Larry King Live
Ringo Starr: A Musical Legend
Aired June 17, 1998 - 9:00 p.m. ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KING: Tonight, one of the fab four, Ringo Starr launches his first solo album in years.
We'll talk about that and a lot more.
He's next on LARRY KING LIVE.
What a pleasure to have as our special guest for the full program tonight -- the one and
only Ringo Starr of -- well if I have to tell you who he is, you have a major problem.
The title is "Vertical Man."
RINGO STARR: "Vertical Man." Well, it actually came about -- I was in Monaco
where I live -- a few moments in my hand and I was just flipping through a book of quotes
that my stepdaughter Francesca (ph) (INAUDIBLE) at school, years ago, when she was like
15.
And this quote just jumped out at me, and it said let's hear it for the vertical man. So
much praise is given to the horizontal man. And I thought, hey, let me hear it now. That's
how it all started.
KING: Is there a tune with that title?
STARR: Yeah. But we had that title anyway. And the last song we wrote was "Vertical
Man." It wasn't around the song; it was around the quote.
KING: Why so long between albums?
STARR: Well, the last one came out in `92 -- 1992, not 1892, and then I was doing the old
stuff. I was on the road a lot. We were doing America, Japan, Europe and I don't know --
it's just like I wasn't ready to do another album, to go in the studio and spend the time
and promote it and I was having so much fun just playing.
So right around, 90 sort of 6, really, it started like germinating, maybe do an album. And
then last year -- February we started it, and started just by chance because I still
wasn't like fully committed, and I thought, well, I need to write some songs; I need to
like hang out with other people, and so a friend of ours son was a writer and heard this
track he wrote with Rock Hudson. His name is Dean Crockell (ph).
KING: Hudson of the...
STARR: Of the Hudson Brothers. He was the good-looking one.
(LAUGHTER)
I called him because I knew them and I called him and up I said, come on over and see if
we can write. Let's see...
KING: You got George and Paul to be involved, too, right?
STARR: Well, I'll get to that. So any way, these guys came over and we had so much fun
writing and it was really easy and then we thought, mark has this studio; let's go down to
the studio and demo the tracks. We were demoing and I said why are we making demo's; let's
just make a record and that's how it all started.
KING: Did George and Paul jump at it right away?
STARR: No. We did the -- actually, I did a couple of weeks work on the record, then I went
on tour with the All Starr's (ph). Then I did a couple of more weeks and I went to Europe.
And so it through the year, it wasn't like worked on yet a year, and so then when we'd
done the tracks, then you see who you would see who you would like to play with you. We
did the basic tracks and I did the vocals. What in the world was absolute certainty for
Paul and George Martin -- I wrote a song for Barbara called "I'm Yours." So
George Martin in England was going to do the strings. I called Paul and said we're coming
over anyway, and said I'd like you to play bass on this track.
KING: There is so much to talk about.
STARR: I know.
KING: With Ringo Starr. The new album is "Vertical Man." We'll be talking about
that more later.
Why drums?
STARR: That's all I ever wanted to play.
KING: When you were a kid?
STARR: Thirteen years old. It's Just like a flash of lightning.
KING: What do you think that is -- do you like making noise?
STARR: Yeah, I think all the kids like making noise.
KING: Right -- waking up people?
STARR: Yeah, waking up people, just making noise, really. But I never wanted to play
anything else. My grandparents played mandolin ukelele and they gave me that and I didn't
wanted that. Again, dad gave me a harmonica -- nothing. We had a piano at home, I used to
walk on it. I only wanted to play the drums.
KING: There was Beatles when you joined them, right?
STARR: Yeah.
KING: There was another drummer who left?
STARR: Well, there were several drummers before me, but I came in `62 and replaced the
last one they had at that period.
KING: Were they a hit when you came in?
STARR: Not really. They were big in Liverpool. I was in the biggest band in Liverpool,
Rory Storm, at the time, but the Beatles, were the band I used to go and see. I used to
love the front line, with John, Paul, and George. They were just the coolest, and we
played in Germany together, you know, so
KING: A natural fit, then?
STARR: Well, they called me. I had a gig at the time when Brian Epstein called and said,
would you join and I said, sure, when? And I said sure when, today, and I said, no I can't
join today, because I would have put this band out of work (INAUDIBLE). So I said
Saturday.
KING: Did you fit in right away?
STARR: Yeah. I mean, it wasn't like the first time I played with them, because every time
the other drummer was sick -- or let's not say sick, the times that Brian knocked on my
door and said, will you sit down because peter didn't make the gig, for whatever reasons.
So we knew each other and we'd hung out in Germany. We'd been in two separate bands; we
were in the same club, so we knew each other.
