Lennon/McCartney's legendary skills & songwriting talent produced very few duds. This is the duddest.
It seems that people have a fascination with lists these days. And why not? Short bits of easily digestible info are the equivalent of convenience store snacks for the mind. I'm okay with that, unless you live exclusively on junk food. And just as many people have their preferred snacks, so it goes with lists; often people read only the items that they themselves would've chosen, either as reinforcement of their own belief, or perhaps reinforcement of their own ingenuity. Yes indeed, sometimes we're all just so darn smart.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - John
Having re-read Temple's post on JC's comments, I have to apologize. I do believe I mis-read what you we're actually saying. Mea culpa!
John
27 - Doug
"Dig A Pony." Especially the line "I roll a stoney." Yeesh.
28 - Doug
Let's just end this thread now and admit there is no such thing as a bad Beatles song or recording. Even their out takes are great! No one has come up with a truly bad song yet. Any one of the above mentioned "bad" songs would be considered the very best song by any band out today. Look at the current top 40. Wretched! It's full of American Idols, bad country and bad Hip Hop. There's nobody that comes anywhere near the music of Johhny Cash, Hank Williams, The Beatles, The Rollingstones, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley anymore.
29 - Chris
The best Beatles songs are the ones that Pete Best drummed on. Without Pete the Beatles were never quite as good.
30 - Doug
The Inner Groove at the end of Sgt.Pepper. That's about all. Anything else they recorded was genius!
31 - Jennifer
I don't know about the worst song, but the best Beatles album of all time is BEST OF THE BEATLES released on Savage Records in 1966. That album had their best work. It has been re-released on CD by Cherry Red Records under the name THE PETE BEST COMBO-BEYOND THE BEATLES-1964-1966. Great stuff!
32 - Doug
Are Pete Best and his family posting all these comments? Every other one is pro-Pete/anti-Ringo.
33 - JC Mosquito
If I remember correctly, all of the songs mentioned as bad DIDN'T have Stu Sutcliffe on them either. Maybe we're about to rewrite history here.
34 - JC Mosquito
If I remember correctly, all the songs mentioned as bad DIDN'T have Stu Sutcliffe on them either.
And so it it - the true geniuses of the Beatles are revealed.
35 - James
Doug,
I doubt that it's Pete Best's family posting. The posts don't surprise me because Pete has always been pretty popular. Most casual fans that I have talked to over the years all seem to agree that he was a far better drummer than Ringo. I like Pete and Ringo equally. However, I do agree with one of the previous posts; most of the songs that are being picked for the worst Beatles song of all time are ones in which Ringo sings or drums on. No one has picked a Pete Best era Beatles song yet. If he was such a horrible drummer you would think SOMEONE would pick a song he participated on as there least favorite.
I find that interesting.
36 - Jennifer
I never like "Cayenne'" from Antholgy 1.
That one was pretty bad.
37 - Sam
If you ask me, the whole thread is ant-Ringo. "Don't Pass Me By?" "Yellow Submarine?" Nobody likes those songs?!!!! They are two of my all time favorites!!!! Ringo rocks. Pete was great too though.
38 - James
Oops! I meant to write "their least favorite."
39 - Glen Boyd
I'm a little surprised at all the votes for Yellow Submarine. To me that song was always pretty harmless fun. It had a nice, catchy chorus (the kind that locks itself into your head, which is the hallmark of any great hook). And trivial as the song itself was, the "submerged" vocal effects fit right in with the trippy experimentation the boys were doing in the studio around that time.
And whats up with all the Pete Best comments?
-Glen
40 - Garen
Why hasn't anyone picked a song from THE LOVE ALBUM. All I read from hardcore Beatle fans when that album came out last year was what a travesty it was. Beatle fans generally lambasted "Gnik Nus" ("Sun King" backwards) as the single worst piece of Beatles music ever released! I personally loved it along with the entire album, but now everything BUT that song is picked as a horrible Beatles song.
I also don't recall reading a kind word from too many fans concerning "Free as a Bird" when it was released either. The BBC hardly played it and they banned "Real Love." Personally, I thought that both of those songs were well done.
Forget the Pete Best comments, what's up with the inconsistency with Beatle fans? I mean, "The Ballad of John and Yoko" is suddenly garbage?
Do Beatle fans have short term memory loss?
41 - Chris
Glen,
People are mentioning Pete Best because he was a member of The Beatles. We are posting in a forum discussing The Beatles aren't we?
-Chris
42 - Glen Boyd
Well yes Chris, he certainly was. As was Stuart Sutcliffe. I just found the "volume" of Pete's fans weighing in here a little surprising thats all. I mean we are talking about songs from records made once the band became a worldwide household name aren't we? Please forgive me, if I misunderstood that.
