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Ringo Starr Biography

Birth Name:
Richard Starkey Jr.
Birth Place:
Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Profession
Musician, singer, songwriter, producer, director, actor

Fast Facts

  • Was a sickly child whose multiple ailments kept him from completing school
  • His stepfather, Harry Graves, bought him his first drum kit
  • Before joining the Beatles in August 1962—and replacing drummer Pete Best, a move unpopular with many fans—he was well-known in Liverpool music circles, but left Rory Storm & the Hurricanes when he was invited to become a member of the Fab Four
  • Although officially a member of the band, did not play drums on early Beatles hits "Love Me Do" and its B-side, "P
  • S
  • I Love You;" instead, played tambourine on the former and maracas on the latter, while the drums were manned by Andy White
  • Disappointed by the increasing tension within the band during the recording of The Beatles (a
  • k
  • a
  • The White Album) in 1968, he temporarily quit the group and spent time on actor Peter Sellers' yacht in the Mediterranean, where he wrote the song "Octopus's Garden
  • " Made film directorial debut with Born to Boogie (1972), a concert film about glam-rock band T
  • Rex
  • In 1989, received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for his role as Mr
  • Conductor in the children's series Shining Time Station
  • The oldest Beatle, he also became the group's first grandfather when son Zak's daughter, Tatia Jayne, was born in 1985
  • Inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Beatles in 1988, but is the only member of the group not enrolled as a solo artist

Awards

  • 2022Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series: winner
  • 2022Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series: winner
  • 1970Oscar-Best Achievement in Music (Original Song Score): winner
  • 1970Grammy-Best Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special: winner
  • 1965BAFTA Film Awards-Most Promising Newcomer to Film: nominated

Relationships