KING: In appreciating them as a viewer, and as somebody who occasionally played with them,
can we say that you were not that surprised with the success of the group?
STARR: Well, the extraordinary success I was surprised. We were always surprised, we were
this band who had great ambition, and thought we had talent, but nobody knew it could get
this big.
KING: In retrospect, what do you think it was?
STARR: Well, I think it was the songwriters had a lot to do with it, the Lennon and
McCartney or the McCartney-Lennon songs.
KING: You had good songs?
STARR: Well, good songs...
KING: Played good?
STARR: And I think -- you know, and we played good and we had this, like, loving
combination, understanding each other, also, musically and we had the same Liverpool
humor.
KING: You mean one person nodded -- the other three knew what he meant?
STARR: Yes, we could close our eyes.
KING: We'll be back with Ringo Starr. He's with us for the full hour. His new album is out
-- "Vertical Man." Lots to talk about.
Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE #1 (singing): She said she loves you and you know that can't be bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: By the way, one of the critics of "The Denver Post," Rip Rinse (ph),
wrote: "the "Vertical Man" is a triumphant return to form. At its best,
it's Ringo at his best -- at its worst, it's upbeat fun."
He has been critical of you in the past?
STARR: Yes, well a lot of people have been critical of me.
KING: Why Ringo? Why do you think...
STARR: I don't know why that is. I think that is because...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Better known? You are (INAUDIBLE).
STARR: Yeah, everybody knew my name. That was one of the good things about the band, it
was John, Paul, George and Ringo, as well as being called the Beatles. Everybody knew each
other.
KING: Do you think they wrote music and got famous for writing as well as playing?
STARR: I think they got more publicity because of that, you know. It was always a
Lennon-McCartney song, which actually, it was always four us on the record.
KING: What was that like -- that first trip to the United States, the Ed Sullivan?
STARR: Great, great.
KING: Stadiums?
STARR: Well, it wasn't stadiums the first time, but...
KING: It was the first time you did...
STARR: Ed Sullivan in New York.
KING: And Miami?
STARR: We did a gig in Florida, and then we did a gig in Washington, but, I remember
flying over on the plane work because America -- if you're a musician, it's got to be
America, because that's all the music we loved came from. And I was flying over New York,
and I had this feeling that there was this huge octopus, reaching out to the plane to
bring me to New York, just take the plane down. It was just a crazy thing and we could
have TV's and radios in our areas and talking to (INAUDIBLE)...
KING: And the people, were you surprised how the Americans took to you?
STARR: Yeah. I mean, we found out later from some of the press guys who we got to know
that they actually came to kill us, really. They came to kill us, the press did, you know,
because these Liverpool guys -- who do they think they are? But because we shouted at
them, they loved us. So if they're any new bands out there, just shout at the buggers.
KING: Arthur Feedler (ph) of the Boston (INAUDIBLE) told me once that the Beatles did
great music and it will be appreciated?
STARR: It still is. It's still going on. Still kids today are buying the records like it's
new.
KING: In fact, you put this song on the album, right? "Love Me Do."
STARR: "Love Me Do."
KING: Why?
STARR: Well, as many reasons why that -- for years, it's like you can't do a Beatle song
and there is another track on the album called "Puppet," and that's a whole song
about putting all those old tapes -- those old puppets away to bed actually. And
"Love Me Do" -- I love the song -- it's quite singable by me, and it was the
first Beatle record I wasn't on.
KING: Wasn't on?
STARR: I wasn't on the first one. No, because between their -- from their audition, to
where they made the change of lineup, which was me, to when we got to London to make the
record with George Martin, he brought in, for all his own reasons, a session drummer. He
didn't know me.
KING: So it was just a session drummer work?
STARR: Yeah.
KING: How would you deal with fame?
STARR: Well, on a good day, not bad.
KING: How about bad days?
STARR: Now, bad days -- I mean, it goes to your head. You're 22, 23, 24 -- you're in your
20s, suddenly you're loaded, and everybody loves and you're just the big cheese, but the
life saver was that it was four of us. That if I went mad, the other three would be --
excuse me?
KING: Were there stages where they all went a little mad?
STARR: Well, I feel my madness was suddenly that I would go and buy like 30 shirts and 20
suits and five cars, and you know, you'd expect so much, but you couldn't do that with the
other three, because we all came from the same place, you know. So the joy of being in
that band was it saved our lives, even though George keeps saying that we gave our nervous
systems to the public.
KING: In review, was Brian Epstein a tragedy?
STARR: I think an accident. He was a young man, and he made a mistake. I believe he was on
medication, forgot he took medication, took more medication.
KING: Was he a good manager?
STARR: He was very good. He started like we did. He didn't know the game, neither did we,
really, but we knew how to play and he tidied up and moved us on.
