Ringo: With a Little Help is by Michael Starr (no relation). Michael tried to get Ringo’s cooperation in writing this book and made all his requests as he should have, but then found out that Ringo would not be helping when Ringo posted on his official website saying that he was not going to be involved and that the book would be unauthorized. Despite this, this is one of the most thorough biographies I have read. I can only imagine how much work went into sorting all sorts of content without any help from Ringo by the author in order to piece everything together! I also liked that the breaks in the book are done with a drumstick instead of the usual dot or star. Nice touch!
As I mentioned, this book has a lot of information on Ringo and how he almost didn’t take the job with the Beatles – but they ended up offering him more money than the other band so he went with it. Crazy how life works out that way, isn’t it?
If you are a Beatles fan or just looking to find out more about the best drummer in Liverpool – here’s your book.
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review.
About the Book
Ringo: With a Little Help is the first in-depth biography of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who kept the beat for an entire generation and who remains a rock icon over fifty years since the Beatles took the world by storm.
Born in 1940 as Richard Starkey in the Dingle, one of Liverpool’s most gritty, rough-and-tumble neighborhoods, he rose from a hardscrabble childhood – marked by serious illnesses, long hospital stays, and little schooling – to emerge, against all odds, as a locally renowned drummer. Taking the stage name Ringo Starr, his big break with the Beatles rocketed him to the pinnacle of worldwide acclaim in a remarkably short time. He was the last member of the Beatles to join the group but also the most vulnerable, and his post-Beatles career was marked by chart-topping successes, a jet-setting life of excess and alcohol abuse, and, ultimately, his rebirth as one of rock’s revered elder statesman.
Ringo: With a Little Help traces the entire arc of Ringo’s remarkable life and career, from his sickly childhood to his life as the world’s most famous drummer to his triumphs, addictions, and emotional battles following the breakup of the Beatles as he comes to terms with his legacy.