ve got to love what you do. Myself and a lot of the players that we play with we only wanted to play. We got blessed on the way, some of us. We did real good stuff and we made the big time so that’s how it was but the main aim was not to be famous. The main aim was to play. That’s the difference.
What are your feelings about the Beatles musical legacy that you helped create?
I’m really proud of the music that we made and it took a while but we were very serious and the results are still being played today and that’s what’s great. It’s still going on. How great is that? The memories I have of those days -- I’d like to say every minute was great but it wasn’t – but overall, the emotion was great. We worked hard. We only wanted to be musicians. We didn’t sort of sit around and say, “Let’s be famous.” We said, “Let’s be musicians.” And as you know, unless you’re from another planet, the Beatles became very famous. That was part of it but the music is the most important thing you do.
You’ve been a musical idol for so many people. Who was your idol?
Well, the major hero of mine was Lightnin’ Hopkins. I love the blues. When I was 18, I went to the American consulate in Liverpool because I wanted to move to Houston, Texas because Lightnin’ was from there. I worked in a factory at the time and was looking at factory jobs in Houston and we went to the embassy and they gave us all these forms to fill out. And we filled them out, this friend of mine and I, and we were 18. Anyway we filled them out, we went back, we gave them these forms we filled and then there were more forms. Well we were 18. We didn’t ever go. But you don’t know. Life has a strange path and you’re just on it.
When you were collecting all these artifacts and going down memory lane, what did Richard Starkey learn about Ringo Starr?
He really learned he loves the drums. That’s all I ever wanted to play. I didn’t want to play anything else. When I was 13, I wanted to play drums. Several years later, I got some real drums. I made my own at the beginning. Bring in the violins! I was asked that the other day: What is your main thing? Is it drumming, singing, writing? And it’s always playing the drums. That’s what I do.