KING: What was the record that blew everything apart?
STARR: Well, it was a slow band, really. "Love Me Do." really didn't do it; and
then in America, we had a couple records out and nobody even listened to them. They never
got any players or nothing. So suddenly when we get to New York and it was "Please,
Please Me." Oh "She Loves You" -- one of them, yeah, yeah, yeah. "
"I Want To Hold Your Hand?" How many hits did the Beatles have?
STARR: I don't know. (INAUDIBLE) you were going to ask me these questions.
KING: In how many, in the area, what do you have 25 hits?
STARR: I would think so. I know we were all first excited when we got the first record
that didn't go to number one.
Because it was going to number one, it was going to number one. Let's do another one.
Going to number one, it's like oh, God, how often can we do this. And then "Lady
Madonna" went to like number two, and it was like -- thank God.
KING: Did Presley have an effect on the Beatles?
STARR: Oh sure -- sure. He was the king; he was the king. And his early stuff -- he was
the first teenager. I liked Frankie Laine, Johnny Ray, a lot of blue singers, a lot of
country singers. But Elvis -- Bill Haley was like your dad. Elvis came out...
KING: Haley was your father?
STARR: Well, he was only a couple of years older.
KING: But he seems much older?
STARR: He seemed young then; he seemed like the lad.
KING: "Rock Around the Clock."
STARR: That's Bill Haley.
KING: How about the guy they moved the movie about?
STARR: Buddy holly?
KING: Buddy Holly.
STARR: Another influence.
KING: Major (INAUDIBLE)
STARR: But Tenny Rodgers (ph), you know, Hank Williams, a lot of old blues guys.
KING: We'll be back with more of Ringo Starr. The new album is "Vertical Man."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE #2: It's wild; this place is going out of control. You have never heard
anything like this in your life; it's absolutely wild!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Back with Ringo Starr. Was the ending bad?
STARR: Yes.
KING: Because?
STARR: Well, the end of anything is hard, and it ended really miserable. It didn't end up
like let's do the last show, and that's it, guys. There was a lot of arguing, bickering.
The pain of growing up. I was married; I had a couple kids. I didn't want to put the
energy in. John really didn't want to do much with Paul anymore. Paul wanted to do other
things. George was over on the other side.
KING: Of course, none of you had any financial need?
STARR: No, but that was never the case, really. I know it always sounds kind of blahzah
(ph), but it wasn't for the money, though. The money was really exciting. We all came from
Liverpool, and a couple of (INAUDIBLE) was OK. But it just sort of -- we went out like a
whimp really -- a whimper.
KING: Who made the decision? Did someone say it's over?
STARR: Well, it's hard to say who said it was over. John said it was over, but Paul said
it first.
KING: Did Yoko have a part in that too?
STARR: Well, everybody had a part. But it wasn't because -- I've always maintained it's
because from the early 60s through the middle 60s, we put all that energy into the Beatles
and then suddenly we (INAUDIBLE), because we had other things to do and we found oh, there
is life after the Beatles, you know, while you're in it. Because we all seriously found
life after the Beatles, after it ended.
KING: Yeah, but distractions occur? And life
(CROSSTALK)
STARR: It's a part of growing up, you know.
KING: Where were you when John was killed?
STARR: I was in the Bahamas with Barbara at the studio at Compass Point.
KING: How did you hear it?
STARR: Well the kids phoned us from England saying, something happened to John. They
didn't know it was a news flash, so they phoned us and he was being shot or something. And
you just -- it's disbelief, you know, what the hell, you know, because so much crap had
been written about us anyway and said about us that we just didn't want to believe it any
way. And then the next call that said John's been shot and he's dead.
KING: Reaction?
STARR: Absolute sorrow. It was just a mind blower, really. It's hard to believe, but
anyway, we phoned a friend, sent a plane on a big guard, because suddenly he'd been shot;
we didn't know what happened.
KING: So, you, therefore, you were protected immediately, right?
STARR: Because we don't have that sort of protection.
KING: You didn't have bodyguards?
STARR: No.
KING: Through the height of your career?
STARR: Through the height of our career, we had a guy named Big Mel (ph), and he was
called Big Mel because he lifted the bass amp. And in those days the bass amp, compared to
what they have know -- if you look at our amplification, it was very small.
KING: So John was just walking the street, right?
STARR: That's what they say.
KING: No guards around him.
STARR: He went to sign an autograph and the bullet shot him. So anyway, we flew to New
York. You don't know what you're doing really -- so I better go to New York.
KING: And that's where you met George and Paul you met there.
STARR: They weren't there, just Barbara and I.
KING: When was the first meeting, the three of you?
STARR: Afterwards?
