Paul McCartney Inducts Ringo Starr Into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame
Ringo Starr has learned many things in his decades-long musical career, but during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, he gave his top tip for musicians in a band: "If you fart, own up."
The affable Beatles drummer -- the last member of the band to get into the Hall as a solo artist -- disclosed that nugget of wisdom and plenty of other gems from the past. In fact, his speech was heavy on memories from his time with the Beatles.
For instance, he recalled receiving the call from Beatles manager Brian Epstein, asking him to join the band. "And I said, 'Well, when do you want me to join?'" Starr recalled. "Tonight," Epstein replied. "I can’t do that," Starr said he replied. "I’ve got a job -- I’ll come Saturday."
When he did join the band, however, he had an immediate influence. "I showed them some clubs that they would not be aware of," Starr said of his bandmates. "I was sort of the cause of their downfall."
Watch Paul McCartney Induct Ringo Starr
That wasn't obvious from fellow Beatle Paul McCartney's opening speech, which lovingly recalled his bandmate's talents and demeanor. Starr was a "professional" because he had a beard and a suit, and would sit at the bar drinking a "boubon and 7."
McCartney's recollection of the first time Starr played with the rest of the Beatles was more poignant. "Most of the drummers couldn’t nail the drum part," he said. "It was a little bit difficult to do, but Ringo nailed it.
"I remember the moment, standing there and looking at John [Lennon] and looking at George [Harrison] and the look on our faces was ... f---ing ... what is this? And that was the moment, really, that was the beginning of the Beatles."
McCartney was just as sentimental recalling Starr's childhood. "He was born in Liverpool at a very early age, and he had a hard childhood," he said. "Real hard childhood. But he had a beautiful mum, and a lovely stepdad. Both of them had real big hearts, beautiful people and they loved music.
"So at some point during this difficult childhood, Ringo got a drum. Ringo got a drum! And that was it, he was now a drummer."
Starr returned the favor and started his speech: "My name is Ringo and I play drums! I want to thank Paul for all of those great things he told us. Some of them were true." (Later in the speech, he got his revenge -- when McCartney jokingly went up to him and accused him of talking too long, Starr shot back: "After the things I’ve sat through tonight, blah blah blah ... I’ve got some stories!")
In the end, however, Starr was sentimental about his career, especially with the Beatles. "It’s been an incredible journey for me with these three guys, who wrote these songs."
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