-Glen
43 - Travis
Glen,
I have to agree with you. "Yellow Submarine" is catchy and well executed! The sound effects alone make it for me. I also love Ringo's vocals. Anything he sang on gave that song a certain charm.
And what's up with all the John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr comments?
44 - Glen Boyd
Maybe we should open up the Yoko can of worms Travis.
I mean wasn't she the defacto "fifth Beatle" there for awhile? She even had a bed installed in the studio during Beatles sessions.
...Then again, maybe we shouldn't.
-Glen
45 - Chris
Why are we only "talking about songs from records made once the band became a worldwide household name?" I thought that the forum was about "the worst Beatles' song of all time." I just assumed that meant everything they ever recorded. Pete was on a lot of recordings with the band. I know that Stuart Sutcliffe was a member, but he's only on one or two Anthology tracks. He barely counts as part of their recorded output.
If I have to pick a song released after The Beatles became famous then it would be "The Beatles' Movie Medley" released in the 70s. That wasn't too good.
By the way, I'm not a Pete Best fan, I'm a Beatle fan. Pete just happens to be my favorite member of the group. Everyone has a favorite.
46 - Anne
"Pete forever, Ringo Never!"
47 - Travis
Glen,
I wouldn't compare Yoko to Pete Best. That doesn't make sense. Pete Best was an official member of The Beatles. Yoko was never the "fifth" Beatle. Yoko has never been considered the "fifth" anything. Don't get me wrong, I love Yoko. She is her own person and an extremely talented artist. But, a member of The Beatles? I don't think so.
-Travis
48 - Don
Everybody knows that Pete Best was the better drummer. That's all I ever heard growing up. All you have to do is listen to any of his many solo albums for proof. It's pretty much common knowledge.
Worst Beatles song? Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs." Yeah, I know it's a solo song, but as Pete Best once said, "Once a Beatle always a Beatle."
And what's up with all of the anti-Ringo posts?
49 - Rodney Welch
Not only is "Ballad of John and Yoko" NOT the worst Beatles song, it's a damned good song. However, your reasons for disliking it surely make the short list for the crappiest music criticism I've ever read.
So what if it's "self-referential" -- lots of great songs are. Look at Dylan's Blood on the Tracks or "Bob Dylan's Dream" or "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" (to cite only the most obvious examples from the Dylan canon) or Neil Young's Tonight's the Night or The Pretenders' "Back on the Chain Gang" or Mott the Hoople's "The Ballad of Mott the Hoople" or the Jefferson Airplane's "Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" or the Mamas and the Papas' "Creeque Alley" or Willie Nelson's "Me and Paul" or God knows how many of Lou Reed's songs or Eminem's or the purely autobiographical rants of most rappers? Take away "self-referential" and you take away most music ever written.
Second, John and Yoko's life WAS interesting and, I'm sorry to say, probably more interesting than yours or mine, which is why we're even bothering to write about him in the first place. And why in the world should "a good song ... be universal enough for the fans to identify with it on some level"? I can't identify with lots and lots and lots of what I read, see and hear everyday. I don't turn to music to reflect my experience -- I want to hear how well someone else can express his own.
The song may not aim all that high musically, but that's part of it's charm; the song is a easy little knockoff, dominated by a simple, distinct riff, with lyrics that show the famous couple basically enjoying a laugh at their own expense -- "Made a lightning trip to Vienna/Eating chocolate cake in a bag/The newspapers said/She's gone to his head/They look just like two gurus in drag."
Say what you will, but that's a funny line, maybe because it's true. That's one of the things I always loved about Lennon. He was the band's great wit.
50 - Bill
Rodney Welch,
Your post is THE single most intelligent post yet on this forum! I agree 100% with everything that you wrote. I love that you pointed out Eminem and rap music to help make your point. Most great songs are self reverential and "The Ballad of John and Yoko" is right up there with the best of them. That is why we love that kind of music. They present a window into the artist's life. Eminem, probably along with the Notorious B.I.G, 2 Pac and Chuck D, is one of the greatest rappers that has ever lived! All of his and their songs are nothing BUT self reverential. They are GREAT storytellers in the same way John Lennon was.
You are right on the nose and should be a music critic yourself. Thank you for bringing some sense to this forum with your well written and accurate critique of JC Mosquitos flawed argument for not liking "The Ballad of John and Yoko." He is more than entitled to his opinion, but his reasons for not liking the song are beyond ludicrous.
Oh yeah, one more thing: Pete Best rocks!!!!!!!!
