Richard Starkey was born in the front room of 9 Madryn Street in Liverpool's Dingle area, on
July 7, 1940 to Elsie and Richard Starkey. Father and son began to be referred to as Big Richie and Little Richie, although the marriage was soon to break up and the couple were divorced in 1943 when Elsie moved to nearby 10 Admiral Grove with her son. Richie attended St. Silas Infants' School where he began to suffer the first of many illnesses which seriously affected his education.       
At the age of six he was taken to the Royal Children's Infirmary in Myrtle Street, suffering from acute abdominal pains. A ruptured appendix was diagnosed and this led to an inflammed peritoneum and the first of several operations for the youth. He went into a coma for two months, during which there were other operations, but he finally emerged from the coma, although he remained in the hospital for several further months.
He returned to St. Silas where his classmates included Billy Fury and Billy Hatton, then
moved on to Dingle Vale Secondary Modern.
Elsie met and married a painter and decorator from Romford called Harry Graves, whom
Richie referred to as his "step ladder".
In 1953, at the age of thirteen, Richie caught a cold which turned into chronic pleurisy
necessitating another stay at Myrtle Street hospital. The illness caused some lung complications which resulted in the youth being sent to Heswall Children's Hospital in the
Wirral, where he remained until 1955.
For a time he had a job as delivery boy for British Rail, which lasted only a few months as
he failed the medical. He next took on a job as barman on a ferry to New Brighton for a short
time before becoming a trainee joiner at Henry Hunt and Sons, along with his next door
neighbor, Eddie Miles. Early in 1957, Eddie and Richie formed the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group with three other employees from Hunt's, and they made their debut at Peel Street
Labour Club. Richie's stepfather Harry bought him a secondhand drum kit and the aspiring
drummer soon changed outfits and became a member of the Darktown Skiffle Group, although
he also sat in with other bands. In March 1959, he made his debut with Al Caldwell's Texans
at the Mardi Gras Club in Mount Pleasant and decided to join the group, who were to change
their name to Rory Storm & The Hurricanes. They secured a booking at the Cavern, which
was strictly a jazz club at the time, using the name the Jazzmen, but were fined ten shillings
by owner Ray McFall for playing "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", because rock 'n roll was
not allowed to be played at the club at the time.
When the Hurricanes secured a summer season from July to September at the Butlin's
holiday camp in Pwllheli, Wales, performing in the Rock & Calypso Ballroom, they encouraged Richie to pack in his job at Hunt's. Rory Storm was a showman and he insisted
that Richie add some color to his act by renaming him Ringo Starr and introducing a solo
spot called "Ringo Starrtime", during which Richie, now named Ringo, sang numbers such
as "Boys" and "Your're Sixteen".
The Hurricanes became one of the most popular groups on Merseyside and in October, 1960
topped the bill at Hamburg's Kaiserkeller Club, above the Beatles. They were also paid more
money than the Beatles and could afford to stay at the Seamen's Mission. It was during their
trip to Hamburg that the Beatles and members of Rory Storm & The Hurricanes recorded at
the Akustik Studios, with a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Lu Walters.
On their return to Liverpool, the Hurricanes soon found that the Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers and other groups were now booked to headline over them. At one time, Ringo
considered joining the Seniors, then decided to take up an offer to be part of Tony Sheridan's
backing group at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg, and joined him there in January 1962. He
returned to Liverpool to take up the drum spot with the Hurricanes once more, but began to
feel at a loose end and even considered resuming his apprenticeship at Hunt's. He also
wrote to the Chamber of Commerice in Houston, Texas, to enquire about the possibility of
emigrating. He received the necessary forms, but couldn't be bothered filling them in. He
also contemplated marriage to his girlfriend Maureen Cox.
While the Hurricanes were appearing for yet another summer season at Butlin's, this time
in Skegness, Ringo received at letter from Kingsize Taylor offering him twenty pounds a
week if he would join them as a replacement for Dave Lovelady, who was leaving the group
to complete his studies. Ringo agreed to join him. Then, one day, John Lennon and Paul
McCartney turned up at the camp and offered Ringo 25 pounds a week if he'd join them.
The extra five pounds sealed it, and Ringo agreed to become a Beatle as from August 1962.
