by Robert Wilkinson
Today we celebrate a very merry 69th birthday of Ringo Starr, Beatle and drummer extraordinaire. He's still "rockin' on one time for us," and given what he's been through this lifetime, that's no small thing. Today we offer a bunch of videos of this singular talent.
Last year I did a lot of research, and found some great videos of the Beatles, as well as some videos of stuff he's done since then with some of the best talent in the world. This year I deleted some bad links, and added other videos for your entertainment.
So enjoy live video performances of "It Don't Come Easy," "Photograph," and "You're 16" from his immediate post Beatle years, as well as newer performances of "Matchbox" and "Honey Don't," both written by the legendary Carl Perkins and sung by Ringo when he was "the most popular" Beatle. Today's videos show Carl and Ringo at their best doing those two songs, along with Eric Clapton, who on a separate track also joins George, Elton, and Ringo live in the Concert for Bangladesh to do George's major Beatle hit "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
I also found live performances of Ringo doing songs that he sang lead on when he was with the Beatles, including "Act Naturally" and "I Wanna Be Your Man," and while mining for gold found a lot of videos of the Beatles live in Japan, as well as footage of their Shea Stadium concerts.
To finish this bunch of odds and sods, there are videos of the Beatles from Shindig and Ready Steady Go, both television series where lip synching was the norm, and a couple of music videos created for Ringo's post-Beatle hits. Enjoy the concert, and a big happy merry and jolly to my mom's favorite Beatle.
My favorite clip of Ringo performing with George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan at the Concert for Bangladesh. A fantastic version of Ringo drumming and singing lead on It Don't Come Easy.
Here's an interesting clip of Ringo talking about the Concert for Bangladesh, literally the first concert of its kind.
"Matchbox" - Carl Perkins, Ringo Starr & Eric Clapton
"Honey Don't" - Ringo Starr, Carl Perkins and friends
Ringo singing It Don't Come Easy in a live performance backed by his All Starr Band (Billy Squier, Colin Hays, Edgar Winter, Hammish Stuart, Gary Wright & Greg Bissonette) Too bad the sound is a bit distorted.
"I Wanna Be Your Man" - Ringo Starr live at the Mohegan Sun
"Boys" - Ringo Starr
Here's Ringo doing a really great performance of Photograph.
Another version of Ringo singing "Photograph" live at Montreux 1992
"Only You" - John Lennon & Ringo Starr music video featuring both
"You're Sixteen" - Ringo Starr original music video song promo
"It Don't Come Easy" - Ringo Starr original music video song promo
An interesting montage of various video performance clips of Ringo singing "A Little Help From My Friends.
To continue this reeely big shew, heeeeere's THE BEATLES!
Ringo singing lead on Act Naturally in a live performance that is definitely not lip-synched!
From The Beatles live in Japan 1966:
"If I Needed Someone" & "Daytripper"
Here's a 10 minute clip of the Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965, introduced by Ed Sullivan. This will give you an idea of what Beatlemania was like! Opening with "Twist and Shout" was bold, given that it shredded John's voice pdq. Also offered here are "Baby's in Black," "I'm Down," and a clever use of "Help" set to shots of the pandemonium going on in NY that night.
(They couldn't hear a note they played or sang, so all in all it's a pretty good performance. Of course, some of the kids there probably suffered ear drum damage from the decibel level of screams, which were constant throughout the concert!)
Here's footage of Ringo and the Beatles being mobbed in 1964, set to the studio version of Octopus's Garden which featured Ringo singing lead.
For those who remember when tv show performances didn't actually allow the acts to perform their hits, here are the Beatles "performing" a couple on Shindig! circa 1964:
"Kansas City" and ""I'm a Loser" and "Boys"
Closing today's feast is a video where the audio-video synch is horrible, but the footage is classic. From their live "performance" on the British television hit series, "Ready Steady Go," we have "Twist and Shout" and "She Loves You."
I trust you will enjoy your trip to another place, space, and time, when things weren't nearly as weird as they are today. It really was a time when magic, love, and hope were in the air.
© Copyright 2009 Robert Wilkinson
Blast from the Past. Thanks, Robert.
Posted by: AnneTexas | July 07, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Wow, these are great, especially "Honey don't"! Thanks for putting this together for our viewing pleasure. :)
Posted by: Valerie | July 12, 2009 at 06:32 AM