All language subtitles for Masterclass - Ringo Starr Teaches Drumming And Creative Collaboration_Full

[FOOTSTEPS]

[METAL SCRAPING]

RINGO STARR: I was
born left-handed.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

But my grandmother thought
that was not a good sign,

so she turned me right-handed.

So I write right-handed,
but anything else I do

is left-handed.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

So I have a right-handed
kit, but I lead with my left.

I need time to do a
fill because it takes me

longer to get where I'm going.

This is what I do.

I work with what I've got,
and that is what makes me me.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

My name is Ringo, and
this is my MasterClass.

Welcome, everybody.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "IT DON'T
COME EASY"]

The dream of being a
drummer came when I was 13.

I was in hospital.

I had TB, tuberculosis.

While I was there,
to keep us busy,

a music lady would come in with
percussion things, maracas,

triangles.

She gave me a little teeny drum
the first time she came in.

And something came
over me that I

knew this is what I want to do.

It was like magic.

And I wouldn't be
in the band if she

didn't give me a little drum.

[LAUGHS]

From that day, I wanted to be
a drummer and that was my aim.

Of course, it didn't happen
right away, went back home,

and I had to go to
work in a factory.

And you know, I couldn't--

I didn't have a kit,
couldn't afford one.

I made my first kit
out of biscuit tins,

and the snare drum had
little nails on it.

So it gave you
like, sst, sst, sst.

My stepdad, Harry, he went down
for the funeral of his uncle.

His uncle played
drums, and there was

a kit of drums in the corner.

And he asked the guy's wife,
do you want to sell them?

And he came home
with a set of drums.

I mean, OK.

But you know, when you're
17, what do you know?

They were old drums.

I wanted new.

[LAUGHS] And so I saw in
Liverpool, in the shop,

there was an Ajax kit.

And I walked in and
thought, wow, this is great.

And it took two sticks,
and I-- you know,

I couldn't really do
it great, but I could

[DRUMS PLAYING]

Wow.

I asked my granddad
to lend me the money.

And I paid him back from the
factory I worked in a pound

a week.

So I paid my debt back.

That was great.

And that's how it started.

You know, I'm not
going to tell you

that playing drums
is easy because there

is a lot to learn.

Everything has to do its job.

But when it comes
together, it's just great.

That's part of me now, you know.

It was part of me then,
and even before then that--

there's a tempo.

You know, it's like
there's a tempo to life.

There's a tempo to every song.

And if you get a load of
musicians who are playing

the same tempo it really helps.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "IT DON'T
COME EASY"]

(SINGING) --want
your trust, then

you know it don't come easy.

In this class, I'm going to
tell you about my journey,

about how I became me.

We're going to talk about
playing with other musicians,

about writing songs.

I'm going to get behind the
kit and show you my drums.

Oh, deep.

And I'm going to invite some
of my friends to join me

for an All-Starr jam session.

I can't say I will teach you
how to play exactly like me.

Well, I hope I can
help you figure out

how to play like you.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

RINGO STARR: Yeah.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

My stepdad was the
best man in the world.

He was loved by every kid in
our neighborhood, every dog.

He was such a
peaceful, great guy.

I loved him.

He was my dad.

My dad left when I was three.

He'd have his little
record player,

and he'd have, you know, Glen
Miller and everybody else.

And anyway, I'd have
my stuff playing.

And it's just like one
of those great memories.

He never said,
get that shit off,

like fathers have
been known to do.

He never put what
I was playing down.

He always said,
have you heard this?

He loved big bands, and he
introduced me to Cozy Cole.

And he had this track on a 78.

I just loved the depth of the--

it was a lot of tom
tom, and I loved that.

And as you can tell, today
I love to hit the toms.

He introduced me to all of that.

But I feel today, because
of the way I play,

that I can't play straight rock.

I hit it like straight rock,
but it's sort of dit da-dit.

It always had like a 2% shuffle.

And I think that's because of
him, because of all his tracks.

Even Little Richard in
the early days was swing.

(SINGING) Gonna tell Aunt Mary
about Uncle John, da-da, da-da,

da-da--

always swing.

As I got a little older, I
started listening to the blues.

And I'm listening
to country music.

I'm listening to rock, just
listening to everything,

really.

Inspiration, it comes
from where it comes from.

You know, Bo Diddley's
got his own pattern--

bom, pa-dum bom, pa-dum bom.

It was his name and
that drum pattern,

because he was the only one
who really did it great.

So play Bo Diddley.

Play like Bo Diddley.

Bom, pa-dum, and it was the
Bo Diddley beat I loved.

Yeah.

And, of course,
it was on tom tom.

[CHUCKLES] It's
on the floor tom.

Boom, I love the floor tom.

You know, music was starting to
come in my life in a real way.

For some reason, Lightnin'
Hopkins, he just got to me.

He was the first joy
of my blues life.

My friend in Liverpool
and I, we went down

to the American Consulate,
because we were going

to emigrate to Houston, Texas.

Yeah, because that's
where he lived.

And they gave us a
list of factories

we could apply to for jobs,
and we filled these forms in.

And we're 18.

And we take these forms back,
and they give us more forms.

You know, at 18, [SOUND EFFECT]
we ripped them up,

and we didn't get to Houston.

But that's like in life,
you know, so many chances

of turning it right.

It's like that movie
"Sliding Doors."

[MIMICS CLOSING DOOR]
You make a decision.

It's that fast.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

When I got the
opportunity to play

in the basement of
the factory, that

was the first gigs I did with
Eddie Clayton, whose real

name was Eddie Miles,
[CHUCKLES] who lived next door,

and my friend Roy.

And we were in the
same factory together.

Eddie was one of those
players that can just play.

Give him a trumpet, he's
got you in five minutes.

You know, a bit like Paul, he
can play anything if he wants.

And my friend Roy
made to teach us bass,

to teach us, a brush pole, and
a piece of string, boom, boom,

boom, boom, boom.

We were playing Skiffle.

I don't know if you
know what skiffle is,

but it's sort of house
music from New Orleans,

or rent music,
they could call it.

That was the big
music of that time.

People would go down with
their instrument, give them $1,

come in and party on down.

I loved it.

I loved it.

And, you know, we
played weddings,

and we'd play for free for
some people, play for free.

You might as well have played
for free every goddamn gig.

You got nothing.

Here's $1.50 each, boys.

[CHUCKLES] I'm trying to
translate it to America.

1.50, ooh, yeah.

One of the incredible
things that came about--

I went to see the
George Lewis Band,

and he was playing
traditional-- when the saints,

doo-doo-loo-la-lu.

And the drummer was
incredible because he

didn't know he was teaching
me this great lesson.

He had the bass drum.

He had a snare drum.

He had a hi hat, a cymbal.

(SINGING) And when the saints
[MIMICS DRUMS] go marching in.

When he got to the
chorus, (SINGING) And when

the saints go marching in.

Oh, when the saints
go-- and then he'd go,

pa-dum bom, bom, bom,
pa-du-da bom on the bass drum.

Whoa, my heart
floated out of me.

It was so great to see this guy.

And from then, I
always had the idea

that you don't need
a lot of drums.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

You know, less can
really be more.

That's why we still use a
kit that looks like this,

and it's enough.

I've always been the band guy.

You know, I just never wanted
it to be like, okay, it's me.

I want to play with you.

That's-- drummers need
to play with people,

because it's really boring
playing on your own.

My main point when I play
is I play with the singer.

You've got to
listen to the song.

They don't need me, Yesterday
ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba,

you know, they don't need any
madness when they're singing.

Not any song.

You have to listen.

And it's something-- you know,
it's not like I rehearse that.

It's like, just came to me.

That's what I do.

I play with the singer.

Anything else can be
going on, of course.

You attack it with it sometime
and you can go off with,

if we're coming
up to the chorus.

But I just don't boogie
all over the singer.

I listen to them,
and I give them room.

This is how I am
and how I've been,

that I only wanted to play.

To this day, I love to play.

I love to sit behind
those buggers.

I'm at home and backtracking to
one of those memories I have,

playing gigs and mom and
Harry would come and visit.

They'd come and watch.

And she always said,
you know, I always

feel you're at your happiest,
son, when you're playing.

And I think that's a true thing.

I just feel good about playing.

I love making music
with other people.

It fills a lot of my soul.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR - "COOCHY
COOCHY"] I've traveled all

over,

I had been in a couple
of other skiffle groups

and none of them really worked.

