Happy Birthday, Ringo Starr!

5 July 2005

Happy Birthday, Ringo Starr

7 July 1940

Happy Birthday, Ringo! Yes, I'm at it again wishing another Beatle a happy birthday. Ringo's birthday is only 19 days after Paul's, but he has a couple of real distinctions of his own. First of all, Ringo is the oldest Beatle, born 3 months before John Lennon. Secondly, he's the only blue-eyed member of the Fab Four. Eye color may sound a bit trite, but take it from one who remembers well, the sight of Ringo's baby blues brought more than a few to an old fashioned Victorian swoon. How many of you remember the breathlessness many of us teenyboppers experienced at the sight of Ringo's sweet innocent look, while wandering around to his theme, "That Boy" in "Hard Day's Night"? We couldn't see the color; "Hard Day's Night" was in black and white, nonetheless we certainly thought we could! Ahhhhh, such innocence!



I've already admitted that John was and always will be my favorite. But, Ringo deserves his due. No one could ever claim that he was a real looker; even back then we made fun of his nose. Nor, did he seem to have the intensity, drive and ego of Lennon and McCartney, or possess George's deep mystic understanding. But the few tunes that Ringo sang when he was with the Beatles (Remember "Honey Don't" and "They Gonna Put Me In The Movies"?) had a very distinctive style of their own. When the Beatles split, we really saw Ringo's jovial, Western, Bluesy, style in full flower--no heavy stuff or deep messages, just some real feel good tunes. I have to admit that in spite of the "sophistication" of my youth, I really enjoyed them. However, Ringo's real coup, in my humble opinion, was "No, no, no…". Many of you probably thought the Reagans came up with "Just Say No". But Ringo said it all in a nutshell a decade earlier: "No thank you please, it only make me sneeze; and then it makes it hard to find the door."



Seems like Ringo was trying to warn us back then--"been there done that, it's time to move on". Thanks a lot Ringo! Personally, I feel more and more that you were trying to tell us to find the door, go out and "Act Naturally". John Lennon probably summed it up best: "Ringo is Ringo, that's all there is to it. And he's every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles."






Wishing you a fantastic, wonderful, happy birthday, and many, many happy returns!

Health, and Good Fortune to my Fave Moon Child,
Always,
~Paula Gaon

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