Originally Posted by jr.

Well, it should also be taken into consideration that Ringo was a ground breaker in one aspect...he got equal billing with the rest of the Beatles. Up until that time, (the early 60's), the band members were an afterthought. Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Bill Haley and the Comets, etc, etc. Ringo learned to play the drums in the 50's, when all there was to drumming was keeping the beat for the 'real' act, the singer. Also, he came from a lot tamer time, as well. Flambouancy was limited.

Liberace, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard. That was about it, as far as being flashy. Oddly enough, three of those four played piano. Other than Buddy Rich in the 50's, and Gene Krupa before that, there were no drummers with flash. That simply wasn't how music was built back then.

Without googling, can anyone name 5-10 drummers from bands before the Beatles? I certainly can't. Ringo may not have been innovative or much of a free spirit, but her certainly blazed a trail for drummers that still carries on today. He brought drummers to the fore, perhaps inspiring the John Bohnams and Keith Moons and Noel Reddings and Ginger Bakers of the world to follow his cue, grab some spotlight of their own.

Those drummers of the mid to late 60's took the backbone of rock and roll, the drums, and experimented, expanded, evolved. In my opinion, that was the evolution of drumming. Right after Ringo, into the 70's. It got wild!!

No, Ringo didn't invent it, but he certainly changed the drummer's role in rock and roll. After Ringo, the drummer was no longer the guy in the back that no one ever noticed unless he screwed up.

He wasn't a crap drummer. He wasn't a great drummer. He was simply the drummer, and he got his picture taken with the guitartists and the bassist. Equal billing. A first in rock and roll.