Without Ringo On Ed Sullivan 60 Years Ago Today, How Would Your Drumming Life Be Different?

Son of Vistalite Black

Son of Vistalite Black

Well-known Member
Music evolves over time, there is no gap where you can say something ended and another thing started. Someone famously said (Porcaro, maybe Steve Jordan) we are all standing on the shoulders of those who went before us.
There was no Ed Sullivan Show in the UK or Europe. I wasn't aware of the Ed Sullivan hoo-ha for years.
But I was impacted by The Beatles music and without even knowing it, I was tapping along with fork and spoon at the kitchen table as a five year old.
The drummers that inspired me early on might have been inspired by Ringo. And my favourite 70's fusion drummers inspired many 80's drummers, who inspired 90's drummers etc, etc...
 
you can't change the past . zorro ? lone ranger ? batman ? sgt. rock .... or ringo ? though at times i tried to be all of these at once , drumming won the day .
 
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As I posted on the Young Tic Tok thread, you hear it over and over, even from well known influential and famous drummers, that Ed Sullivan was one of the defining moments to them, if not THE defining moment.
It was before my time. It's just what I hear and see said.
 
Chris Whitten said:
Music evolves over time, there is no gap where you can say something ended and another thing started. Someone famously said (Porcaro, maybe Steve Jordan) we are all standing on the shoulders of those who went before us.
There was no Ed Sullivan Show in the UK or Europe. I wasn't aware of the Ed Sullivan hoo-ha for years.
But I was impacted by The Beatles music and without even knowing it, I was tapping along with fork and spoon at the kitchen table as a five year old.
The drummers that inspired me early on might have been inspired by Ringo. And my favourite 70's fusion drummers inspired many 80's drummers, who inspired 90's drummers etc, etc...
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I think that quote has ben attributed to a few guys. Steve Smith mentioned it too...in hid DVD of the same name.

Last night, I was just telling girlfriend, who is a very slight Beatles fan, exactly the impact they had. A few other huge names came up too; Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Taylor Swift, etc...absolutely massive influence, but we aren't talking about THEIR first US concert 60 years later.

I wasn't alive then, so I can't offer first-hand experience but it seemed there was nothing like Beatlemania before them to compare it too.

What still blows my mind is that their entire recorded history is only like 7 years, yet the ENTIRE musical landscape would look completely different without the Beatles.
 
I watched the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. I was 14 years old. By that time I had been playing the drums for about 10 years. The year before, 1963, my father brought me a new Slingerland drum set. The show had a big impact on me. And, of course my 17 year old sister LOVED it! I remember thinking “Yeah, that’s what I want to do with my drumming!”

My father (a professional drum teacher) thought otherwise. He envisioned me as a jazz drummer or a percussionist in an orchestra. As he watched Ringo play, he pointed out the errors in his technique. Matched grip, sitting too high, not moving his high-hat foot, etc. And of course the Beatle hair cut was just horrible. I was not allowed to have long hair back then. In fact you could get expelled from school for having hair touching the top of your ear. Our lead guitar player was expelled from school.

But I remember enjoying the show very much. But at the time I did not understand the screaming girls. About one year later I joined a rock and roll band!

.
 
Looking backwards there was, or there has become, a definite delineation point to perceive.

Also, the Beatles didn't even initially know their impact on the US market until touchdown. That's how slowly info traveled at the time. They got swept into a whirlwind. A population at the right age with the needed mindset on a technology bridging the old demographic to the new. A stiff, balding Ed hosting the kids.
 
Chris Whitten said:
Music evolves over time, there is no gap where you can say something ended and another thing started. Someone famously said (Porcaro, maybe Steve Jordan) we are all standing on the shoulders of those who went before us.
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Very truly spoken. You can't forget forget Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Chick Webb, Gene Krupa - did Ringo get his "sound" from any of them? I think @Chris Whitten mentioned in an earlier non-related post, that folks liked his sound and that's why they wanted his participation. I'm guessing that Sir Paul could have any drummer in the world at his beck-and-call - he chose @Chris Whitten!