KING: Yes. Was it at the funeral?
STARR: We didn't go to a funeral. There was no funeral for us to go to.
KING: Why?
STARR: I don't know. You'd have to ask Yoko.
KING: They did a private memorial?
STARR: He was dealt with very fast.
KING: Quickly.
STARR: We went to New York. It was Barbara and I there, and Yoko, of course, was quite
deranged, and so we just (INAUDIBLE) Sean (ph) and it's like you were kind of in disbelief
really -- God has it really happened and then we got the plane to L.A. the next day and
that was it. You just think, maybe I can help, but there was really nothing to do.
KING: Was there talk that the three of you might come back and sort of do a tribute to
John, or tour again?
STARR: No, never was any talk of that.
KING: Would that have worked?
STARR: Well, you're talking a long time ago now. You're talking like 1980. I don't know.
It's just something that never came up.
KING: What was John like to work with?
STARR: To work with, he was a lot of fun. He wrote some of the finest songs, and he had a
very weird -- I was the drummer and he had a really bad sense of timing.
KING: He really did? You mean singing?
STARR: No, no it was playing, and you would think it would be straight and then suddenly
he'd go somewhere.
KING: He was an average guitarist.
STARR: He was a great guitarist -- best rhythm guitarist.
KING: Well, when you say...
STARR: Well, he just went into weird time -- I don't know if you know Harry Dean Stanton
at all.
KING: I know Harry Dean Stanton.
STARR: Have you ever seen him play?
KING: Seen him act, haven't seen him play.
STARR: Couldn't keep time to save his life, and that...
KING: That rough on the percussionist.
STARR: But, John was a better than Harry Dean.
KING: Is that rough on the percussionist?
STARR: Well, it is because we keep it straight and so suddenly we we'd be doing this...
KING: But he was fun to play with and he had a sense of humor?
STARR: He was great to play with and his songs were great.
KING: How about when not working?
STARR: You see, John and I ended up in the same area, we lived in the same area -- not in
the same house, but in walking distance, so we spent quite a lot of just regular time. He
had a young boy. Julie and I had Zak and the kids would play and we'd take him over and
we'd do firework night for them.
KING: How old is Zak now?
STARR: He's 32. Yeah, yeah. I had him when I was very young.
KING: Did you fear for yourself after the Lennon incident?
STARR: Well, yeah.
KING: Personally?
STARR: Yeah, and, you know, it just brings you to the fall (ph) that it's dangerous out
there. And after six months we got rid of the guards. There is no protection, they shot
your president, many presidents and they shot the Pope.
KING: John Kennedy said, if you want to kill someone and you're willing give up your own
life, you can kill anyone. Basically you can get away with it, as long as you're willing
to pay the price.
KING: We'll be back with more of Ringo Starr. His newest is "Vertical Man," a
13-song album produced by L.A. based musician Mark Hudson formerly of the Hudson brothers
and George And Paul are on the album.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: There's always tragedy around greatness. The Beatles have certainly had their share.
Where and how did you hear about Linda?
STARR: We were at home in London, and we got a phone call from Paul.
KING: He called you?
STARR: Yeah, he called us the day it happened.
KING: What did he say? She's gone?
STARR: Yeah, he said, Linda is -- she died and it was very fast, and she died in his arms
and he wanted just to let us know.
KING: Did you expect that? I mean, it was known she had cancer but she was supposed to be
doing well?
STARR: Yes, we spoke to her and she left for America and she sounded really cool. She was
just up. Through her illness, she was very, very strong, and you know, Barbara and I would
go to visit or she'd come into London or wherever we'd meet and she was on top of it, OK,
I'm dealing with this and I'm going through it. It wasn't like, oh, dear.
KING: We've read so much, what was so special about her?
STARR: For us or for Paul?
KING: As a person. She was an unusual person. She started out, right, covering you?
STARR: Well, she was a photographer and you know then ended up with Paul and they were
lovers and they got married and had kids and over the years...
KING: He was crazy about her, right?
STARR: He was crazy about her and she was crazy about him and they were both crazy about
those kids and those kids were crazy about them. Now at the memorial on Monday, we were
sitting in this row and Paul and the kids were behind us and it was very sad. It's very
hard.
KING: There was no funeral, right?
STARR: They did their own funeral and then this memorial service.
KING: Did you speak? Was anything played?
STARR: No, Pete Townsend spoke and some other people spoke. We didn't speak.
KING: How is Paul handling it?
STARR: Well, I don't know how he's handling it, but he's doing the best he can. I talked
to him -- I talk to him every week, every ten days. It's difficult. You've just got to
keep calling and saying, hey, how are things? He's up and he's down, like it would be.
KING: Your private life has done well?
STARR: My private life is great.