It was just what you did.

Playing was all it was about.

And playing with
other people, I still

believe today, that's
what it's about.

I did this audition for Rory
Storm and the Hurricanes.

And they put me in the band.

Rory had a car, but the
band, we were on the bus.

I didn't have a car
in the early days.

And so I could
only carry a snare.

And so there'd always
be a drummer there

with the whole kit, and so
you'd have to go around begging.

Hey man, can I play your kit?

You know, and sometimes they
would and sometimes they

wouldn't.

So you just got on with it.

You know, we were
doing gigs around,

but the next year, 1960
we got this big job

to play three months at a
holiday camp in England.

Butlin's holiday camp.

And so I left the factory
and I became a musician.

After we prayed Butlin's
for three months

and then we had nothing, but we
got a few local gigs and then

this guy, Koschmider
from Hamburg,

Germany was coming over to
Liverpool to look for bands.

And the first band to
go over was Howie Casey.

Sax player with his band.

And the second band
was the Beatles.

And the third band was
Rory and the Hurricanes.

They showed us this dressing
room in the Kaiserkeller, where

we played.

They said, oh, you live here.

What?

Live here?

We've got suits.

We're not going to live here
on these dirt-riddled settees.

So we all went down to
the German Sea Mission

and we shared a room.

While we were there,
Koschmider decided

to put both bands on
the Kaiserkeller, which

was so great.

You were on like, 30, 40
minutes then you kept changing.

The weekends we did 12
hours between two bands.

You'd finish, the
Beatles were still on.

I would always watch
them and shout requests.

So Hamburg was very important
to all of us players.

Then it got crazy when
a lot of bands came in.

The memories of those days
where we really were playing

was great.

I always believe
that's what really

helped me become a musician.

A lot of playing.

I got into the Beatles
just by a phone call in 1962.

We're playing Butlin's holiday
camp again for our third year,

and I got a call
from Brian Epstein.

Hello Ringo, he spoke like that.

Well, Ringo, the boys would
like you to join the Beatles.

What do you say?

I said, no, I'd love to.

When?

And he said, oh, tonight.

I said I can't.

This was Wednesday.

I can't come tonight.

I'm in a band, here.

I'll come Saturday.

So I came in two days.

And they got a
drummer because there

was lots of them in Liverpool.

But before, that I'm
backtracking a bit now,

I got a knock at the door in
Liverpool when I was with Rory,

and Brian said,
hey Ringo, do you

think you could come
down to the Cavern,

and play a lunchtime
session with the Beatles?

They had the 1 o'clock spot.

And I got out of bed.

He drove me there.

I got up with them
and we played.

And it was really good.

And it happened again.

I'm in bed, he
knocks on the door.

Could you come
down to the Cavern,

they've got a lunchtime session.

And then we did a night gig,
one of the spaces we'd play,

Litherland Town
Hall or whatever.

So I played a couple
of gigs that time.

So I think when they all
had the discussion, that's

when it came down to
I'm in the Beatles.

It was the best
move I ever made.

And what was great in
Liverpool, people were saying,

you're not leaving
Rory, are you?

And I'm saying, yeah
I love that band.

[DRUM BEAT PLAYING]

My first month in
the Beatles we got

to do the gig at the Cavern,
and only my cymbals were there.

But that didn't stop us.

We went on, I went
on, just hit symbols.

And then as we were playing,
Neil, Neil Aspinall,

who used to look after
us, he got the drums

and he was bringing them
on as we were playing.

It was a lot looser
than it is now.

We had Mal and we had
Neil looking after us.

Mal, because he
could lift the amps

and he was a gentle
giant, because it started

to get busy with the fans.

He'd just-- no pushing,
just move them out the way.

We came in from
Sweden to Heathrow

and there were
thousands of kids.

We didn't know this at the time,
but Ed Sullivan was there too.

He'd just flown
in from New York.

He saw all this madness
and he booked us

on The Ed Sullivan Show from
the landing at Heathrow.

He said, oh, look at this.

So we have to thank Ed because
he was the instigator that

got us to America.

Before that, George
had been to America.

He had a sister here.

And he'd go into
record stores and said,

have you got the Beatles?

And no one had ever heard of
us and he came back to England

and said, it's going to be hard.

They don't know us.

But anyway by the time we got to
America Thanks to Murray the K,

and many DJs of the time,
we had the number one.

So we landed was the number one.

It couldn't have been better.

And that's how the Beatles were.

The light was shining on them.

Best band I ever was in.

It was like being psychic.

You knew it was going
to go off a bit,

so you knew you had to bring
it down, and everybody felt it.

I was left playing with the
best bass player in the world.

Most melodic, beautiful
player, and sometimes you

don't want to step on that.

But if it was a
pulsing thing, we'd

get it together and
support each other in that.

I can only remember
like two or three

times when one of the songs,
whatever the song was we

were doing, we
actually got together.

Because.

he's be playing
whatever the bass was--

[BASS LINE PLAYING]

You know, that's
not kicking it.

Would be better if I just went--

[CLAPPING ALONG WITH BASELINE
PLAYING]

Just kept it tick tocking.

We knew what to do and we
loved to do it with each other.

You feel where it's
going, and you play

to the best of your ability.

And you can lift the band
and the band can lift you.

I'll lift you up if you--

okay, I'll bring them up,
or I'll bring you down,

or it's the chorus,
or another verse that

needs a different pattern.

Maybe, like tom,
tom-tom for that one

because he's singing
in a darker mood.

Just it just was
incredible, the closeness

and the togetherness and the
heart and for each other.

We had our rows, ups and
downs, it's four guys.

That's just life.

But if you look at it overall,
the eight years I was in it

there was very few
days when it was bad.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

It seemed like
after the Beatles,

everybody came to England
to make their record.

And Leon was one of them.

And I was asked to
play and I said, sure.

I think I'm on three tracks.

And he was great, and
it was a lot of fun.

And even then, I didn't
do a lot of takes.

So I did his first solo album.

And then Stephen came into town.

And I'd met him before.

Somebody got to me and
asked me, Stephen's in town.

Would you play with Stephen?

I said, sure.

Because he was great.

And I can't say he was great,
because he's still around.

He is great.

And his solo album, I'm on
a couple of tracks of that.

And one of them was great
because the basic track is just

him on guitar and me on drums.

B.B. King came to London to
do his album, B.B. In London.

And B.B. King my God, I
mean after the breakup

I was playing with
all these great guys.

It was so beautiful.

And we get to play this
track, and we're playing away,

it's like da da doe, da doe.

And I don't really look.

I've got the cans
on, I mean listening.

And I'm looking--

I look up and B.B.
Is right there

and he sort of does
some sort of movement.

I think, oh shit, he
wants me to finish it.

So I go bam bam
bam dum dum dum da.

And he ends.

The whole band ended on it.

And then he goes,
too good to lose.

ba-rum dik-a da.

And we all came back in.

It was such a great line.

Too good to lose.

I did a guy's
track the other day

and I just did it once
through, because I feel

that's where the emotion is.

And if you're doing it a lot of
times, it tends to stiffen up.

Harry Nilsson was in London
and I was the drummer for him,

and Richard Perry was
producing it for him,

and he has this track,
this song called Take 54.

And we did like six or
seven takes, and okay,

and Richard ah oh oh, one more.

We did a lot more takes,
and we got to 54 takes.

And we all thought, well,
this is going to be the one.

And we played the same song.

54 times we've played it,
and we have da da da bam.

Ah, ah, one more!

[LAUGHTER]

It was like, mad.

But that's the longest
I've ever played takes.

55.

I loved the first take.

The creativity of
the first is usually

more important than
getting it stick right.

I'm not saying don't get
it right, but I am saying,

don't overthink it.

Feel it.

[DRUM MUSIC]

Well, all you guys
out there, or more

to the point, all
you girls and guys.

A lot of girl drummers
now, I'm glad to say.

This is my kit.

I finalized that this is enough
drums for me many years ago.

Because if you remember
anything about me,

I used to have two tom-toms.

This is my snare.

It's the center of the kit
and the drum you use the most.

This is the top tom.

We call this the top tom
because it's easy to get to.

And then the floor tom is here.

It's a lot deeper.

So you can make yourself sort
of low deep or high deep,

you know.

It's like--

[DRUMMING]

--great.

Oh, and don't forget
the bass drum.

[DRUMMING]

Where would we be without that?

And then I've got the hi-hat.

