Happy Birthday Ringo Starr: Performing Live Through The Decades

Ringo Starr was born Richard Starkey on this day, July 7, 1940, in Liverpool, England. Ringo is most famous as the drummer for The Beatles and his rock steady beat anchored the band even when they couldn’t hear themselves over screaming fans during the height of Beatlemania. He also sang some of their most iconic songs including “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Yellow Submarine” as well as penned numbers like “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Octopus’s Garden.”

Ringo’s presence on the screen in The Beatles’ 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night garnered praise from critics — who could forget the famous scene of him wandering by the Thames (he also coined the phrase for which John Lennon used for the title song). Ringo would continue to act, write and direct throughout his career. After the breakup of The Beatles in 1970, Ringo launched a successful solo music career, clocking a number of Top 10 hits and two No. 1s.

The lad from Liverpool has come a long way since wanting to own a chain of hair salons. To celebrate Sir Richard Starkey’s birthday, below is a video playlist of Ringo performing through the decades.

Kicking off the playlist is The Beatles performing in Blackpool, England in 1965 where Ringo introduces himself as “singing all out of key and nervous” before launching into Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally.” Next up is Ringo, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and others performing Ringo’s solo hit “It Don’t Come Easy” at Madison Square Garden in the summer of 1971 for George’s Concert For Bangladesh.

Ringo debuted the first incarnation of his All Starr Band in 1989, which featured his son Zak Starkey on drums for a performance of his 1973 No. 1 hit “Photograph” co-written with George Harrison. The playlist continues at Pine Knob Theatre in 1997 where Ringo joined Peter Frampton and Cream bassist Jack Bruce for a performance of the Cream classic “Sunshine Of Your Love.”

Stepping into the new millennium, Ringo & His All Starr Band perform “Yellow Submarine” at Chicago’s Rosemont Theatre in 2001. To close out the playlist in the current decade is a video of Ringo performing The Beatles’ “Get Back” with Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood at London’s O2 Arena in 2018.

Click on the playlist below to check out Ringo performing through the decades: