Over the past few decades, the late Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart has consistently ranked among the top three greatest drummers of all time in polls voted on by rock fans. His playing influenced countless generations of musicians, and his unique style remains incredibly difficult to replicate.
Throughout his career, Peart was always sincere when discussing other musicians, sharing his opinions on many of them, including The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.
What was Neil Peart’s opinion on Ringo Starr
Neil Peart respected Ringo Starr as a drummer but was not directly influenced by him, drawing much more inspiration from players such as Gene Krupa. In his book Traveling Music, Peart recalled that, as a child, he was more fascinated by The Beatles cartoon series and the film “A Hard Day’s Night. However, he was only 11 years old at the time and, according to him: “Too young for the Beatles. I liked some of their songs, and emulated the hairstyle and clothes like every other kid. But I never really caught the ‘bug’ of Beatlemania.”
“Other than the 45 single of ‘If I Fell’ that I won by selling newspaper subscriptions. I never even owned a Beatles record (still don’t). Never sang Beatles songs in my inner transistor radio (still don’t). Never cared to see ‘Help!’ or ‘Yellow Submarine’ (still haven’t). ‘My’ bands would come later.”
“With some other neighborhood kids, I spent a Saturday trying to sell subscriptions for the Toronto Globe and Mail. (I) sold enough to win two 45 records, one the Beatles’ ‘And I Love Her,’ backed with ‘If I Fell’. The other ‘World without Love’ by Chad and Jeremy. I played them anytime I was allowed near Dad’s hi-fi. Even then, I was attracted by the dreamy sentimentality of the songs, the vocal harmonies, and their plaintive, wistful earnestness. But I seemed to feel the melodies more than the rhythm.”
He continued:
“As yet the drumming did not impress itself on me. I don’t remember wanting to be Ringo. I think I still wanted to be Ricky Nelson. The first time I was inspired with the idea of playing the drums was from watching The Gene Krupa Story on late-night television, at the age of eleven or twelve. But for me, the fire was definitely lit by The Gene Krupa Story. There’s often a clear difference in the playing and musical values of drummers who traced their inspiration to Gene Krupa or Buddy Rich, compared with those who set their childhood sights on emulating a simple rock drummer, like Ringo Starr, and stopped there.”
“A matter of taste, perhaps, but also a matter of ambition. An accomplished drummer can play simply if he chooses. But it’s quite a different thing from playing simply because that’s all you know. As a young person attracted to the idea of being a musician, do you want to play the role, or do you want to play the instrument?” Neil Peart said.
Although Rush’s and the Beatles’ music was quite different, the two bands shared one interesting similarity: both took off after replacing their original drummer. The biggest difference between Peart and Ringo was that Starr usually played exactly what each song needed, prioritizing the melody and the overall structure. Peart, on the other hand, developed a much more technically demanding and flamboyant style, drawing inspiration from drummers such as Gene Krupa, John Bonham and Keith Moon.
When Neil Peart joked that Ringo may have not played on many famous Beatles records
Over the decades, many music fans have questioned Ringo Starr’s drumming ability and even whether he actually played on every famous Beatles recording. Neil Peart once joked about the subject, turning the question back on an interviewer after being asked about the Beatles drummer. Music Radar asked him: “What are your thoughts on drummers, some of them very famous ones, who have been very ‘anti-drum solo’? Ringo Starr, for example – as you know, he had to be talked into playing his one and only solo in The End by the other Beatles.”
Neil’s answer, joking, as he later said, was: “And that’s if he actually played it. I think it might have been Paul McCartney. (laughs) Well, listen to the drumming on Paul’s first solo record. That’s all I’m saying. The sound, the feel… That’s all I’m saying. (laughs) But you know, Stewart Copeland, who’s a good buddy of mine, he’s very ‘anti-drum solo,’ too. Yet he jokes that when he was a kid, around the same era as I was, that any drummer who didn’t play drum solos was ‘lame.’ But it can be too much of a good thing, sure,” he said.
Peart then explained that he was naturally more drawn to drummers who played solos, such as John Bonham. However, he also believed there was a point where that approach could become excessive and even self-indulgent.
He said:
“Those were big inspirations for me. But not In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – that was not an inspiration. See, these are the divisions. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was the antithesis of what I wanted to do. It was plodding and monotonous. People would come up to me and go (affects stoner voice), ‘Can you play In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, man?’ And I would go, ‘No, I cannot. I can play Wipe Out!’ (laughs) But you know, that Ringo one…that’s straight out of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”
“No! (laughs). (I don’t think Paul played the drums). I’m just joking. I’m making a joke, that’s all. But, of course, you must know about that whole conspiracy theory that Bernard Purdie played on The Beatles’ records.”
He continued:
“But then that was started by Bernard Purdie himself. He said it. And then he was vilified for it. (…) I was just throwing that in as a joke, that’s all. [slight pause] But just check out that first Paul McCartney album – that’s all I’m saying. (laughs).” Neil Peart was referring to Paul McCartney‘s debut solo album, “McCartney”, released in 1970, on which McCartney played all the instruments himself. McCartney has praised Starr on many occasions over the decades, calling him one of the greatest drummers of all time.
That opinion is shared by many other musicians, including Chad Smith, Dave Grohl, and the late legendary drummers Charlie Watts, John Bonham, and Keith Moon. All of them greatly admired Ringo, with Watts and Moon also being close friends of his.
McCartney was one of the main people who encouraged Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson to reunite as Rush. During the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert, he reminded them that they were musicians and that what they should do was go out and play the music they had helped create. That conversation became one of the factors that eventually led the two to revive Rush five years after Peart’s passing.