[DRUMMING]

[LAUGHING]

Then I've got this
second hi-hat.

This is not on regular kits.

I put it in for me
because I do this a lot.

And I can go--

[DRUMMING]

And as you can
tell if you listen,

this one is like
a little looser--

[DRUMMING]

--so it gives me
more color to play.

It gives me different
sort of sounds

depending on what I'm doing.

And this is the crash cymbal.

This of course, is the big guy.

[STRIKES CYMBAL]

Oh yeah.

This is the ride.

The ride cymbal
is usually played

with a steady kind of pattern.

So that's the ride cymbal.

And this is just one
I like to have around.

It's up to you if you have one.

[STRIKES CYMBAL]

It's a lot lighter
so sometimes when

I have to like sort
of crash the big one--

[STRIKES CYMBAL]

--that's a bit too heavy so--

[DRUMMING]

That's enough.

And that's it.

This is the kit.

And this is a brand new kit.

[LAUGHING]

If you know anything about
me, I do play Ludwig drums.

I've always had Ludwig drums
and I still love them to date.

This was the first
snare drum I ever had.

[DRUMMING]

Oh, deep.

This is the actual drum I had.

It was Black Pearl and it came
with the 20 inch bass drum.

And that was the first kit.

I mean, this is practically
as big as the bass drum.

But you know, you play
things a long time,

you want to keep them.

[DRUMMING]

One, two, one, two.

[DRUMMING]

REPORTER: Who does he look
like, Ringo, you or your wife?

RINGO STARR: A bit
of a each, actually.

REPORTER: Has he made
any musical noises yet?

He really had it last night.

I mean, that was a bit annoying.

REPORTER: Have you decided
what to call him yet?

RINGO STARR: Zak.

Z-A-K. So my son
was nine years old

and he wanted to play drums.

So I said okay, well
I'll give you a lesson.

And I've given a lot of
kids this same lesson

because you have to get
this if you want to play.

And it's just tapping the
hi-hat, tapping the bass drum,

and tapping the snare.

So you've got a lot of
things that are automatic now

but we all have to learn it.

[DRUMMING]

That's the first
that you've got to--

[DRUMMING]

One, two, one, two,
one, two, one, two.

So I gave Zak this first lesson.

And then I said
okay, go and do that.

And then like 10 days
later, I said come on,

I'll give you another lesson.

[DRUMMING]

And he said, well,
I can do that, Dad.

I said, you're on your own.

And he has been.

And he's turned into the
most brilliant player.

You know, he's just
magnificent at playing drums.

And I've given that
lesson to a lot of kids.

That's the easiest
thing we can do.

But it's really not easy.

It's coordination.

I mean, you've got to coordinate
both legs and both arms

and work it all
out in your brain.

If you can do that,
this is for every kid

on the block who has decided
he wants to be a drummer

and he's got some drums.

[DRUMMING]

Lesson number one.

[DRUMMING]

Lesson number two.

[SHAKES TAMBOURINE]

So on every record
I ever made, we

had other things that
were around in the studio.

One of them was maracas,

[SHAKES MARACAS]

Tambourine,

[SHAKES TAMBOURINE]

And the cowbell,
which is so great.

You know, you put
that on the beat.

[TAPS COWBELL]

Goes with anything.

That's the cowbell.

And you can hold it.

[TAPS COWBELL]

You can change the
volume of the bell.

[TAPS COWBELL]

It's so great.

That's a simple
way of playing it.

And then we're adding more to
your groove, the tambourine.

I love the tambourine.

You've got to give it a
good-- so you get them moving.

[SHAKES TAMBOURINE]
They go side to side.

[SHAKES TAMBOURINE]

Yeah!

All for the rhythm, all
for the feel, all for the--

it gives it more power.

And then there's the maracas.

[SHAKES MARACAS]

But I like to just go--

[SHAKES MARACAS]

So it's hitting, you know.

But many people

[SHAKES MARACAS DISCORDANTLY]

Next year we'll be doing
the percussive school.

In the days I was around,
I had this set of bongos

and they're on like at least 15
Beatles tracks because we had

the bongos and you put them on.

I have to hold them
between my knees.

[TAPS BONGOS]

Anyway, the rhythm pattern I
knew and used all the time was

[TAPS BONGOS]

That's not going to work.

[TAPS BONGOS]

We need Sheila E.

[LAUGHING]

If you look at any
footage of the Beatles

especially, what you'd find
is I had a set up like this.

I invented the back
for the drum stool

because I would be
on that stool ready.

If anybody started, I'm ready.

You don't-- oh, he's down
there, he's having a coffee

or whatever.

I was always ready to play.

And I had a little table here
with a little drink and a pack

of cigarettes and my lighter.

But I have not a
cigarette in 30 years.

Thank you, Lord.

And I feel better.

And that's just how it was.

And you see them all
chatting because they

have the overheads.

And I'm just, oh okay.

And this was where
I lived and Paul

would just-- two, three, four.

[DRUMMING]

I was always ready.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

You know, drums are--

you've got to love them.

You got to hit them.

You got to like what
they sound like.

And you've got to
do it your way.

I was at the cabin,
and George Lewis

came to play from New Orleans.

And I thought, I've
got to go and see them,

not knowing that it would be
one of those magical moments

in my life.

And they're playing.

He was clarinet, but the drummer
did this most amazing thing.

He was going,

[CYMBALS PLAYING]

(SINGING) Oh, when the saints
go marching in, all very quiet.

And

[BASS DRUM PLAYING]

[CYMBALS PLAYING]
And he got back off.

[CHUCKLES] He went--
he had no toms.

He had a snare, a bass drum,
and a cymbal, and a hi hat.

And he could get to it easier
than I can because the floor

tom's in the way a it.

But I was like, what?

Look at that.

And it actually made me
realize that you don't

need a lot of drums, you know.

I mean, this is plenty.

And it became plenty for me
for many, many years now.

The other side of that story
was George Harrison came to LA.

Hal Blaine was there, and he's
a great, well-known drummer

from LA.

And he had the Hal Blaine
kit, which was like, 16 drums.

It went from a small tom, to
a bigger tom, to a bigger tom,

to a bigger tom, to a
bigger tom, to a bigger tom.

It just was, like, huge.

So I have Mal set it up.

Set it up.

Let's see what we can do here.

And he set all these drums up.

And so whatever
song we're doing--

[DRUMS PLAYING]

--I didn't know
which one to hit.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

Mal, take them down, and
I never saw them again.

[CHUCKLES] It was just
too much, you know.

I mean, there's
a lot of drummers

out there with lots of drums.

That's how they play.

You have to realize that I do
this and other people do that.

You know, I'm strictly this is
my stuff and my space and I'm--

[DRUMS PLAYING]

--and my life is good.

(SINGING) It's a love
that had no past.

[MUSIC - BEATLES, "DON'T LET ME
DOWN"]

BEATLES: (SINGING)
Don't let me down.

Don't let me down.

Don't let me down.

Don't let me down.

RINGO STARR: So here's
a trick I learned

when I was playing
in the studio a lot,

and I wanted to get the sound
of the tom sort of down.

By the time I was in the
Beatles, I liked depth.

I like it to get down.

And I went into the
tea parlor downstairs,

where we'd go for cups of tea.

If you look at pictures
of the Beatles,

they're drinking tea
like there's no tomorrow

because that's what we drank.

But on the side, we'd
have something else.

[LAUGHING]

And I thought, I need to
put something on them.

I tried it with a
pack of cigarettes.

That didn't really work.

And anyway, I've just
picked up, like, six tea

towels that the girls re-used
it, washed the dishes,

and dry them off.

And I put them
over all the drums.

And it really gave me
a really unique sound,

in a way, because it took--

[BASS DRUM PLAYING]

--that highs off.

[BASS DRUM PLAYS]

You know the high
is in all of them.

[CYMBAL PLAYS]

But for me, it was like,
well, I've invented something.

[BASS DRUM PLAYING]

You can feel it's, like,
deadened all the reverbs.

[BASS DRUM PLAYS]

And I love that, and that's
why I became the tea toweler--

[CYMBALS PLAY]

--the tea towel guy.

[BASS DRUM PLAYING]

And you can hear that.

And then if you take it off,

[BASS DRUM PLAYING]

There's a lot of body
in there, you know.

I like them.

[BASS DRUM PLAYING]

I love the tea towel thing.

And then I ended up, you know--

[SNARE PLAYING]

I ended up putting
them on the snare.

