Born on July 7, 1940, in Liverpool, England Ringo joined the Beatles in 1962 replacing original drummer Pete Best. Starr’s contributions to the band’s sound and style were significant, and he played on all of the Beatles’ albums. In addition to his drumming, Starr also sang lead vocals on several of the band’s hit songs, including “With a Little Help from My Friends” and “Yellow Submarine.”
After the Beatles, Starr also had a great successful solo career both as an actor and a musician. He released many solo albums and singles and worked on numerous films and television shows. Despite that, he is still humble about his origins and has revealed some of the best live shows he has seen.
In an interview in 2018 with Howard Stern, alongside his brother-in-law, Joe Walsh, he was asked which were the best concerts he ever went to. To our surprise, he revealed some of them and the list goes on like this.
The Artists Ringo Star Said Were The Best He Saw Live
Bob Dylan
Before all that, Ringo had the opportunity to record with Bob and even played with him. It was the song ‘Heart of Mine’, alongside The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. Dylan also played harmonica and sang a couple of lines in Ringo’s song ‘Wish I Knew Now (What I Knew Then)”. The track however was never released officially.
He stated, “He was great. I’ve seen Bob 100 times and you get what you get. And you still love it. I saw Bob in the ‘60s when he first came, and he played the Albert Hall. A lot of people in sweaters stood up screaming at him, ‘Traitor! Traitor!’ Because he’d gone a bit rock.”
Eric Clapton
Ringo told, “I saw Clapton years ago in L.A. and Carlos Santana got up. It’s just one of those beautiful musical moments. They’re both soloing and jamming. Carlos was just on. Eric just took his hands off the guitar and gave it to him. I thought, that’s big. I get tingles thinking about that night.”
Eric also played a guitar solo in a Beatles track. He was invited to play the solo in their classic track ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ which was written by Geroge Harrison. Ringo has talked about Eric on multiple occasions and revealed he was the one who introduced him to The Band.
During an interview with Spin in 2022, he said, “I loved the Band. I was in New York. George was in New York in the same hotel, and Jimi Hendrix was in the same hotel. Eric [Clapton] (also) was in town. He’d just been out, hanging out with The Band. He came with the acetate of the Band’s first album. He said, ‘Oh, you’ve got to listen to this, man.’ And, we played it, we all fell in love with it. It was a great record, it stands on its own. It is good.”
Jimi Hendrix
We all know about the infamous story of when Ringo kicked Jimi out of his apartment. It was because Jimi had thrown whitewash on the walls of the apartment after an acid trip. Back then, the rent was only £30.
Ringo revealed that he was one of the best guitarists he had ever seen. He recalled that “he was great”. Starr also talked about seeing him many times in the clubs of London before he rose to stardom. A very interesting story is only a few days after The Beatles released their album ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ Hendrix performed a live version of the song. Even the Beatles were present in the audience and his version was liked by everyone.
Delaney & Bonnie
Delaney & Bonnie was an American blues rock duo that consisted of husband and wife Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. They had a very short career. It lasted from 1967 to 1972 but during those five years of career, the duo released six albums.
Still to this day, they are remembered as pioneers of blues rock and for their contributions to the development of the southern rock genre. And seeing them live was one of the best shows, according to Ringo. He revealed that they were one of the best ones he ever saw. Ringo told to Howard Stern, “One was Bonnie and Delaney [Bramlett]”
Overall, these four artists represent some of the best live performers that Ringo Starr has ever seen. From Eric Clapton to mesmerizing guitar playing of Jimi Hendrix, his list is full of captivating artists. All these artists have left a lasting impression on the music world and on Starr himself.