KING: You have a great wife, right?
STARR: I have a fabulous wife.
KING: Married how long?
STARR: Eighteen years. Well, actually no, 17 years. We've been together 18. I had to
correct that because she is sitting in the next room.
KING: How is George doing?
STARR: He's doing great. I had lunch with him the other day. He came over to our place the
other night and we all hang out together, no matter what anyone might read. We're still
quite pally.
KING: What led, do you think, to those rumors in tabloids that the Beatles were always
fighting?
STARR: Well, they were fighting for a while. It's like a family, you get together and then
you fight and then pull us around a circle.
KING: I heard.
STARR: And that was with the anthology. We slowly, the three of us came together to do the
anthology, and we all made records together and then we went our separate ways, because
we're not in that band anymore. We all have lives to lead.
KING: More with Ringo Starr, on LARRY KING LIVE, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Ringo Starr is our guest his new album is just out and it is called "Vertical
Man." They are a lot of other artists. Like who else?
Is John and Paul, who else? I mean Paul and...
STARR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Brian Wilson is on it. Alanis Morisette is on it. Steven Tyler is
on it.
KING: Does this go like one call from Ringo and they...
STARR: Well, it's the way I like to do things. It is one call really. Tom Petty is on it.
KING: Is there country on this?
STARR: Well it's pop/rock. That sort of says it all. We do the basic track and then Joe
Walsh is on it. He is an old friend and say Joe I need that guitar that you play on this
track.
KING: But you don't play too badly?
STARR: He plays it really well, so he did that. It's like when George was on. He's on a
track called "King of Broken Hearts" and his is the only guitar I wanted on that
track.
KING: You ever use other drummers?
STARR: Not on the record, but on the live show I do. I use two drummers always so I can
come down up front and entertain.
KING: And get to sing some, right?
STARR: I get to sing down in the front and point at the audience and say peace and love
and things like that.
KING: There will be another memorial service for Linda in New York on June 22, right?
STARR: Yeah
KING: Was there one in London too?
STARR: Yes, Monday, what ever date that was -- the eighth.
KING: So the eighth and then L.A. and then...
STARR: We've done the eighth.
KING: And then you'll be at the one in New York too?
STARR: No, we leave on the 18th.
KING: How are the kids doing?
STARR: Well as I said, pretty shuck up really, they've lost their mom.
KING: You had your own experience right? Your daughter recovered from a brain tumor, your
first wife died of leukemia, mother-in-law died of cancer.
STARR: Yes.
KING: Get to feel snake bit at all
STARR: Well, I think it just starts -- it makes you aware that we're not all infallible. I
am 57 so I think you start noticing things. When you're 27 you don't really see it, you're
just to busy.
KING: You're never going to die when your 27.
STARR: You think you're invincible.
KING: Is performing still as much fun?
STARR: I love it, I love it.
KING: Can you explain what that is?
STARR: It's a thrill, you've got an audience in front of you and it's the only true way
you get off really. There's nothing really that high as connecting with an audience. We
did in New York the other week the Bottomline.
I haven't played clubs in many years and there's 200 people right there. We had a great
time with the band. With the All-stars we're doing 4,000, 5,000, something like that and I
get up for that, but being in a club it's the best. We played a club in Texas called Billy
Bob's.
KING: A famous club.
STARR: It had like 4,000 people so you might as well do a small staging, but this was 200,
the Bottomline.
KING: What were stadiums like, 80,000?
STARR: Well, when we did then, I mean it was a thrill because we were the first people
ever to do it, so we were like moving up, moving up, moving up, but there's no real
contact -- but it was like the thrill of it all.
KING: Just the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
STARR: No, they were all kept so far away anyway. The idea of playing in a place like that
in the 60's was like to outrageous.
KING: Did the Beatles ever have bad night? By that I mean where you felt we're not doing
well tonight.
STARR: Not that we weren't doing well that night. We were always doing well as far as the
audience was concerned.
KING: But I was talking about you.
STARR: As ourselves as players, you would come off, it was too fast or whatever. We were
dragging or we were tired or whatever.
KING: Did you enjoy movie making?
STARR: I did at the beginning, I loved it.
KING: At the beginning, then what?
STARR: It sort of faded out. I met a lot of interesting people -- besides when we did the
Beatles movies, then I did "Candy" and "Magic Christian," I met Marlon
Brando and Richard Burton. I am working with all of these guys. It was pretty incredible.
KING: But now...
STARR: I sort of more and more just want to do the music. I just want to be the musician.
KING: Do you ever think of retiring?
STARR: No.
KING: Never.
STARR: No, I never think of retiring unless I'm halfway through a tour and I'm about to
get on another plane. I think why God, why? And then I always tell everyone this is it.