[SNARE PLAYING]

See?

[SNARE PLAYING]

It just gives it like
a whole new dimension,

or it actually takes
away several dimensions.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

So even if it's
rock, you can like--

[DRUMS PLAYING]

You don't get all
that over noise.

And you may have
noticed, every time

I'm trying to just
do something here,

the bass drum is always
playing something.

[BASS DRUM PLAYING]

Yeah!

[VOCALIZING]

Tea towels all go.

[MUSIC - RINGO
STARR, "EARLY 1970!"]

(SINGING) Lives on a
farm, got plenty of charm.

Beep Beep.

What I'd like to
do is two things.

One, I'd like to tell
you why I sit like this.

And the other is what
I did with the sticks.

As you can tell, I like to
be a little high in the seat.

And the good sign is if the
stick hits me in the thigh,

it's perfect.

I'm at the right height.

You know, I like
to do snare shots.

That's where you hit the rim and
the drum head at the same time.

You know, sometimes
it's a mellow song

and you hit it softer in the
middle of the snare drum.

And then, it's all about
positioning yourself

to make the most of your kit.

You know, you can
hit things harder.

You can hit them lighter.

Hit them with the brushes.

Some guys have [INAUDIBLE]
around that gives you

like a timpani type of noise.

Some drummers, if
they're playing

the role of a Latin
thing or a rim shot,

they turn the stick this way.

[DRUMMING]

And I don't bother.

I just drop down.

[DRUMMING]

I mean, you can place
it in certain places

and get it deeper and higher.

[DRUMMING]

So there's rhythm and
everything, you know?

This is the grip.

I just held them because
that's the only way I knew.

Just for fun, you know, like
Charlie Watts holds them

like this.

A lot of drummers still do.

But for me, this was always
for the marching band

cause the drum was
so close to the body.

Anyway.

[DRUMMING]

That's the only
marching stuff I know.

And here's something
I did on a break

once, listening to playback
on the film "Help."

and I just did it
because I did it.

[DRUMMING]

Like a one-handed rule.

[DRUMMING]

Just things you do when
you're sitting around.

But I just fitted myself around
how I held them, you know?

You do have to keep them a
bit further away from you.

You know, I'd love
to say, oh, well,

that was because, you know,
somebody said this or that.

It's the only way I knew
and that's what I did,

and what I did did me good.

With the bass drum, once I've
hit it, that's what I've done.

I've done the job.

And then the beta comes off it.

Some people like--
they deaden it.

They keep it on all day.

You know, they sort of let
it off a little [INAUDIBLE]..

You know, the way I play is
sort of a purposeful way.

And if I'm going--

[DRUMMING]

It's off.

The beater comes off as
soon as it's finished.

Off, you know?

[BANGING]

Off.

[BANGING]

Off.

[BANGING]

Off.

[DRUMMING]

So while the right foot
hits the bass drum,

the left foot
controls the hi-hat.

Well, that was to get that.

This heel is keeping time,
that's what it's doing.

The left leg is playing
what the snare drum plays.

Then you can-- can you tell?

You can let your toll
come off of your foot

and you can get that.

You know, I got a
story about that.

I was at home in
this apartment I

shared with George
and Klaus Voormann.

If he ever came to
London, he stayed with us.

We were playing records, you
know, vinyl in those days, LPS.

And Al Green did a
track, "I'm Around."

And it was so great
because part of it,

the drummer solo went
like part of the track.

When it's USUALLY like
another instrument.

Not just--

[TAPPING]

[DRUMMING]

It was so great.

Anyway, that knocked me out.

And I saw it lift in
the higher symbols

and separate them a bit.

You know, I would--

[DRUMMING]

And it wasn't like you
were flashing the big one.

It just gave me more
rhythm, like a train.

[DRUMMING]

I can't help-- I love
to hit the buggers.

You know, and I think that
came from that Al Green track.

I was listening for
the whole record,

but that just shot out at me.

[MUSIC - AL GREEN, "I'M A RAM!"]

(SINGING) Drive on
until I get there.

I think I'll drive on.

Going around the cymbals,
this is the ride cymbal.

The ride, I do, I love the bell.

You know, so you--

[TAPPING]

And if I slow it down a bit.

[DRUMMING]

You know, you can put a
little rhythm in it too.

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "HEY
JUDE!"]

(SINGING) Hey, Jude,
don't let me down.

You have found her,
now go and get her.

And I just love the bell.

I always go to the bell.

If this is a lesson, when
it gets to the chorus,

go to the bell.

I still do to this day
because it raises it up.

And everybody loves
playing the chorus.

You know, you got to
work for the verses.

With the chorus, you can rock.

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "HEY
JUDE!"]

[VOCALIZATION] Hey, Jude.

[DRUMMING]

[CYMBAL RATTLES]

I like to use
my sticks to mute

the symbols from underneath,
rather than just grabbing them

with my hands.

You know, it's like.

[DRUMMING]

And then, you know, we
went to this restaurant,

we had such a great night.

It just calms them down,
but it's not like--

[DRUMMING]

That's too fast.

[DRUMMING]

Still a bit there.

You're still in the
rhythm, you know?

That's pretty good too.

I'm a left-handed player
on a right-handed kit.

But sometimes, what seems
like a limitation is actually

an opportunity to get creative.

What I mean by that is because
I'm left handed, I can't go--

[DRUMMING]

That's too far.

I've got to bring
the left hand in.

So you know, it's like.

[DRUMMING]

And that's why my fills,
you know, a lot of them

talk about my fills when I do
them, but it's a lot of like.

[DRUMMING]

There's a lot of
space between each hit

because I've got to bring
this in to lead, you know?

Where you, or most
people, will go.

[DRUMMING]

I can't do that.

[DRUMMING]

Yes, I can.

I can do it, Lord.

But most of my fills,
the shape of them,

come because I'm a
left handed drummer

on the right handed kit.

[DRUMMING]

Single strokes
and double strokes

are all you need for fills.

Maybe they are triplet.

This is how I play singles.

[DRUMMING]

Yeah.

If we're talking about doubles,
they're right, right, left,

that I can't do.

I can't get fast enough.

[DRUMMING]

Confusion in a way.

[DRUMMING]

No, that's me pressing.

That's something else
that you can learn either.

Or you can just press, you know?

And let the bounce of
the six do the work

instead of your wrists.

Sounds like a roll to me.

And I'm holding it like
this, just thumb and finger.

[DRUMMING]

So I can get to the reaction
from the hitting, you know?

You can't do that holding
them tight, you've got to--

[DRUMMING]

There are other basic things
you should know, like the flam.

[TAPPING]

That's taking the two sticks,
hitting the rim and the skin.

And it's powerful, you know?

The triplet.

[DRUMMING]

That's a triplet.

Groups of 3.

And you can find triplets
all over my playing.

Sometimes it just comes out.

(SINGING) I saw Uncle John
with bald-headed Sally.

He saw Mary comin' and he--

Yeah, out of the blue.

I mean, I don't know
sometimes what possesses me.

And we did it live.

And Paul those "Long Tall
Sally," and at the end of it,

have some fun tonight.

We're going to have
some fun, and I go.

[DRUMMING]

I'm missing the cymbal.

[DRUMMING]

It just like rocks.

[DRUMMING]

(SINGING) Yeah.

Have some fun tonight.

Have some fun tonight.

Everything I want.

Have some fun tonight.

RINGO STARR: Feel
comes with the body.

You know, I didn't
train to have feel.

Just let the music
move through you.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "COOCHY
COOCHY"]

(SINGING) Waiting for
you to come and see me.

I think any time I hit on it,
it has a big swing going down

because my stepdad, he had
all these big band records.

(SINGING) Oh, let me hear it!

Straight rock and roll, which
came after the big bands,

and Little Richard,
all playing swing,

they sort of straightened
everything out to be--

[DRUMS PLAYING]

It's all straight,
so but then I go--

[DRUMS PLAYING]

Now you may have to be a drummer
to know the difference [LAUGHS]

because I'm doing it
so it's like straight.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

Ringo.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

It all has a bit of that in
it when I play, you know.

It's just how it is.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "IT DON'T
COME EASY"]

(SINGING) It don't come easy.

You know it don't come easy.

You know, I have great feel
because it just came with me.

I have great time.

And in all honesty,
when I was just

out there skiffling with
the Eddie Clayton group,

I didn't have any sense of
time, and neither did they.

