Ringo Starr Reveals the Beatles’ Rehearsal Dynamic: “Paul Was A Workaholic”

In a congenial conversation between two established artists—the former Beatle, Ringo Starr, and singer/songwriter/producer Linda Perry—no topic was off-limits. Live on American Songwriter’s Twitch channel, the duo chatted about their families, the music industry, and even the current climate crisis.

Perry also probed the drummer about his time with the Beatles, and specifically how the iconic British group formatted their band rehearsals.

“I have to mention [this] every time,” Ringo begins in his explanation of the Beatles’ rehearsals. “We made a lot more records than three of us [John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr] would have made because Paul is a workaholic.”

“He’d be the one calling, ‘Let’s go in the studio, lads.’ John and I would’ve been in the garden, you know, looking at the trees or whatever, and we’d go and make music. But when we got into the studio, that’s where we started. Paul had written a song, two songs, three songs, John’s got some, [and in] the earlier days they’d written songs together. And we just used to put it down.

“There’s not a lot of takes on anything we did, because we were a band and we knew each other,” Ringo continues. “I always felt it was psychic… And it’s the magic of music. I loved it. I still love it when that happens.”

Clearly, the balance between the four Beatles led to something extraordinary, and Starr can still recount the moments when he first felt that magic. Today, the Beatles are one of the most influential bands in music history, and songs like “Hey Jude” (among many others) are beloved anthems.

Read more about Linda Perry’s Twitch show, titled The Art Of… With Linda Perry, hosted on American Songwriter’s channel here, and tune in each week for more conversations like this one.