51 - JC Mosquito
Interesting critique of a critique, and some good points there, RW. But I'm sticking with this one about the self referential songwriting. And it's the self referential points tied in with a certain amount of ego and arrogance, whether conscious or subconscious, that thinks it's a given that the audience will accept a hastily written knock off of a song because it's written about me, the superstar, the writer.
Your point about not turning to music to reflect your experience, but to see how someone expresses his or her own - fine, but to me it's voyeristic and perhaps in some cases it could be seen as a refusal to be self-analytical. Not that I'm saying you personally are like that - you write like a sane & intelligent enough person to be fairly balanced, so you probably self analyse in different ways. But think of the people who live through the lives of their heroes - heroes whose interesting lives become a surrogate for the fans, most who only know how to demand more. It just burns out the art in the artists until they've no art left to consume them, and are consumed instead by their own celebrity. And we all have heroes - Lennon, Dylan, whoever - neither you nor I would be writing about them if they weren't important to us. You may see it as charming and having a laugh at oneself - I say that I expected more from that in any Lennon piece. I expected wit as opposed to the sledgehammer. Maybe I expected too much, but how does the mind who wrote Jealous Guy, or Strawberry Fields Forever or Norwegian Wood write BJY and release it as a single? Maybe I wouldn't have minded it so much if it was buried as an album track, but I've tried to get around that and listen to the song as a song - and it still doesn't do it for me for the reasons cited in the article.
Let me give you an example - Neil Young's Old Man - who was it written about? His father? The caretaker at his ranch? Any and all old men? Neil imagining himself in the future? Me? You?
The correct answer - all of the above and none of the above. I've heard that song for 30 plus years and it never fails to reach deep inside of me and make me wonder about my life & everyone else's. So it doesn't matter WHO the song is about. And the older I get, the more I wonder about life, and why that songs continues to be ageless & timeless for me. THAT's how a song appeals on more levels than just the literal one - and has a unviersal apppeal.
Thanx for giving me that opening to expand, RW. And I reiterate two points: 1) the worst song of the Beatles (whatever it is) is likely better than 90% of everyone else's; and 2) nobody can write a great song all the time.
Skeeter.
52 - JC Mosquito
I've been trying to reply to posts for days and my computer keeps disappearing them. test Comment .
53 - Temple Stark
mic 1, 2, 3
(we are writing a song line by line aren't we?)
So far we have
test comment
test comment
mic 1, 2, 3
I think the next line / comment should be something with "free"
54 - Christopher Rose
JC, Apologies for any distress but the anti-spam software has little brainfarts from time to time and wrongly delivers false positives. Please keep posting as much as you can and I will free up your words. Akismet will learn eventually, bless its pointed little head!
55 - Rodney Welch
Bill -- You're too kind and very encouraging. Thanks.
JC -- I was thinking about this after I posted and I suspect you may not have meant "self-referential" (since just about everybody is guilty of that) as much as "self-indulgent," when an artist is writing a song that only has meaning to him.
I can certainly see where someone might see this song in that way. However, it is perfectly okay to be self-indulgent (or stupid or anything) so long as you are also interesting and witty and you have a good tune. You don't see these things in this song, and that's fine; I on the other hand bought this single as soon as it came out (yes, I am that old) later downloaded it some years ago (which I only mention to indicate that I'm not saddled with it as part of an album, and that I actually sought it out in particular) and that I turn it up every time it's on the radio or playing in a coffee shop. I sing along, too. (Roll of thunder, hear me mumble: "Last night, the wife said/Oh boy, when you're dead/You don't take nothing with you but your soul -- THINK!")
So, for me, it really, really works as a song, and I think I may even like it a little more than a number of other Beatles singles because it's never quite become over-familiar in the way maybe "Yesterday" has. It still catches me a little off-guard.
I'd have to look at the list of Beatles hits to pick out the one I like least. I'm not sure they really had a really bad single, just some I like less than others.
56 - JC Mosquito
Self indulgent it is - thanx for the correction. I had spent some time composing a post that was much better executed than the one I eventually got out there and it was late and poorly edited and I was frustrated with the loss of the original. C'est la vie. See you in the forums,
Sk.
57 - JC Mosquito
I got an error 20: banned word message (and lost another comment). It seems to do this when I insert my URL.
58 - Christopher Rose
20 is ".free" Skeeter, which isn't part of your url.
By the way, could you please stick "http://" at the beginning of your url in the comments window. The link isn't active otherwise.
59 - Bill
JC,
I feel the need to apologize for my last post. I was pretty harsh concerning your article. Your response to Rodney woke me up to what an intelligent writer you truly are. You make some well thought out and interesting points. "The Ballad of John and Yoko" just isn't your favorite song and as you said, " the worst song of the Beatles (whatever it is) is likely better than 90% of everyone else's."