And we play weddings and
things, but you know we go--

[MUSIC - BEATLES, "MAGGIE MAE"]

(SINGING) Oh, Maggie,
Maggie Mae, hey, hey, hey--

[DRUMS PLAYING FAST]

[SINGING QUICKLY]

And people who were
trying to dance

would say, could you slow down?

Could you slow down?

[LAUGHING] Because we
just were an express

train on every track.

So now we don't have to do that.

We can keep it straight.

[DRUM STICKS CLATTER]

But at the beginning, you
may get a little speedy.

Just listen to yourself and
see how you feel about that.

If you're sitting
around with a guitar,

and there's the bass player--

I'm talking about my band, the
band I was in, and most bands

now.

I played with a lot
of different people,

and when it's brand new,
I just keep it easy.

You know, whatever the song
is, I keep it ea-- then

you get to feel all of it.

You get to feel it, and then
you can put something in it.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

Yeah, let's go.

You've got to just melt
into what's around you.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "IT DON'T
COME EASY"]

(SINGING) I don't ask for much.

I only--

Do your best just to keep
it sharp and in the groove.

Less is always more,
especially when

you're first working it out.

I like to try to give
the band space to come up

with new ideas, new parts.

You've got to be the one
holding it all together.

And then once you
find your groove,

you can add things to it then.

When I'm doing fills, I
can never repeat the fill

because it's sort of the emotion
of that moment on the track

where the singer is, or
if there's a bass note,

or there's a guitar thing, all
of that helps me go where I go.

But sometimes I go, and I'm
in a fill, in like a blackout.

But I always come out
on time, you know.

I don't really know
where I'm going.

It's just like, oh, yeah,
fine, woo, woo, woo, but--

[DRUMS PLAYING]

--got to get back.

[CHUCKLES] And that's another
good song, "Get Back."

[MUSIC - BEATLES, "GET BACK"]

BEATLES: (SINGING) Get back--

RINGO STARR: You've got to
listen to everybody else,

and you've got to feel the
atmosphere around the band,

and what they're
playing, where we're

trying to get to, and
keep it in a good space.

BEATLES: (SINGING) --back
to where you once belonged.

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "OCTOPUS'S
GARDEN"]

(SINGING) I'd ask my
friends to come and see

an octopus's garden with me.

Well, let's talk
about songwriting.

It all comes together,
the words and the melody.

And it can come from anywhere.

I've got notebooks full of one
lines or three words, even.

I had this line, "How could
I be so wrong for so long?"

I didn't say it.

I know the man who said it.

And it became a
song, because we need

the top-line to get us into the
emotion of where we're going.

And that was such a great line.

So, I think that was
like three years ago.

We made that record.

Of course, I claim all credit.

[CHUCKLING]

There's not a lot of,
like, getting ready.

I don't know how you can--

I'm not putting
down people who do.

They get up, and
that's what they do.

They're the writers,
where I just

get lucky every couple of days.

But I can't, like, I'm
getting ready to write a song.

There's no emotion
in that for me.

It's like, oh,
wow, who said that?

It's great!

Come on over.

I've got two lines.

There's not many songs I
write by myself anymore.

I enjoy hanging out
with writers, musicians,

and I'll call people over.

They may have a word or two.

They have lists, too.

We'll take one of theirs.

But if it's my record, I
write it with other people.

But I always direct it.

And it's always like a
peace and love direction.

I have a song I
wrote, and it's called

"Three Ships in the Harbor."

And I've never recorded
it, but it had 28 verses.

George was so great because I
never knew how to end a song.

I just keep going on.

And he was great to,
"We'll end it there."

Or he'd throw a few lines in,
and he would produce it for me

as my first producer.

And so, to the writers,
yeah, keep it short.

And I don't know
if it's because I'm

from the '60s where
every record was,

at the most, 2 and 1/2 minutes.

And we changed all
of that by '68.

They were a little longer.

Give it the great structure.

And if you want it longer,
don't fade for a while.

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "DON'T
PASS ME BY"]

(SINGING) Don't pass me by.

Don't make me cry.

Don't make me blue.

INTERVIEWER: Has Ringo
ever written a song

or does he plan to?

I've--

INTERVIEWER: [INAUDIBLE]

I've written one,
but we never seem

to get around to recording it.

A lot of people know about it.

In 1962 and '3 mainly, when we
started going into the studio

with The Beatles--

it's a Beatles story--

I would write songs.

And I'd present them.

I'd say, I've got this song.

And they would just roll
over on the floor laughing,

because I hadn't noticed I'd
just rewritten other songs.

I thought it was mine.

[CHUCKLING]

So, it took me another
year or two before I

got the melody and the words.

But that's just one of those
moments you'll never forget.

What?

Come on, man.

Well, you know, that's whatever.

So that was the first attempt.

But then I did start
to love writing.

George got into writing.

He wrote some beautiful songs,
a privilege to play on them.

John was great.

Paul was great.

It was a really
good band, four guys

who looked out for each
other, loved each other,

and played well together.

As long as you do your best,
as long as you do what you can,

that's what it's all about,
you know what I mean?

Yeah, it's work.

Nobody worked harder
than the four, the fabs.

But it's work, and that's what
we realized in the studio.

It's work.

The great news with The Beatles
was that John would have songs,

Paul would have songs, and
George would have songs.

I'd have an odd song.

And we all did our
best for everybody.

We're all focused on your song.

Go-- What about this way?

Oh, my song or that.

We were four guys in the room.

And to put something on--

I'll put bongos on that.

And we'd clap in time together.

Or George would hit the cowbell.

I'd do the tambourine.

It was like what we did.

It's in the room.

We're going to use it.

Four lads with all of
this-- wow, we can do this.

We can do that.

Let's use that.

Let's use this.

Not like, oh, hello, could
you send in the bongo player

please?

I mean, one of the fun
stories with the remastering

was the first thing they
did was "Yellow Submarine."

And Paul and I ran
over to EMI to listen

to what they had done with
George Martin then and Giles.

And we're looking, and
he says, who played that?

Who did that?

Because you'd never heard
it for all of these years.

It was so buried.

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "OCTOPUS'S
GARDEN"]

(SINGING) I'd like to
be under the sea in an--

Well, "Octopus's
Garden" is full of joy,

and it's full of sadness
and all of those emotions

because I'd left the Beatles.

We were doing "The White Album."

I'd left The Beatles.

I couldn't take it anymore.

Maureen, God rest her soul,
and the kids, Zak and Jason,

we went to Sardinia.

I just had to go
somewhere, just get away.

And we're in Sardinia
and Peter Sellers--

name dropping now, but
this is just the fact--

had his boat there.

So, he wasn't using it
and he lent me his yacht.

We ordered fish and chips.

And the guy brought
octopus and chips,

and we don't eat octopus.

From Liverpool.

Anyway, you know, after
a joint, in those days,

can't hide from
it all your life.

I had a joint, and
I went on deck,

and the captain was there.

And we started talking.

And he said, oh, you
don't like octopus.

No, you can't eat
octopus, man, look at it.

And he said, you know
what octopuses do?

He says, they go out their cave
and they find any shiny stone

or rock, and they put it
in front of their cave

like it's a garden.

Well, stoned, that
was like, what?

How great is that.

[CHUCKLES]

And that's how
that song started.

So, I had a guitar though.

You know, I can play anything on
a guitar, as long as it's in E.

But anyway, I had the guitar.

I finished the joint.

And for me, it usually all
comes at the same time.

"I'd like to be."

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "OCTOPUS'S
GARDEN"]

And you know, because of the--

the pain, and the joy, and
the emotions of actually,

like, that's it, I'm out,
it would be a great place

to be under the sea in an
octopus's garden, in the shade.

[CHUCKLES]

And it just came really easy.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "BACK OFF
BOOGALOO"]

(SINGING) Back off Boogaloo.

What d'yer think
I'm going to do?

I got a flash right--

Now, Marc Bolan from T
Rex, he was a friend of ours.

It was like Harry Nilsson,
Keith Moon, and I,

and Marc would come
and chat with us.

[CHUCKLES]

And he was so great.

We loved him.

And we were these
old 30-year-olds.

And he was this guy.

And he'd come in and he tell
us, came in at number 10.

Next week, number one.

Yeah!

And we said, great, Marc.

We loved his enthusiasm.

Anyway, we became good friends.

And he came to dinner one
night, and he talked like that.