It's the last time. And they all say sure.
KING: Ringo Starr is the guest, back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Song selection. You sang on "Yellow Submarine," right?
STARR: I sang the song "Yellow Submarine," yeah.
KING: When you get a song like that, do you say right away, "Hey, this works. I like
this song"?
STARR: Uh, yeah.
KING: (INAUDIBLE) had different songs.
STARR: It was interesting and it was fun and it had sort of that childish attitude which I
like, y'know, so that's why. And we all wanted to live in yellow submarines someday,
y'know.
KING: Did you all realize that you were doing immortal kind of stuff, that some of the
works you were doing would be played by symphony orchestras?
STARR: No I don't think so. I mean, we just did it for ourselves, really. Y'know, we
didn't look into the future and say, "Oh God, this is going to be done by an
orchestra," no.
KING: Are you surprised at how the legend lives?
STARR: No, I think the music holds up, it absolute -- the music, the records hold up to
this day. If I put it on, it holds up and I'm on it and people are still saying,
"Wow, look at -- listen to that." Even on my record "Vertical Man,"
you know, some people say, "Oh, it's a little Beatlie," oh, why not.
KING: And you're a Beatle.
STARR: I was one and this is me.
KING: Now, you mentioned Liverpool and -- what's it like when you -- the dollar has
nothing to do with what you're doing? In other words, you don't need...
STARR: No.
KING: ... a penny more in your life.
STARR: No.
KING: So you'll get it as a result of doing things...
STARR: Sure.
KING: ... so it's not driving you. You don't have to go to work.
STARR: I don't have to go to work...
KING: What's that like?
STARR: ... but I do have to go to work emotionally. I do have to do something. And what I
do is because, y'know, I am a drummer; I am an entertainer; I do make records. I don't fix
the light bulb, y'know, I'm not a plumber. I do this, so that's the driving force. I mean,
you know, though -- it's like Bill Gates still goes to work, I believe.
KING: Correct. What's it like to be able to have anything?
STARR: Great...
KING: In other words, you don't ask...
STARR: Oh, it's great.
KING: You go into a store, you don't have to ask the price?
STARR: No, I never ask, I never ask, but I do like to go to the sales.
KING: Why?
STARR: Well, I like a bargain, you know. I like a bargain.
KING: Do you bargain people? You...
STARR: I still bargain people. Any shop you go into, you can try it, and it always works.
KING: What was it like in those days with all the groupies?
STARR: Great!
KING: Finally an honest answer.
STARR: Yes, it was great.
KING: You enjoyed meeting all those women?
STARR: It was great. We were young boys, y'know. We were just in our 20s. I keep telling
you, there was all these women...
KING: Did people do -- did women do crazy things to meet you?
STARR: Climbed up hotel walls and they would dress and up they would hide in cupboards,
and it was really strange.
(LAUGHTER)
STARR: Yeah, but at the time we didn't really think it was so strange. Y'know, we'd say,
OK.
KING: Is that something you eventually get tired of it?
STARR: Oh, yes, sure. Well then you get married and you want to live a life, and it's...
KING: Was it difficult for the wives to handle the fact that you were a superpopular group
with girls? D'you think?
STARR: I think you have to ask them.
KING: Do they ever discuss it with you?
STARR: No.
KING: When you come back from tour, do they ever say, "Ringo, I saw all those girls,
they were like crazy?"
STARR: Yeah. Well I say, "Well, they were just outside, darling."
KING: Oh Ringo...
STARR: They were just outside; they're just fans, y'know.
KING: ... you're cool.
STARR: Yeah.
KING: What about performing when the four of you would go on stage? Those moments before
you're going.
STARR: I still have the same feeling now.
KING: That you had then?
STARR: Yeah. It's like terror, in a way it's like terror, because I have to run on and I
did then a lot of times. I mean, when we did, like this first big show, the Palladium in
London, I actually puked up and then went on...
(LAUGHTER)
... and then -- and now, even touring now, I mean the band starts and I'm like backstage
taking deep breaths and then I run on, but once I get a hold of the mike and I start, I'm
fine, but those like -- it's like the 10 steps on.
KING: Frank Sinatra told us that no matter where he worked, those seconds before that
first note...
STARR: I know.
KING: ... terrifying. Then once it comes...
STARR: You're fine. Yeah. I don't know, it's just the thing. I'd like to saunter on, I
always thought Frank sauntered on, actually...
KING: Yeah.
STARR: ... or usually he sang from, like, off-stage.
KING: From off-stage, but he still had those seconds.
STARR: But twice I saw him. It was so good, because he has that great voice.
KING: Let's talk about doing that album -- doing an album.
STARR: This album.
