Ringo and Paul: Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame

Paul inducted Ringo

Here’s Paul McCartney’s speech to Ringo when the drummer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Saturday.

OK. Ringo Starr was born in Liverpool at a very early age, and he had a hard childhood. Real hard childhood, but he had a beautiful mom, Elsie, and a lovely stepdad Harry. 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.

Later on he joined a group called Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. And we saw these guys when we were out in Hamburg, we were playing out there. And Ringo was like a professional musician. We were just like, slumming around and doing stuff, but he had a beard — that’s professional. He had the suit. Very professional. And he would sit at the bar drinking bourbon and seven. We’d never seen anyone like this. This was like, a grown-up musician.

Anyway, we got friendly with him, and he used to come in late night when we were playing, and he requested a couple of songs, so we got to know him. And one night our drummer then, Pete Best, wasn’t available, so Ringo sat in. And I remember the moment. I mean, Pete was great, and we had a good time with him. But me, John and George, God bless ’em, were on the front line singing, and now behind us we had this guy we’d never played with before, and I remember the moment when he started to play – I think it was Ray Charles, “What’d I Say,” and most of the drummers couldn’t nail the drum part, it’s a little bit [sings a bit of it]. It was a little difficult to do, but Ringo nailed it. Yeah — Ringo nailed it! And I remember the moment, standing there and looking at John and then looking at George, and the look on our faces was like, fuck you. What is this? And that was the moment, that was the beginning, really, of the Beatles.

Anyway, then we started this great journey for these four guys from Liverpool who were . . .we just set off on their journey. We did ballrooms and clubs around England, and we got a little work in Europe, and then we eventually came to America. And here we were, we were staying in rooms together. And I wasn’t a sheltered kid, but I just had my mom and dad growing up and my brother. So I was staying in a hotel room with a strange man. This really brought us together. We lived like in each other’s pockets, virtually. But it was a beautiful thing, a wonderful thing. Eventually we got on The Ed Sullivan Show, and we got really famous. It was just so beautiful. As all the other drummers say, he just is something so special. When he’s playing behind you, you see these other bands, they’re looking around at the drummer, like, is he going to speed up, is he going to slow down? You don’t have to look with Ringo.

It’s a great honor for me to be able to induce him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland tonight!

And here’s Ringo’s thank you speech:

Thank you. I want to thank Paul for all the great things you told us…some of them are true. You know, it’s a great honor to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was doing the press and they’re all saying, “Well, why did you wait so long?” It has nothing to do with me. You have to be invited. But anyway, apparently I’m invited and I love it. I also love that I got lucky that it’s happening in Cleveland, and I’ll tell you why. When I started playing, I was playing in skiffle bands, sort of house party bands…and you know we had a guitarist, the first band I was in was really great…I had a snare drum and Roy, the bass player had a T-chest bass with a hole in it and strings.

And so we’re playing this skiffle music, playing anywhere we could. And then I joined a couple of other bands and I always wanted to play with great players and I kept moving up a little; up to the next band. Of course, I did end up with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and when I joined them, we were still a bit of a country folk band, and the guitarists in those days — this is a nice one for all you big guitarists with the big amps — we played the Cavern Club, which was a jazz club in Liverpool. And he brought a radio to plug into so we’d be electric. And we got thrown off. “Get out of here! That’s not quite jazz.” Anyway, we started off with a radio, the first amp we had. Things got going a lot better and we ended up playing a lot in Liverpool and around Liverpool. We never made it anywhere else, but while that was going on, I was working in a factory. After the things I’ve sat through tonight. Blah blah blah. I got some stories.

I was working in the factory and playing at night and every Sunday, you know we lived in England, we only had the BBC. And to madness, there was a small country in Europe called Luxembourg, very small, population of about 6…and for some reason, they had the biggest radio master. And they bought the Alan Freed Rock & Roll show. And for the first time I heard…well I have to backtrack now, wait a minute to ’55…Bill Haley was my hero…he was like the first one. Elvis came in.

But anyway, I’m listening to this guy on a Sunday at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and I hear Little Richard, first time ever. I hear Jerry Lee Lewis. And heard rock and roll music, because we weren’t getting a lot of that stuff in England, and it came from this very small country. So 4 o’clock every Sunday, Rory and I would go to his house and turn on the radio and Alan Freed would introduce us to so many great rockers. And when I was a teenager, once…we played Little Richard, “Shag on Down to the Union Hall,” it wasn’t insulting to us, it’s very meaningful. We couldn’t believe we could hear this guy on the radio! Shag on down to the Union Hall! That seems a good place to go!

Ringo and Paul on stage

Also, I came from a port. A lot of sailors came to and from Liverpool, would bring music from New York and all over America. They’d drink all the money; they’d sell all records.  Anyway, I started collecting a lot of records, listening to music, and ended up in this rock and roll band. With Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, we go to Germany, and that’s where I met, you know, the Beatles. I met Paul, John (God Bless You), George (God Bless You). We came back to Liverpool, and there was a knock on my door. The drummer wasn’t well and would I sit in? Sure. Anyway, I was living that life then, I was out of the band, and I didn’t have to get up till noon. So, that was good. So I went and played a lunchtime session with George, John and Paul, and we had a great time. And then I went and showed in some clubs in Liverpool. They’re not around now. I’m sort of part of their downfall. And we became friends, we hung out, and then I would go back and play with the Beatles because the other drummer couldn’t make it.

Then, I got a call. We were playing a holiday camp in England, three-month gig, couldn’t believe how great that was. Like $24 a week. And I got a call from Brian Epstein … I got a call to say, this was Wednesday, would I join the Beatles. And I said, “Well, when do you want me to join?” And he said, “Tonight!” And I said, “No, I can’t do that. I’ve got a band here. We’ve got a job. I’ll come Saturday.” Because everybody in Liverpool, we were playing the same songs so, they picked the drums and he could play. That’s when this journey started.

It’s been an incredible journey for me with these three guys, who wrote these songs. I was talking just the other night. Paul had come in, strum some song to us, and we played it! We didn’t spend a lot of time. There was a lot of joining… The Beatles, you know, they were so big and so famous, but they shared rooms, you know…every hotel, when we’d gotten one, or guest houses. But when we’d go to hotels, we always had two rooms. And it didn’t matter who was with who, what would happen is we hung out. But until any band is in the room, you really get to know your other players. And another tip I brought for all bands who are starting out…when you’re in the band, here’s another tip, if you fart, hold your nose. Everyone’s blaming everyone else…we made a pact in the van, okay. That’s how we get on so well. 

I wanna tell ya, it’s been a beautiful night, hanging out…we’re gonna do a few numbers for you next. We gotta follow John Legend and Stevie Wonder for god’s sake. Anyway we’re gonna start with a number of…1960 I did this number. It was a woman that sung by the Shirelles and it just took my fancy — and it’s called “Boys.”

Some rigging of the stage then followed, with Ringo grabbing the microphone, entertaining the crowd. This went on for an uncomfortably long time, and Ringo ran out of material. So he put down the microphone and left the stage.

After several minutes, he came back with Joe Walsh on guitar, and performed  “It Don’t Come Easy.”

A hug and a kiss on the cheek

Paul McCartney came back on stage to join in on “With a Little Help From My Friends” on bass guitar only. Other artists also came on stage for the finishing jam, “I Wanna Be Your Man”. Paul sang the final verse, and the artists all left the stage. Paul and Ringo hesitated for a few seconds, grabbed each others hands and gave the audience a deep Beatles bow before it was over.