Richard Starkey was born on July 7, 1940 in Liverpool. An only child, he never really knew his dad as he left their family when Richard was very young. He was therefore raised by his mother and his mother's friends. Like the other three Beatles, Richard hated school, but luckily for him, he didn't attend much of it as he was frequently sick as a child. Around the age of six, Richard had appendicitis and it was predicted by the doctors that he wouldn't live through the operation. But he recovered well and continued his time with school. Like John, Paul, and George, he soon was captured by rock n' roll but was uninterested in the guitar. He loved the drums. His mother bought him the cheapest drum set (his family lived in the worst part of Liverpool and he was the poorest of the Beatles) and he learned from that. By 20, he had become the drummer of a local Liverpool band called Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a decently successful group that had its own act, uniforms, and manager. Incidentally, Rory Storm and the Beatles (who had recently changed their name from the Quarrymen) were playing in the same club in Hamburg, Germany. Richard, who had changed his name to Ringo Starr due to the number of rings he wore on his fingers, met John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best, and Stu Sutcliffe (the original members of the Beatles) in this club, but never really interacted with them until they all went back to Liverpool. When Stu left and Pete was sacked, there was an opening for the drummer position in the Beatles. John, Paul, and George, remembering Ringo from their Hamburg days, asked their manager, Brian Epstein and record producer, George Martin, if they could invite Ringo to become the fourth member of the Beatles. They finally agreed and asked Ringo to join for 25 pounds a week. Rory Storm offered 20 pounds so Ringo took the Beatles for the money. He didn't know then, that that was a life-changing decision. By August 1962, the Fab Four was complete and their first album "Please Please Me" was released. It took a while for Ringo to become acquainted with the other three, as they had been playing together for years and were best friends. Ringo was often left out of things and was considered a part of the Beatles but not a friend. This changed soon enough and after that the four were a very close-knit group. After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Ringo went on to do solo work, but was only mildly successful. Paul with his post-Beatles band Wings, was astronomically more successful but Ringo did have his share. Ringo has several children from several different marriages, the oldest of which, Zak (whom he had with Maureen Cox in 1965) is the replacement drummer for the Who when they go on tour. He lives in England but owns homes in several places, including Malibu which is where I live! I wish Ringo Starr a very happy 71st birthday!