While I still love "The Ballad of John and Yoko," I must admit that it has always felt more like a Lennon solo song than a Beatles tune. It has more of a tone and attitude similar to songs from the IMAGINE LP than most of his work with The Beatles. It does not sound like anything off of Sgt.Pepper or a song like "Strawberry Fields."
It's funny when you re-read what you wrote the next morning. I definitely came across a bit mean spirited towards you.
Anyhow, your article has opened up a fun debate amongst all of us Beatle fetishists lurking on the web. You unabashedly and with no apologies, picked a song that most people wouldn't have necessarily chosen and you haven't backed down. I like when a writer does that.
Cheers!
Oh yeah, one more thing; Pete Best was the better drummer. ( I'm sorry I just had to add that in again. )
60 - JC Mosquito
Thanx for your consideration, gentlemen. The world's a smaller place because of the internet (amongst other things), and as long as people are willing to exchange ideas freely & without malice, the world must surely become a better place, too.
Skeeter.
Mr. Rose - thanx for trying to straighten out my posts. I pasted the http thing in the URL box - man, I'm still getting the hang of this stuff. Do I put my URL in as well?
61 - Christopher Rose
Skeeter, Under the "Name:" box is the "URL:" box. In there, put the full url of your site, starting with http and up to and including the /jcmosquito part. Then, when someone clicks on the [URL] after your name, they will go to your site. Try mine if you want to see it work and then click on yours as it currently is now to see how it doesn't work without it.
62 - JC Mosquito
That's what I thought I was doing... didn't seem to be a problem until last night... well, we'll try this.
Test comment.
63 - Alex
No one has picked a song that Pete Best has drummed on. I always KNEW that he was way more popular than Ringo!
64 - Paul the K
Have to agree with those citing "Mr Moonlght" as the worst Fabs track. Truly horrid.
As for the "Pete Forever, Ringo Never" crowd who seem to be congregating here, you are quite simply all mad. Ringo was a true innovator and is still a brilliant drummer (go listen to "Instant Amnesia from the recent "Ringorama" if you don't believe me). Pete's drumming, as displayed on the Sheridan/Decca/Anth 1 tracks is truly dire. Compare it to the Star Club album (with Ringo sitting in) & it's case closed. Ringo rocks. Sheila E helps out with the All-Stars as Ringo needs to step up to the mike for half the show - when they play together they work together brilliantly; check out any of the live DVDs for proof of this. Pete, in contrast, needs half-brother Roag to play with him these days as he seems incapable of playing anything except a straight 4/4 beat - Pete actually stops playing, lifts his sticks and points at Roag whenever a break comes along! Are you still wondering why the Beatles sacked this guy? Come on!!
I for one can't wait for "Liverpool 8" later this year - a new Ringo album full of great rock n' roll drumming; happy days! 8-)
65 - John
"It certainly wasn't Best's drumming that got him sacked from The Beatles. Kasim Sulton, Meat Loaf's musical director and a former member of Todd Rundgren's Utopia, said this: "It is generally acknowledged among musicians that Pete was the best drummer on the Liverpool scene."
First of all, Pete Best's drumming was far superior to Ringos. Just take a listen to "Besame Mucho" on "Anthology 1", The Beatles Polydor recordings featuring Tony Sheridan or any of the tracks from "The Pete Best Combo: Beyond the Beatles" CD for solid evidence of that fact.
Before Ringo joined, Beatlemania was already in full bloom in Liverpool. Pete was THE most popular member at that time which helped them get noticed by Brian Epstein and subsequently signed to EMI. All Ringo did was join an enormously popular band and ride the gravy train to fame and fortune. The Beatles were already signed without any contribution from him.
Ringo Starr is one of the luckiest people in show business.
I find it interesting that the prevailing attitude for so many hardcore Beatle fans is that Pete Best was a failure and unsuccessful. Nothing could be further from the truth.
He was a member of arguably the biggest band of all time. He contributed to a number one album in 1995 ("The Beatles Anthology 1") which sold millions and made him a millionaire. He has authored or co-authored several books ("Beatle! The Pete Best Story","The Beatles: The True Beginnings", etc.) All of these books sold relatively well. His own production company produced an excellent documentary ("Pete Best of The Beatles.") which aired on PBS and sold considerably well on DVD. His excellent sixties recordings are still in print ("The Pete Best Combo: Beyond The Beatles") He also contributed to TWO Beatles hit singles,"Ain't She Sweet/Nobody's Child"(#19 July 18, 1964) and "My Bonnie/The Saints"(#26 February 8 1964.) And Bear Family Records released an amazing two disc set containing all of his Polydor recordings with the Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan.