Oh, back off, back
off, Boogaloo.

Oh, Boogaloo, back off.

It was like part
of his vocabulary.

And so, we sent him home
and then went to bed.

As I'm just about to
go asleep, you know,

you're in that sort of
in and out mode, I hear.

(SINGING) Back off Boogaloo.

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "BACK OFF
BOOGALOO"]

Was it.

(SINGING) Back off Boogaloo.

Come on.

Back off Boogaloo.

I've got a song.

I've got a song here.

I've got to get that
down, because you know,

you go to sleep, you wake
up, you've forgotten it.

And I ran downstairs
and the kids' toys,

and no tape recorder would
work, that I had at that time.

And I needed batteries.

And I'm searching
the kids' toys,

ripping them up and
trying to find batteries.

Anyway, I found batteries.

But while I'm searching, this
song, "back off Boogaloo"

is turning into, when the knife.

It's turning into
back of the knife.

And I'm, no, no,
not back the knife.

Back off Boogaloo.

[LAUGHS]

Yes, this is the stuff you go
through when you're writing,

everybody, just so you know.

I put it down on a tape
used a reel-to-reel,

didn't even have cassettes then.

And when we moved,
we found these tapes,

and we found the tape that
said, "Back off Boogaloo."

And it's my demo that day.

And the guitar, and
I'm sitting there,

this is like three years
ago, I'm sitting there

and I'm saying, man,
who was on guitar?

Who could that be?

It sounds so great.

And then I go, A E D.

[CHUCKLES]

And it was me on guitar,
so, whoo, blew me away.

Just a side story for
you drummers out there.

George produced it.

He wanted this drum pattern.

It was like bom, bom,
bom, bom, bom, bom, bom.

That is the pattern I was asked
to do, which I couldn't do.

I just sort of faked
it on the snare.

[VOCALIZING]

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "BACK OFF
BOOGALOO"]

Which made the track.

So, you never know
where it's coming from.

You can move it around
a bit and change it.

And that was a great change
that, you know, paid off.

You don't have to, like,
go break your mind if you

can't do what someone's asking.

You can do something
else to make them happy.

I love playing live.

I mean, that's what it's
all about for me, you know.

It's-- that's the gig.

If you want to connect
with an audience,

you've got to love them.

You've got to love
what you do, and you've

got to love them because
that's why you're there,

because they've
come out to see you.

Bars, pubs, clubs,
weddings, anywhere--

there's a magic moment when
the band and the audience

are just on.

And that's a lot
of peace and love.

You know, it's-- and so
when I tour now, you know,

I love the audience.

They love me and we
have certain gigs

where it's just heart filling.

The band is exactly right.

We're all yes, brother.

And the audience are, yeah!

You know, it's like--

it's that yeah, yeah time.

[CHUCKLES]

Yeah.

What you have to be in here also
is you have to be able to play,

and you have to have hits,
because we are the hit band.

From the first band in 1989,
Joe Walsh, Billy Preston, Nils,

all the people in that band,
I wanted to get this together.

So I just opened the
phone book in those days,

and got Joe, called Joe.

He said, (MIMICS JOE
WALSH) Yeah, sure.

But I was a bit insecure, yeah.

So I had Levon Helm,
great drummer/singer.

And I thought, I want someone
to nudge about on the stage

when I'm down because I'd
never done this from the stage.

And I got Clarence Clemons.

I stole him from "The Boss."

And we had a lot of good times.

And everybody knew
they gave everything.

That's what we did.

It was a great band, but
I always blamed the fact

that I had Levon, me,
and Jim, three drummers

because of my insecurity of
the first time we did it.

Yeah.

I mean, it just reminds
me, we played Colorado once

with the All Starrs, and
the monitors went out.

And every man in the band to a
man said, oh, we can't go on.

And I said, come on, because
I come from not-- you know,

even the Beatles, we didn't
have monitors and huge speakers.

We had the house
PA at Shea Stadium.

And we did the gig,
Howard Jones on keyboard.

We have to give him a name.

And we did the gig.

And to a man, everyone said,
oh man, that was great.

[LAUGHS] You know, you go on.

I come from that world.

There's nothing that
won't let me go on.

You know, believe it or not--

and I don't know
why you wouldn't--

I still get nervous
before I go on stage.

I'm fine in the dressing room.

I'm fine 10 steps to the stage.

Five steps to the stage,
it's like a madness.

I'm like, oh god,
it's been a while.

And then everyone around me
gets me on that damn stage.

No, I have a minute--

not even a minute,
seconds, and I just

have to suck it up and run out.

And I touch that mic,
and everything is good.

You'd think by now, you
know, I'd get over that.

But I-- it's part of me.

An hour, an hour and a
half before the show,

I have a baked potato,
and I have steamed veg,

and I have a glass of veg juice.

And in the baked potato, I put
olive oil now and not butter,

and Bragg's aminos,
and brewer's yeast.

I have that because
it holds me down.

If I didn't settle down before
I went on, I would float away.

I get so excited.

But the gap between
having that dinner

and then getting to
the mic, 10 feet back,

there's always a moment--

I can't do it.

They won't like it.

Loser.

What am I?

And then I have to run on.

I still have to run on.

And in my heart and my head--

I'm talking to myself now--

I want to be Frank Sinatra.

So Frank, he just walked
down, hey, how you doing?

[CHUCKLES] And like, my
aim is to be Frank Sinatra.

But once I run on and I grab
that mic, we are together.

The audience and I and
the band, we're together.

This is such a thrill
for me to have Jim Keltner

right there.

On my right is my
favorite drummer

and we're really good pals.

And my second friend over
here, Gregg Bissonnette,

longtime member of the All Starr
Band and the world-famous drum

teacher himself.

A long time ago, I did
a track with The Beatles

called "Come Together."

And I decided,
several years ago now,

that that was so
special, that piece,

that I'm not going to play
it for anything else now.

It's only on that record will
you ever hear me playing it.

But because I have friends, we
can separate the parts, whoever

played them, and that's one
great one that everybody knows,

that it has three
distinct parts.

And we're going to show you
what it actually sounds like.

You ready, Jim?

JIM KELTNER: Yeah.

OK.

[MUSIC - THE BEATLES, "COME
TOGETHER"]

Isn't not great?

Now imagine one
person doing that.

You got any questions?

GREGG BISSONNETTE:
Well, I noticed

on the verse of
"Come Together," you

played your kick drum
alone for the whole--

(SINGING) He wear no shoeshine--

Yeah.

GREGG BISSONNETTE: What a
great concept for the verse.

And then you played
the floor tom--

[PLAYING NOTES]

--and the beat.

[PLAYING NOTES]

(SINGING) Come together.

Didn't even have a cymbal.

There's so many parts
that identify that song.

It's so classic.

You've just played them
all, so I don't have to.

[LAUGHS]

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "BACK OFF
BOOGALOO"]

(SINGING) Back off, Boo-ga-loo.

I said, back off, Boo-ga-loo.

I said, back off, Boo-ga-loo.

Yeah, "Back Off Boogaloo"
is a great story

because I wrote the song and
gave it to George Harrison.

And he was producing
me at the time.

And he had this idea that it
should have this drum pattern.

[PLAYING NOTES]

I still find that
difficult to play.

So to make him happy, I
played a snare situation

with the same sort
of feel, which--

[PLAYING NOTES]

And it just was one of those
moments in the studio when

the other players and
myself, we were doing this,

putting it down.

It was like, wow.

That really works.

So sometimes, I have
to shift the track

to where I could be
comfortable with it,

and that was a great example.

To this day, this is not
the best thing for me.

[PLAYING NOTES]

I'm too busy trying
to get that kick

drum to do the three that
I don't do it anymore.

Now you can do it.

Do it.

[PLAYING NOTES]

Yeah, see?

That's what George wanted.

[LAUGHS] And I did--

[PLAYING NOTES]

And it worked.

You know, that's a
perfect example of what

you did that changed the
musical world, really, because--

no, I'm serious,
because all the session

guys that I listened
to coming up,

those guys were all pretty
much told what to do

and they were expected to do it.

And that's how they
made their living.

And it was brilliant, all the
things that the Hal Blaines,

the Earl Palmer, all those guys.

But for you, you happened to be
in a band with three geniuses.

You thought it was
a liability that you

couldn't play that part
like a session guy would?

Look what happened.

Well, that's that's
on your record.

But I'm sure that
happened countless times

with The Beatles.

