[atari 2600]

Thought it was a chain of hair salons.

Given the even more preposterous turn that the posts have now taken, I would now like to address the inane yet persisent myth that Ringo Starr isn't a good drummer.

Lennon said of Starr:
“Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. He was a professional drummer who sang and performed and had Ringo Starr-time and he was in one of the top groups in Britain but especially in Liverpool before we even had a drummer ... Ringo's a damn good drummer.[20]”
Drummer Steve Smith said:
“Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo's popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo's great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for the Beatles songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music, and still identify the song.[21]”
Many drummers list Starr as an influence, including Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters/Nirvana, Danny Carey of Tool, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band, Phil Collins, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater and others.[22] According to Collins, "Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, "I want it like that." They wouldn't know what to do."[citation needed]
In his extensive survey of the Beatles' recording sessions, Mark Lewisohn confirmed that Starr was both proficient and remarkably reliable and consistent. According to Lewisohn, there were fewer than a dozen occasions in the Beatles' eight-year recording career where session 'breakdowns' were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other three members.[22]
Starr is also considered to have advanced various modern drumming techniques (for playing and recording) such as the matched grip, placing the drums on high risers for visibility as part of the band, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings, along with his general contributions to the Beatles as a whole.[21] Specific drum parts executed by Starr in notably signature fashion include the fill that brings the drums and bass guitar into "Hey Jude", the steady rock and roll beats in "Please Please Me" and other early Beatles recordings, the drum kit pattern through the bridge of "Hello, Goodbye", and the driving bass drum notes found in "Lady Madonna", underlying the more intricate, double-tracked snare drum.[citation needed] His use of a "sizzle" cymbal (a cymbal incorporated with rivets that vibrate) would bring a much fuller sound than standard "ride" cymbals.
Two song performances where Starr is most reknowned as a drummer are "Rain" (his personal favorite) and "She Said, She Said". His synching with McCartney's bass on the final coda of Rain is considered one of his most memorable moments. On She Said, She Said, his bombastic fills along with his smooth changing of tempos from 4/4 to 2/4 have been highly praised.
Lennon, McCartney and Harrison have all said that Starr was the best rock and roll drummer in the world; although, when once asked in an interview "Is Ringo Starr the best drummer in the world?", Lennon quipped, "He's not even the best drummer in the band!"[citation needed] This was in reference to "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence", the first two tracks on White Album (1968), in which McCartney handled the drumming; Starr had walked out earlier and did not return for two weeks until the other three Beatles urged him to come back. He spent the fortnight with actor Peter Sellers on his yacht in Piraeus. Lennon sent telegrams to Starr, and Harrison set up flowers all over the studio for Starr's return saying 'welcome home'.[23]
McCartney sent Starr a postcard on January 31, 1969 (the day after the band's performance on the roof of Apple Studios) stating: "You are the greatest drummer in the world. Really." This postcard is included in Starr's book 'Postcards From The Boys'.[24]
McCartney also played the drums on "The Ballad of John and Yoko", recorded 14 April1969) since only Lennon and McCartney were immediately available to record the song.[25]Some have stated that while McCartney was able fill in for Starr, he didn't possess the smoothness and dexterity Starr had. Starr commented that he was lucky in being 'surrounded by three frustrated drummers' who could only drum in one style.[26]