Was Pete Best really that bad of a drummer?

Yow. I'd rather not. A great rock band develops from musicians whose playing works well together, and fits the material being played. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Sticking in some guy who is "better" in terms of skill but has no liking or affinity for the music (or the entire genre) being played is hardly going to make things better.

 

to me its like a b side, something at the lower end of the cannon, however they regarded it highly enough to include it on a lot of their early set listings....

 

that is of course true, but he did luckily fit the personality bill, that was fortuitous for them.....and just think if they had had a different competent drummer but more talented in other areas like a Dave Clark or a Don a Henley, can you imagine the creative tensions that would have produced ?? they would defo have split by 1966 then lol !!!

 

it was so friggin exciting hear it on AM radio when it hit! BIG! they played the heck out of it! times were buzzing back then with a vibe that has never been repeated...it was music madness! damn! I am so fortunate to have been there as it was happening. I still have fresh memories of those days when we couldn't wait for their next record..

 

Not really; he was the drummer they wanted. They were good enough by 1962 that they probably could have had any drummer in Liverpool that they wanted, and they wanted Ringo.

 

Ringo wasn't hired for his singing.

 

No. Imagine Bonzo playing with the Nat King Cole Trio.

Ringo was perfect for the band. The whole package from his style, idiosyncratic fills, personality etc. fit that band to a T.

The last thing I would want is Buddy Rich on Helter Skelter.

And if by "right place, right time" you mean "actively pursued" and "#1 choice," then you're right.

 

Except that Ringo sang from the start. He was featured in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes with Starr Time with his vocals and drums. He had a limited range but that only limited which numbers he could sing. And then Paul and John wrote for his range. It was important to have another voice on stage to give John and Paul a break and change pace. They just stopped calling it Starr Time.

 

Pete had a spotlight piece as well. That seems to have been important to The Beatles as well as other Liverpool bands.

 

And even Stuart had his own vocal spot when he was in The Beatles.

 

Beatlemania was already well under way; 'From Me To You' had already been a no. 1 single for six or seven weeks and the 'Please Please Me' lp had already started its six-month run as the no. 1 lp (only being eventually replaced at no. 1 by 'With The Beatles').

 

Yes, Beatlemania was already underway in early to mid-1963. BUT the word "Beatlemania" may not have been coined until after "She Loves You" came out. Wasn't the word invented by the London press after the London Palladium TV show in October 1963?

 

Yes, that was the first UK sighting of the word.

 

What, you think the Beatles would've been better with another drummer? They were already the greatest rock band ever - Buddy Rich would've made them the greaterest?

As others have noted, a drummer like Rich would've been a terrible fit for the Beatles. Love him or hate him, Ringo was a great match for the material.

For those who think Ringo "held back" the Beatles, what precisely is it that some other drummer would've done to improve the songs? What exactly are all the Beatles songs made inferior due to Ringo's presence?

 

I like his drumming and I like his current group also. Hayman's Green is in the Top 17 Beatles Solo Albums for me.

 

Top 17? Along with four each from John, Paul, George and Ringo?

 

Yes. And we wouldn't have to listen to Yellow Submarine or Octopus's garden either.

 

No, but Imagine Bonzo with the Beatles

 

Great argument!

 

Listening to the Pete Best demos, I'm sorry but he's horrid. Sounds like a 1960s version of a drum machine....

 

No. Let's picture Bonzo drumming on Here There and Everywhere.

 

We do have Bonzo on the alternate version of Paul's "Beware My Love" (Wings 1976):

 

I actually think that Joe English played better on this song than did Bonham. Way better! To me, he's the best drummer Macca played with for more than a short time. Stellar playing on WOA/Rockshow.

 

The version with Bonzo was only a fun alternate. I don't think it was ever seriously considered to be part of the actual album.

 

Love those tunes. So, even with this non-sequitur response - you lose the argument.

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