What made Ringo a great drummer

There's a huge difference between "having a big ego" and knowing what you did and your place in history.
And as far as Pete's drumming goes ... please.
I'll repeat what I said in my first post of this thread, "if you don't hear why Ringo's awesome - you're not listening". Full stop.

 

Great video. Through all the years and the original and/or cover bands I've been involved in, I was always yearning to hear a Ringo behind me. Some of those drum arrangements are just so right!!

 

Some of those drum arrangements are just so right!!

Indeed.
The Beatles wrote sophisticated pop tunes for the time ( or any time really) - primarily melodically and harmonically driven - which often required something more (and less) than a backbeat. Someone mentioned Hal Blaine before, and for me Ringo echoes his sensibility toward sound, texture and lightness , percussive effect over driving pulse (although he could do that too when required) which is what the Beatles were all about and as time went on this sensibility became more and more critical.
I think some of the critique of Ringo comes from trying to cast him in a role he actually couldnt play in that band. It was a front end driven band - by design and default, and I think of a whole lot of Lennon's tunes which were driven by his acoustic rhythm playing - or later George Martin's arrangements for strings etc - not to mention the McArtney tunes with all that counterpoint in the bass. It had to be light and had to complement . And when the drums were driving it had to be simple - All you Need is Love would have sounded ridiculous with some heavy hitter... His drumming illuminated George's guitar playing too...most would agree that George's playing stands on its own as texturally advanced and imaginative for any time. Thats because he had the space to operate on a complex level - as Paul did too. A thread on the relationship between guitarists and drummers in various groups - would be an interesting one..

 

Of all the members, Ringo without a doubt brings up the most debate. I for one absolutely love his drumming but I’ll admit I’m no drummer.
The thought that enters my mind when this debate comes up is maybe he’s great, maybe he wasn’t but I think he was perfect for The Beatles.

I just cannot imagine Ginger Baker, Charlie Watt or anyone else making them sound the way they did.