My drumming journey is only about 17 years old - I can't say that I studied any single drummer's style, but I'm sure that most all of our storied drummers have slivers of their influence in me as a drummer.

FWIW, Mom and Dad had a television set back in 1964 and surely watched Ed Sullivan, but I sure don't remember that episode. My earliest TV memory is the assassination of John F. Kennedy - Mom cried and paced through the house like a lost puppy looking for solace.

Topo Gigio probably had more of an influence on me than Ringo.
 
Smoke said:
FWIW, Mom and Dad had a television set back in 1964 and surely watched Ed Sullivan, but I sure don't remember that episode. My earliest TV memory is the assassination of John F. Kennedy - Mom cried and paced through the house like a lost puppy looking for solace.
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My Mom from time to time offers me a psychological crutch since she was carrying me as yet unborn in her final months when Kennedy was assassinated.
She thinks that's what's wrong with me? Lol. No, it was probably the hippy swingeresque then drunken parent environment that I was raised in, Mom. But thank you for the great concerts.
 
In terms of what would be different for me if the beatles had not happened, very little as the groups rising alongside the beatles would have sufficed to change the musical landscape.(groups that shared influences with the beatles)

i dont think the beatles had exclusive rights to the emergence of music that happened in that era...it was the relative banal musical landscape and the industry of the time not understanding what was happening with younger people and their purchasing power.

I stand on the shoulders of the greats that came after the beatles...and who rarely reference the beatles as strong influences...for right or wrong.

As far as non-musical influence...none I can see except a deep sadness for the pit of violence that visited celebrities of the time(rest in peace johns, martin, and jack).
 
Loved Ringo but it didn't matter really. Charlie was still there. Dino..John Barbata.. You know the list.
 
Son of Vistalite Black said:
Whether or not you were one of the 73 million people watching Ed Sullivan on this day (Feb. 9) in 1964, what impact have Ringo Starr and the other three Beatles had on your life as a drummer, yoga enthusiast or, in the case of George, purchaser of exotic automobiles?
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I remember being mesmerized by "that drummer, Ringo" on Ed Sullivan. I would turn 5 two and a half weeks later; I always said I wanted to play drums since age 5, so perhaps Ringo's influence was a greater catalyst in my life than I realized. My first faux drum set, I built it myself out of buckets and plastic containers. I used old 2x4's to make cymbal stands, lol. To top it off, I built a riser upon which I perched and played...just like Ringo. :cool:
 
I, like many, started being interested in playing drums because of Ringo. In 1964 I was seven years old. Peace and goodwill.
 
No impact. I was 8 years old. I listened to the music. The drummer was irrelevant to me. Other than ELP and Led Zeppelin later, I never paid attention to the drummers even though I started playing in 1966. I paid attention to Buddy Rich when he was on The Tonight Show, because I got to meet with him and hang out with him at a friends house in the 70's. He bought the pizza. I really cared less who drummer was in Cream, The Who, The Beatles, or The Stones.
 
I was nine years old when I first saw Ringo on Ed Sullivan. He was my first eye opening exposure to drumming. He sparked my interest in playing. Many other great drummers have fueled that fire of interest since then.

I can't say that I wouldn't be a drummer without there being a Ringo. He was though, so it's his fault. He started it.
 
2 hit wonder said:
My Mom from time to time offers me a psychological crutch since she was carrying me as yet unborn in her final months when Kennedy was assassinated.
She thinks that's what's wrong with me? Lol. No, it was probably the hippy swingeresque then drunken parent environment that I was raised in, Mom. But thank you for the great concerts.
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If you are lucky enough to have your Mom above the sod, please give her a hug and tell her you Love Her. Days are short and time is fleeting. Don't waste them!
 
Hollywood Jim said:
My father (a professional drum teacher) thought otherwise. He envisioned me as a jazz drummer or a percussionist in an orchestra. As he watched Ringo play, he pointed out the errors in his technique. Matched grip, sitting too high, not moving his high-hat foot, etc.
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I love love love watching footage of Ringo play on those early tours. So much energy, like a proto-punk who swings. But I can absolutely see how a teacher would have been aghast.
 
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