KING: How much time do you spend on it? Like "Vertical Man"; you'll do -- how
many times will you go to a studio and sing and record? Put all the people together --
different people, and tracks and...
STARR: Well...
KING: ... you used to do it. A guy went, he had a band, they recorded, he went home, the
record came out.
STARR: Yeah, yeah. Well, it takes a little longer now. But, y'know, in this case, the
"Vertical Man," we did it in an office, really, with the new technology of DAT
machines, above a Chinese restaurant.
KING: Wait a minute. You put together an album...
STARR: Yeah. We're just in this little room, above a Chinese restaurant, just past the
freeway on Santa Monica in (INAUDIBLE). Used to be like you'd come out at night and
there'd be all these winos hiding behind your car...
KING: And you smelled chow mein.
STARR: ... and the funniest thing, no the funniest thing was, I'd come out the studio or
the office at night to get in my car, and there's be like winos hiding, but they'd go...
(LAUGHTER)
STARR: So they got through the haze.
KING: How are you able -- let me ask you that in a minute. We'll come right back with --
doing an album with Ringo Starr. The new album is "Vertical Man." Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR (singing): I'd ask my friends to come and see an octopus's garden with me. I'd like
to be under the sea in an octopus's garden in the shade. We would be warm, below the
storm, in our little hideaway beneath the waves. Resting our heads, on the seabeds, in an
octopus's garden near a cave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: All of the "Anthology" albums have worked, too, right? You had huge
hits...
STARR: Oh, million-sellers.
KING: ... a couple years ago
STARR: Yeah.
KING: You split it 25 percent each?
STARR: Yeah.
KING: It was always four-way -- four-way split?
STARR: Four-way split within the band.
KING: OK, now, back to this over the Chinese restaurant. What do you doing in a room --
what do you mean by this new technology?
STARR: Well Marv has this studio up there, and not only I have recorded there, but lots of
other well-known people have been up -- well everyone on the record besides the people in
England, which were George Paul and George Martin, came to the little room. Brian Wilson
came to that little room.
KING: When you say little room, the tracks are down...
STARR: Ten by 10.
KING: Ten by 10?
STARR: We put the tracks down there as well. We did everything in that room. We put
everyone, me down, the drums are in the cupboard. I had Steven Tyler where you are, Steve
Cropper, y'know, just there I could see everyone, Mark over there. Steve Gusler (ph) the
guitarist. What I like...
KING: Why? What makes it special? Why is the sound so good?
STARR: Well, it's -- the sound is great, but what makes it special, and I think you hear
in the albums, that we were this close. You know, in a usual studio, the drums are
specially like over there, a big glass around it; there's no real contact, you know,
there's no sweat contact. And in this little room, we were all sweatin' together.
KING: And what's the thing you mentioned, the digital or something...
STARR: Oh it's DAT machines.
KING: What is that?
STARR: Well, instead of it being analog, which is big tape, these are little tapes, now.
It's the new technology. But, y'know, it's like those digital cameras they use now
everyone's got a little digital thing.
KING: Do you worry about ripoff of records? You know people who copy to make tapes and
sell them?
STARR: Well, I wish they wouldn't.
KING: And you don't get royalties?
STARR: I wish they wouldn't. They don't get royalties, they just get what they get for
selling them.
KING: I know, but you don't get royalties.
STARR: In many major countries around this planet, they do that.
KING: Moscow.
STARR: Well, is Moscow a major country?
KING: Well, no, it's a major city, and certainly it's been said...
STARR: Yeah, and I believe China and many...
KING: How do you know --who keeps the record?
STARR: Well, I don't know, that's the record company.
KING: I know, you trust them, right?
STARR: Yeah.
KING: I mean, you can do nothing but say -- if they tell you, "We sold this," we
sold this.
STARR: Yeah, but we do order them every couple of years.
KING: Do you like the business end of the business?
STARR: No, no I didn't. I like -- I'm a musician; we're not great at business. I have
people around me who're really competent, and they do the business.
KING: Let's talk about drums.
STARR: Yeah.
KING: What makes a good drummer?
STARR: Timing and soul.
KING: Do you agree that a great musician would be a great musician almost no matter what
he chose? Some people think that if you're a great pianist, had you taken drums at age 6,
you'd of been a pretty good drummer.
STARR: No. I think you pick the instrument that comes from within, where the feeling comes
from.
KING: And you had that feeling for...
STARR: Only for the drums.
KING: Were you influenced at all by -- Mel Torme told me that Buddy Rich was the greatest
influence on most drummers. Was he an influence on you?
STARR: No.
KING: Who was?