And they knew that they had
somebody special in you,

because they could
have had anybody.

They could have had any of
the greatest studio guys.

It was all fortunate
for everybody.

Yeah, but I feel
the whole band could

move where they felt
more comfortable,

not just the drums.

Paul's bass-- he was
a great bass player.

And he'd fill those gaps
and it was so melodic.

And John-- crazy rhythm section
with lead stuff thrown in.

And George was just so
beautiful with his lead playing.

But that's how it was.

We each brought something
different to the table

and it just fitted together.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR, "HERE'S TO
THE NIGHTS"]

(SINGING) Here's to
falling on your face--

You know, good Phil is
on about hey, look at me,

at about supporting the song.

On my track, "Here's
To The Nights,"

when the song is lifting up,
this is the most showy I get.

But it's just on the snare.

(SINGING) Here's to the--

[HUMS]

[PLAYING NOTES]

At time.

[PLAYING NOTES]

You ready?

GREGG BISSONNETTE: Yeah.

[APPLAUSE]

Yeah, there you go.

GREGG BISSONNETTE:
What a musical way

to just really play those
[BLOWS RASPBERRIES] little bam,

because those are singles.

[BLOWS RASPBERRIES] But on
songs like "Help," like "Ticket

To Ride," he does,
Jim, those double

stops with both hands
at the same time.

(SINGING) She's got
a ticket to ride.

And then all of a sudden,
bah, bah, bah, bah, bsh.

[PLAYING NOTES]

RINGO STARR: Yeah.

Yeah, that's a good example.

It's simple, but it
moves the song forward.

[PLAYING NOTES]

Yeah.

So it's like a man--

It's in his wrists.

GREGG BISSONNETTE:
What's that, Jim?

It's in his wrists.

GREGG BISSONNETTE:
It's the wrists, yeah.

Yeah.

It's also holding
like this, light.

JIM KELTNER: Yeah.

So it gives them time
to get their own bounce.

[PLAYING NOTES]

They're just loose and
relaxed and comfortable.

Loose as a goose.

I don't use really
anything besides my wrist

and my shoulder.

It's relaxed.

GREGG BISSONNETTE: Another
thing that you do a lot--

and I can't figure
out how to do this.

We'll be playing a shuffle
at sound checks, like--

[PLAYING NOTES]

Yeah.

You're doing it, brother.

I have no idea what that is.

[PLAYING NOTES]

Whoa.

He's showing off now.

That's actually like
a fake roll and a crash.

[PLAYING NOTES]

JIM KELTNER: Fake roll.

[LAUGHS]

[MUSIC - COZY COLE,
"TOPSY PART 1"]

I love this record.

And my stepdad,
Harry, played it to me

because he was the
guy in big bands.

It was just a tom, tom, thrill.

The first couple of
verses, they play straight.

But then it just
rocks out on the top.

I said wow.

You don't even have to
hit the snare, really.

Just play that big floor Tom.

And you play one
straight and then

I'll come in on the second
one, on the floor tom.

You got it.

Here we go.

[MUSIC - COZY COLE,
"TOPSY PART 1 AND 2"]

[LAUGHTER]

So that's "Topsy Part
1 and 2," our version.

It was a very important
record in my life,

because it sort of changed
just changed the way--

you don't have to be
doing this all the time.

You can just rock on the
tom or make patterns up.

And it really helped.

We've talked about the
George Lewis Trad Band,

where he played the whole
section on his bass drum.

It was like, I
was 18 and 17, 18.

Wow.

As long as you've got a
snare and a bass drum,

you've got enough, really.

That's what I think.

You know hearing
you talk about that,

that I believe was probably the
very beginning of what became

your future feel, what you felt
music as, which is always just

a slight bit of swing in it.

RINGO STARR: Yeah.

Yeah.

JIM KELTNER: I never
knew that before.

I mean, I have to
thank all those guys,

from Cozy to the drummer
in Little Richard's band,

and my stepdad, because he had
all these big band records.

And one day, he came up to
me and I'm playing my stuff.

He said, have you heard this?

I said, who is it?

It's this girl
called Sarah Vaughan.

[LAUGHS] And she was great.

The good taste of that
man, to have Sarah Vaughn.

But all the big bands he
was listening to, all swing.

There was no rock then.

Everything was swing, and we
turned it into shuffle a bit.

The first time we were
doing a sound check,

and I thought I was going
to play "Tomorrow Never

Knows" for fun, I was playing
it the wrong way, like this.

[PLAYING NOTES]

And then Ringo casually
comes up and plays

it like I can't
do-- because he's

got a much stronger left hand--
with his left hand on the top.

[PLAYING NOTES]

And I'm like, I got to
work on my left hand.

I said, you do both of
those with your left hand?

He said, why wouldn't I?

You're taking your hand off
the cymbal for a minute--

[PLAYING NOTES]

--so it's so natural.

Well, yeah, but that's where
being left-handed had its good

points, as well.

Only a madman who's playing
a right-hand good kit who's

left-handed would think of that.

And I just love your
thing, once you--

[PLAYING NOTE]

He's doing a crash
with his left hand

because everybody crosses over.

(SINGING) You
don't call me that.

You know, Bangladesh,
playing with Ringo, for me,

was one of the
highlights of my playing.

And I told Gregg earlier,
I tried to get out of that.

I told George-- I said, man,
you don't want to mess that up.

You got Ringo.

And he said, yeah, but Ringo
wants you to do it, too.

Yeah.

JIM KELTNER: So I
said, all right.

OK.

I remember thinking that
the only way this was really

going to work is if I
let him play the high hat

and I tried to
avoid the high hat.

That way, I could just be
with him on the back beat

and so forth.

And it worked great
because I've always

felt, amongst all the
things that Ringo brings

to the music, the
high hat, and the way

he starts and goes through
a song with his high hat

is the magic.

So then when we played
and I heard it back--

I heard the first thing
back, I realized, wow.

I can't hear two drums.

And so then the next
thing that I realized

was that our heartbeats
were very, very similar

for backbeat on the snare drum.

And I thought, well,
that is obvious

because who did I listen to
most when I was coming up?

Who did everybody
listen to in those days?

It was on the radio
24/7 all the time.

So whether you were
studying it or not,

you were influenced
by Ringo Starr.

I was.

And so from that time on,
I always played this side--

just this side of the beat, just
a little bit late on the beat.

And that's pretty much where
Ringo has always played.

Man, Jim is my all-time
favorite drummer because when

we played together--

and I've played with
several drummers.

And they're all doing drum
boogie when it's a ballad

or it's slow.

Jim and I have this thing.

So it didn't matter
what the song is.

I'm playing up.

[IMITATES DRUMS]

I relax now because
he'll take the next one.

He'll take the next fill.

He knows where it's going to go.

And he'll stop, too.

I've been playing with
someone and I go--

[PLAYING NOTES]

I just get started,
and this other person's

playing like you.

[GROWLS]

[LAUGHS]

No.

But he's busy.

And I don't feel there's
any real need for business

in drumming.

It's being part of it.

And I'm going to show
you something now

that I think you'll all enjoy.

We're going to just play
a straight four pattern.

And I'm going to do a fill.

Then you're going to do a fill.

And then you're
going to do a fill.

GREGG BISSONNETTE: OK.

RINGO STARR: And the
reason I'm doing this is we

are three different people
and we play certain things

differently.

So I'm going to start.

[PLAYING NOTES]

And I want to end with that.

Quiet, Jim.

I want to end with that, because
for all you guys starting out,

there's many roads you
can take as a drummer.

And this is just three of
them I've just shown you.

And whatever you
feel good doing--

if you want to be heavy metal,
if you want to be country,

if you want to be rock, there's
all these roads you can take.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR,
"PHOTOGRAPH"]

RINGO STARR: Being open-minded
and trying new things

is the only way you're
going to grow as an artist.

I love the Roland.

There's a plug for you.

I needed a new model.

[CHUCKLES]

But you know what is
incredible is that I

play the kit, the organic kit.

Looks like that,
and it's this guy.

Then I get on the Roland,
and it's like someone

else completely.

[DRUMS PLAYING]

It's me, but it's like you can
do crazier stuff or whatever.

You know, I do stuff I wouldn't
attempt on the organic kits.

You know, it's not
like you're mine.

You know, I can't
have it sounding

like a xylophone on this kit.

You know, if you hit that
cymbal at the right time,

it turns into an orchestra.