Much has been said about the musical prowess of the individual drummers. Pete Best was
noted as a top drummer in Liverpool and the reasons for him being sacked are more likely
to be based on the fact that John, Paul and George simply didn't want him in the band any
more, rather than the oft-touted theory that he wasn't a good enough drummer. The reason
they offered the job to Ringo is also more likely to be because they had played with him in
Hamburg and had become friendly with him and felt he would fit in with the band. He
certainly didn't have any major reputation as a drummer on Merseyside, as has been
suggested. If anyone was reckoned to be Liverpool's top drummer, it was Johnny Hutchinson
of the Big Three. Incidentally, Hutchinson considered Best to be an excellent drummer and
Billy Kramer was also to comment, "I don't think the Beatles were any better with Ringo Starr.
I never doubted his ability as a drummer but I thought they were a lot more raw and raucous
with Pete." Locally, fans were calling Ringo "The luckiest man in the world."
At the time, Ringo had a silver streak in his hair and a beard. These went, and he adopted
the Beatles-style haircut and image. When he arrived at Abbey Road Studios to record with
the group for the first time, the same thing happened to him that happened to Pete Best.
George Martin said he'd prefer to engage a session drummer, and the 32 year old Andy White was hired for the session.
Ringo was given his own solo spot with the Beatles, the chance to sing one song, as he'd
done in the "Ringo Starrtime" spot with Rory Storm & The Hurricanes. Ringo was also to have
his own vocal numbers on the Beatle's albums. They included "Boys" on "Please Please Me", "I Wanna Be Your Man" on "With The Beatles", "Honey Don't" on "Beatles For Sale",
"Act Naturally" on "Help!", "What Goes On" on "Rubber Soul", "Yellow Submarine" on "Revolver", "With A Little Help From My Friends" on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Don't Pass Me By" on "The Beatles", and "Octopus's Garden" on "Abbey Road".
There were only a handful of songs he performed on stage between 1962 and 1966: "Boys",
"Honey Don't", "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Act Naturally".

                       
As it turned out, Ringo was perfect for the Beatles and at one time was the most popular
member of the group with American fans. He also proved to be more of a natural actor than
any other members of the group and received favorable reviews for his performance in
"A Hard Day's Night". So much so, that he was put into the central position in their second
film "Help!". Over the years, Ringo appeared in more films than any other member of the
band. They included "Candy" (1968), "The Magic Christian" (1969), "Blindman" (1971), "200
Motels" (1971), "Born To Boogie" (1972), "Son Of Dracula" (1972), "That'll Be The Day" (1973), "Harry And Ringo's Night Out" (1974), "Lisztomania" (1975), "Sextette" (1978), "The
Last Waltz" (1978), "The Kids Are Alright" (1979), "Caveman" (1981), and "Give My Regards
To Broad Street" (1984).
Ringo married his long-time girlfriend Maureen Cox on February 11, 1965 and the couple
were to have three children: Zak, Jason and Lee. They pair were eventually to divorce in
July of 1975 and Ringo was to later marry Barbara Bach, his co-star in Caveman, on April 27, 1981.
Following the Beatles' break-up, Ringo had an initially successful solo recording career,
although this faded slightly over the years. His solo recordings included the albums:
"Sentimental Journey", "Beaucoups Of Blues", "Ringo", "Goodnight Vienna", "Blast From
Your Past", "Ringo's Rotogravure", "Ringo The Fourth", "Bad Boy" and "Stop And Smell The
Roses". His singles included "It Don't Come Easy", "Back Off Boogaloo", "Photograph",
"You're Sixteen", "Only You", "Snookeroo", "Oh My My", "A Dose Of Rock 'n Roll", "Hey Baby", "Drowning In The Sea Of Love", "Lipstick Traces", "Tonight" and "Wrack My Brain".
Ringo was also to appear in various TV shows, including his own special, "Ringo", and a
TV mini-series "Princess Daisy", with his wife Barbara.
After a number of years out of the limelight, during which he did voice-overs for the children's TV series "Thomas The Tank Engine" and experienced drinking problems, which
resulted in himself and Barbara attending a drying out clinic, he reappeared on the scene
with an All-Starr Band to tour America and Japan in 1989. This proved to be so successful
that he formed another All-Starr Band in 1992, which began an American and European tour
in June of 1992. Members comprised his son Zak, guitarists Dave Edmunds, Nils Lofgren,
Todd Rundgren and Joe Walsh, saxophonist Tim Cappello, bassist Timothy B. Schmit and
keyboards player Burton Cummings.