Ringo Starr was fundamental to The Beatles’ sound, always playing exactly what the songs needed — which made him often overlooked by people who believe drummers should be flashy and show off. John Lennon and Paul McCartney almost monopolized the band’s songwriting, and it was difficult for the other members to contribute more, since, as George Harrison once said, they had to work on Lennon and McCartney’s compositions before the duo would even consider their ideas.
The drummer sang on a few of the band’s songs, including ‘Octopus’s Garden,’ which he wrote, as well as other classics like ‘Yellow Submarine’ and ‘With a Little Help from My Friends,’ both credited to Lennon and McCartney. In an interview with Associated Press, Starr talked about touring these days and thanked McCartney for those two songs which his fans love.
Ringo Starr thanks McCartney for “Yellow Submarine” and “With a Little Help from my Friends”
“I think when I was 30. Well… rock ‘n’ roll all night, playing… I was probably 40-ish when I stopped that lifestyle. But you know, we’ve still got to get up. We got to get in the truck, get to the gig, and we got to go and do it. Nobody’s gonna [say], ‘Oh, I don’t feel like it.’ Nobody ever says that in my band.”
“And we rock, we do our best, and I say that’s the only thing when we’re putting it together. I will do my best for you. I want you to be best for me, we all just get up there and do it. And, you know, the bands, like they all saw, ‘Well, let’s just keep it with this one.’ Sometimes somebody plays the wrong note, but we get on with it. It doesn’t all stop. I just love it. And it’s the best way I can go out, because I can play drums to your songs. I can play drums to my songs, I can be down there in the front, peace and loving, singing the ballads. I just love the format.”
“I thank Paul. I mean, I can go on tour because he wrote that song for me, and, you know, ‘Yellow Submarine.’ They’re the two major songs for my audience. But I’m shocked and surprised because I put ‘Octopus’s Garden’ in and they love it. I never put it in itself. We don’t want to be under the sea for two songs… Well, anyway, I love it now,” Ringo Starr said (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar).