Moderately Interesting Morning Fact July 7, 2012: Little Drummer Boy Edition

Happy 72nd birthday to Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr, the drummer for the Beatles.

5 reasons why Ringo is my favorite member of the Beatles

5. He played Mr. Conductor during the first season of the PBS children’s television series Shining Time Station.

4. The Beatles used Starr’s unusual turns of phrase, or “Ringoisms” as they became known, such as “a hard day’s night” and “tomorrow never knows“, and turned them into songs.

3. John Lennon called him the glue that kept the band together.

2. Ringo calls himself a technically limited drummer, but his skills are admired by those such as Steve Smith of Journey, Phil Collins, the drummer for Genesis, Steve Gorman of the Black Crowes, Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Jen Ledger of Skillet, Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Danny Carey of Tool, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel‘s band, Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden, Eric Carr of Kiss, Phil Rudd of AC/DC, Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós,^[55] the former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, Pedro Andreu of Heroes del Silencio and others.

1. He is married to a former Bond girl, Barbara Bach.