You know, so we go, moo dow,
dow, dow, dow, ponk, donk,

donk-a-donk.

Dow, dow, dow, dow,
dow, donk, donk.

You know, you can just
have a great time.

But I do put it down in a
serious fashion sometimes.

But it's still no wonder
to me what you can get.

I love it.

Being creative is
simply who I am.

It's what I do.

You can be a musician and
do other things as well.

I mean, I love to paint.

I started painting,
actually, in Monaco.

I lived in Monaco.

I had an apartment
there for 30-odd years.

And it's only rock and roll.

All those painters that came
here because of the light,

wow, I can see that light.

And I went and bought canvases,
paints, an easel, brushes,

and I just started.

And it was so beautiful.

I was having so much fun.

But I did have to
get over wanting

to paint like Rembrandt.

You just put your own brush on
your own canvas and off you go.

And you can make your own rules.

Like this one time, I had
all these half-empty tubes

of paint.

So I just put a
canvas on the floor.

I pressed the tubes, whatever
was it, and wherever it went.

Just did that, and
then I put it up,

and I took a Polaroid shot
I'd taken of something,

but that became the brush.

And I just sort of was
sweeping it across.

And my heart was beating.

I mean, it was like, what?

And now it looks underwater.

All this sort of stuff
is growing underwater

but it acts like a sweep to it.

It's like what?

Yeah, I love that painting.

That was a great moment for me.

That's why I keep talking
about that painting.

But I've got other paintings.

You know, I can't paint
you looking like you.

I can put a head
on a body, but--

[LAUGHING]

--that's my painting.

It just keeps me
going, you know.

And I do computer art.

I like that too,
because the program I

use has a bucket so you can put
a lot of paint over everything

quick.

And I was doing it
before, and on the road.

And then I forgot
all about drumming,

and I forgot all about
art, or anything else.

And then in '88, I started
to lighten up and get back

on track, and put the first
All-Starr Band together.

And, you know,
you're on the road.

What do you do?

So then there's
the computer then.

Oh, my.

Good, I can do it on that.

You know, it's not like
something I think out a lot.

It's just another
creative outlet for me.

You can have as
many as you want.

You know, I'm blessed.

I have the time.

I have the space.

And I can-- you
know what I'll do?

I'll paint today.

If you want to stay
inspired, open your eyes.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR,
"PHOTOGRAPH"]

(SINGING) Every time I see your
face, it reminds me of the--

All the proceeds from my half
go to supporting the Lotus

Foundation.

That's the foundation Barbara
and I started a long time ago.

Maybe she can tell me the year.

BARBARA BACH: '98.

[LAUGHING] It's
something I started in '98.

[LAUGHING]

Barbara and I
started it in 1998.

It's a charity
foundation that supports

a lot of different causes,
like substance abuse, cancer,

homelessness, WaterAid,
and Black Lives Matter.

A lot of when I'm working, like
the drum dealers for the Lotus

Foundation, there's the
stick deal, the T-shirts,

and all of that.

So we support it that way.

And it's still going strong,
and we're doing the best we can.

We, you know--

WaterAid has always
been a big one for me.

I think everybody, if nothing
else, should have water.

But it's not all big.

You know, we did a bench for the
people in Cranleigh in England,

where we lived so they
could sit in the park.

We had this kid who was so
bad with cerebral palsy,

he couldn't do it on a chair.

He needed a bed.

So we got him a BMX-type bed.

And he was in school
and he just loved it.

And that makes your heart sing.

So that's another way I
stay inspired, and stay

involved in the world.

And I think we all now should
be focusing on climate change.

I mean, what-- you
know, it's so silly

that these countries say no.

I think every petrol-driven
car should be burned tomorrow,

and everyone has to go electric.

[LAUGHS] That would help.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR,
"PHOTOGRAPH"]

(SINGING) I thought I'd make
it the day you went away.

It's so important
for me to spread

the message of peace and
love because peace and love

is contagious.

It came in the '60s
out of America,

and then all the
hippie movements.

It was a beautiful moment,
and we jumped right in.

You can see pictures of
the Beatles in the '60s,

and one of us is doing this.

John was doing it.

Now Paul's doing it.

I'm doing it, or
we're all doing it.

We came right into
peace and love.

And the music changed.

All the music changed, and
the festivals were playing.

And they were like,
peace and love.

And it was such a
great new attitude.

But we have to thank
Timothy Leary for that.

And now, children, you'll
have to look that up

in your encyclopedia.

[LAUGHS] Timothy
Leary, [CHUCKLES]

that's where it started,
and we kept it up.

The force of peace and
love is still with me.

I still believe in it,
and I can't demand you

peace and love.

I can only do it myself.

And I go peace and love, and
someone else does it too.

There's two seconds
of peace and love.

It all adds up in the world.

And you can do it in the
morning, in the afternoon,

in the evening.

You know, there's no special
time, peace and love.

We were playing a gig,
and this guy was late.

I mean, usually I
pick on them anyway.

Oh, you're late.

You want us to start again?

You know, we have fun.

And he came late,
and I said, and I

suppose you think
that shirt looks good.

And the whole audience went boo!

[LAUGHS] So I said, I mean
that with peace and love.

[CHUCKLES] I got away with it.

But yeah, we have fun.

I was in New York and doing
interviews for the tour,

and it was my
birthday coming up.

And one of the
interviewers says,

what would you like
the fans to get you,

to do for you, to give you?

And I said, I don't
know where it came from.

And I said, I'd love them all
at noon to go, peace and love,

wherever you are, on a bus,
down a mine, in a club,

in the street, wherever,
peace and love.

If I'm on tour and
it's my birthday,

we do the peace and love moment.

You know, that's what we do.

[MUSIC - RINGO STARR,
"PHOTOGRAPH"]

If I can give you
anything to take away

after you've seen
this MasterClass,

it's just love
what you're doing.

And, you know, it doesn't mean
you all have to be musicians.

I know a lot of you
are looking at me

right now because
you are musicians,

because that's what I am.

And I've loved it.

And the players I've played
with, so many of them

just love it.

And it doesn't matter if there's
40,000 or 40 people, like when

we played these places.

You know, we started in
clubs, and you've just

got to get yourself
some friends and play.

The more you play,
the better life is.

If you want to be a musician, or
if you want to be a scientist,

go for it, and enjoy going for
it, because that's the battle.

And, yeah, I mean, I
can only tell you, I--

still, my heart is
filled with drums today.

And I hope yours is too.

Peace and love, everybody.

Thank you.

Good night.

OK no, no, no, don't worry.

RINGO STARR: I love to jam.

You know, it's such a great
moment for a lot of guys

just to play.

Not all musicians can jam.

I'm blessed.

With all the people
in the All Starrs,

we do a sound check
and we end up jamming

[UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

Just let me check if we're on.

Did you get any of that?

Are we on?

STEVE LUKATHER: That's what
happens when a bunch of guys

walk around the stage, and
go, what do you want to play?

RINGO STARR: Give me a
bit more piano, Bruce.

I've known these
guys for a long time

and the connection
just gets deeper.

Jamming is so great
because we're just

five, six, 10
musicians let loose,

following whoever's leading.

Say the guitar moves
it, or the bass

gives the line, or
the drummer changes

it from a waltz to rock.

I just love the openness of it.

All right, stop everybody, stop!

Two, three.

No!

I've got a call!

Stop!

God's sakes!

Hi out there, young musicians.

I'd like to tell
you something great,

that I made a few phone
calls and Nathan East on bass

said he's coming over.

Joe Walsh on guitar
said, yeah I'm coming.

Steve Lukather says,
I'm coming too,

and Jim Cox on piano
over there said,

I'm coming, too and Gregg
Bissonnette on drums,

Jim Keltner on drums.

My name is Ringo
and I'm on drums.

We're just going
to jam, just so you

know that you can just hang
out with your pals and rock!

STEVE LUKATHER: I like that
New Orleans thing, man.

Come on.

[JAZZY ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUSE]

We rehearsed a
long time for that.

Well that was fucking fun, okay!

That's all I got to say.

When's the last
time you had fun?

It really was.

I'm trying to get through
just to say MasterClass,

we love you!

And I want to thank you for
putting all this together

for us, and ending up on
stage with these boys is

just fabulous.

And I hope you like
the jam, that's just

for you who are watching it.

Ringo's MasterClass.

The jam.

Okay, you've got it,
brothers and sisters.

Peace and love, peace
and love, peace and love!

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]