STARR: There weren't a lot of drummers that were influence in -- and influence on me. I
wasn't one of those drummers that, like, went out and bought drum records. Gene Krupa I
went to see in movies 'cause he was just mad and he was great. Y'know, I mean, I
appreciate many drummers, but there wasn't like "Oh, because of that, because of
this." Y'know, I came in in a very interesting period, where, if you had the
instrument, you were in the band.
(LAUGHTER)
STARR: And that's how it worked, so we all learned together, y'know.
KING: We need a drummer; you're it.
STARR: You've got one? You're in.
KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments with Ringo Starr, right after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAND (SINGING): Do you need anybody?
STARR: I need somebody to love
BAND: Could it be anybody?
STARR: I just want someone to love.
STARR AND BAND: Um, I get by with a little help from my friends. Oh, I get high with a
little help from my friends. Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.
STARR: Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends, with a little help from my
friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Back with Ringo Starr. How long do drums last? Like, how often do you have to
replace them?
STARR: I'm sure some people've got the first kit they ever played on and they're still
playing on it.
KING: How often do you change?
STARR: Usually every time I tour, I get a new set, just for the color change. It's always
the same make.
KING: D'you use a special set for recording?
STARR: No. No. I use the same set for recording that I can use on the road. I mean, I have
like a rotation of say four kits, and any can do any. They're all interchangeable.
KING: Do you have drums with your name on them? I mean are they...
STARR: No, I don't have like the Ringo drums.
KING: Why not?
STARR: Nobody asked, but I have sticks.
KING: You have Ringo sticks.
STARR: Yeah, Ringo Starr sticks.
KING: The drummer's importance in the band or the group, would be explained how? Krupa
once -- Buddy Rich said -- Buddy Rich told me once it's the driving force of any group.
STARR: Besides it's the driving force, sometimes it's you're holding the reins so that
others don't like race off, you know, 'cause...
KING: So even though you're in the back...
STARR: You've just got to keep it solid. I mean, I'm blessed 'cause I do have great time,
and it's like from my heart.
KING: It's natural.
STARR: Yeah, I -- you know, you can't learn that. It's just something that happens when
you play. And being able to sense when things are happening or being able to feel when you
feel to do a fill or something, you know, to bring that piece up or bring it down.
KING: Could you drum well with a jazz band, a swing orchestra?
STARR: The swing, I could.
KING: Jazz not, swing yes?
STARR: No, jazz -- no, I can't play jazz. I can play rock, but I -- on one of the tracks
from "Vertical Man," we did a swing number, it's called "I'll Be Fine,
Anyway," and I...
KING: Is that a hoot?
STARR: Yeah, it was great, y'know. And what was really interesting, I sent that track to
London for George Harrison to play on, and he plays great guitar 'cause he knows how to
swing. You know, a lot of the kids don't know how to swing today. You know, we all know
how to rock, but we come in from the like swing era over to rock.
KING: That's right. You were...
STARR: So, all the early rock'n'rollers were actually swing bands, you know.
KING: Do you ever -- not literally -- but do you ever pinch yourself? Do you ever walk
around saying -- do you ever think about Liverpool?
STARR: I do, and I go there, y'know, not too often, but I go back. But I -- we live in
Monaco and I'm sitting on our balcony looking over the Mediterranean and I'll say,
"Wow, all the way from Liverpool." It's a mind-blower.
KING: Paul Newman said "anybody who doesn't say luck played a part in it is
lying."
STARR: Yeah. But not only luck.
KING: But there is luck.
STARR: Oh yeah.
KING: Someone had to hear you, right time, right place?
STARR: Yeah, someone played the record, someone did this, you know, you were born. I
mean...
KING: Brian Epstein had to hear you and give you the gig...
STARR: Yes, he ran a record division in his father's furniture company. Heard about us, or
heard about them -- I wasn't even with them then -- went down to the Cavern and said,
"Oh, maybe I'll manage you." He didn't know how to manage to save his life, but
he decided to be a manager, so who knew, you know?
KING: Ringo, this has been a terrific hour. I thank you very much for spending it with us.
STARR: Hey, thank you, Larry, it's been my pleasure.
KING: Ringo Starr, the new album, and he goes on tour -- fin fact, he's starting in July,
he's going where -- overseas?
STARR: I'm going to Europe and Russia.
KING: And the album is "Vertical Man." We thank Ringo for joining us. For the
whole crew, good night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR (singing): When you're down it can be found, turn it around, you know the remedy.
Just cut some slack, don't look back, 'cause it's a fact it will be OK when you say la, la
dee dah, like que sera, sera, whatever la dee dah. La dee dah. All you've got to say is la
dee dah, oh, yeah, just like Doris Day said "que sera" la dee dah. Come on,
everybody! La, la dee dah. This one's for you honey: la, la dee dah. We go la dee dah,
I'll say: la, la dee dah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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