All hail Ringo, for 50 years the unsung Beatle
Dear Ringo, Congratulations on the 50th anniversary of your appearance with the lads on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” I know you’re aware of the media din surrounding Sunday night’s CBS special commemorating the event.
They’re calling it “The Night That Changed America,” since we all know how Feb. 9, 1964 not only impacted the Baby Boomer generation but the entire pop-culture landscape. You were a huge part of that seismic sociological shift. And, hey, with you and Paul “reuniting” for the telecast (we’ll ignore your 2009 and 2010 reunions for now), it’s an exciting night. So savor the moment. Soak it all in. After all, you are The World’s Most Famous Drummer. But people forget that, don’t they? So I’m here to help set the record straight. Consider it a letter from me to you, from one Starr to another. (Yeah, I know, privately you prefer to be called Richy in deference to your birth name, Richard Starkey.) Sure, everyone is falling over themselves to praise you — now — but what befalls your status as a “legend” after Sunday night’s celebration? Do the naysayers jump off the nostalgia-fueled bandwagon they’ve been riding for several months now? Do you return to your punch-line status as “The luckiest guy in show business” just because your talent entranced John, Paul and George, who were in the market for a new drummer?
Source: New York Post
Photo Credit: Photo: AP Photo/Mike Mitchell ; Getty Images
