Ringo: With a Little Help

by Michael Seth Starr

Overview

(Book). Ringo: With a Little Help is the first in-depth biography of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who kept the beat for an entire generation and who remains a rock icon over fifty years since the Beatles took the world by storm. With a Little Help traces the entire arc of Ringo's remarkable life and career, from his sickly childhood to his life as The World's Most Famous drummer to his triumphs, addictions, and emotional battles following the breakup of the Beatles as he comes to terms with his legacy. Born in 1940 as Richard Starkey in the Dingle, one of Liverpool's most gritty, rough-and-tumble neighborhoods, he rose from a hardscrabble childhood marked by serious illnesses, long hospital stays, and little schooling to emerge, against all odds, as a locally renowned drummer. Taking the stage name Ringo Starr, his big break with the Beatles rocketed him to the pinnacle of worldwide acclaim in a remarkably short time. He was the last member of the Beatles to join the group but also the most vulnerable, and his post-Beatles career was marked by chart-topping successes, a jet-setting life of excess and alcohol abuse, and, ultimately, his rebirth as one of rock's revered elder statesman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617136573
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2016
Pages:	426
Sales rank:	664,533
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Michael Seth Starr (Northern, New Jersey) is the TV editor for the New York Post, where he has written about television for the past twenty years. He has authored biographies of Peter Sellers, Art Carney, Joey Bishop, Bobby Darin, Raymond Burr, and Redd Fox.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

1 Little Richy 1

2 "It Was In My Soul" 15

3 Ringo Starrtime 29

4 "Ringo was the Better Beatle" 47

5 "Ringo is a Good Beatle" 61

6 Beatlemania 73

7 "It Was Mad … But It Was Incredible" 101

8 "He is Like a Silent Comedian" 121

9 "I'm the Little Fellow" 141

10 Pounding "Rain" 161

11 "Sometimes I Feel I'd Like to Stop Being Famous" 185

12 "It Don't Come Easy" 219

13 "Better You than Someone We Don't Know" 233

14 "We Were Junkies Dabbling in Music" 245

15 "You Can't Try and Be Married" 255

16 "Can't Stop Lightning" 279

17 "Getting Out of Bed's a Problem These Days" 303

18 "We Need Help" 317

19 "Peace and Love" 331

Epilogue 353

Notes 361

Bibliography 389

Index 395