66 - John
"Our best work was never recorded....Because we were performers... in Liverpool, Hamburg and other dance halls. What we generated was fantastic when we played straight rock, and there was nobody to touch us in Britain. As soon as we made it, we made it, but the edges were knocked off. You know, Brian put us in suits and all that, and we made it very, very big. But we sold out, you know." John Lennon from the Rolling Stone interview in 1971.
John is talking about the Pete Best era in that quote. Here's another quote from Lennon:
Interviewer to Lennon: "Is Ringo the best drummer in the world?"
Lennon: "No, he's not even the best drummer in the band."
John's referring to the Beatles when he says "band."
"If you didn't see the Beatles at the Cavern Club with Pete Best, you haven't seen the Beatles." This quote is from a musician on the "Best of The Beatles" documentary.
67 - John
"Klaus Voorman, yet another extra Beatle, who was their mate in Hamburg, played on a few of their albums and did the "Revolver" cover, complimented Pete's musicianship in the "Best Of The Beatles" biography, as well."
68 - John
Paul the K,
"Pete Best was a great drummer, but Ringo was a great Beatle".
-John Lennon.
I can't find the exact quote, but I know that Paul McCartney has gone on record on the Wingspan DVD and admitted that Pete was a great drummer.
So, if the Pete Best contingent who are posting on this forum are all mad, then so are John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Kasim Sulten and Klaus Voorman. They were all pretty good musicians wouldn't you agree? I'm sure that they would know what they were talking about.
As for Ringo's album RINGORAMA, I bought that album based on glowing reviews only to end up donating it to the public library. It was abysmal. The production is like most modern recordings, very over produced and poorly mixed. The sound is just way too cluttered. Rick Rubin should produce for Ringo and strip down the sound to something you can actually listen to. The Beatles albums always had much better production.
Some of Ringo's early albums are classics. I love RINGO, SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY and BLAST FROM YOUR PAST. Anything recent that he has produced is not even close to what he recorded in the 70s.
The Pete Best Band recorded a pretty good album in the 90s called ONCE A BEATLE ALWAYS. It's much better than any of Ringo's recent efforts.
-John
69 - Anne
If Pete Best is considered to be such a horrible drummer, then could somebody with some musical expertise please explain to me what it is that is so bad about his performances on "My Bonnie", "Ain't She Sweet," or "Besame Mucho?" To my ears his drumming sounds fantastic on those tracks! I absolutely love them. I'm talking about the un-dubbed masters and not any versions that were overdubbed from Atco records.
Thanks,
Anne
70 - J.J. Hunsecker
If Pete was such a great drummer, why did he do nothing after The Beatles, and don't try to give me The Pete Best Band.
71 - zingzing
as stated somewhere by somebody: "Most casual fans that I have talked to over the years all seem to agree that he was a far better drummer than Ringo."
casual beatles fans don't know who pete best is. even some hardcore fans have yet to hear any beatles tracks with pete best drumming on them. most hardcore beatles fans have never heard the pete best combo.
to say best was a better drummer than starr is an opinion that may or may not be true, but it doesn't really matter. the beatles were not THE beatles until starr joined. who knows what would have happened with best as their drummer. it certainly would have been different. i wouldn't change a thing about the beatles recording career.
and i vote for "yellow submarine," not because it is a truly horrible song, but because the damn thing gets stuck in my head for days at a time and i get so fucking sick of it. i don't even want to think about for the fear. the sound effects are nice, however.
72 - Suzanne
"Klaus Voorman, yet another extra Beatle, who was their mate in Hamburg, played on a few of their albums and did the "Revolver" cover, complimented Pete's musicianship in the "Best Of The Beatles" biography, as well."
Hi! Hey, it's Voormann with 2 N's!
If you want to know what Klaus has to say about Ringo's drumming, check out this interview from just a week ago: Click on the link that says: Beluister het interview.
73 - Andrew
Zing Zang,
I disagree. Casual fans have all heard of Pete Best. I'm a hardcore fan and anytime I have ever brought him up to someone they always ask, without exception, "What ever happened to him?" They ALL are familiar with the story about how he was kicked out of the group on the verge of stardom. They always are aware of the various theories, such as "The others were jealous of him", "He was the most popular" and "Wasn't he a better drummer?"
Perhaps this is a generational thing. I'm probably older than you and maybe today's generation is unaware of him. But, my generation ALL know his name. I'm sure that it didn't help that his face was torn off the group photo on the cover of THE ANTHOLOGY CD. APPLE has not been very good at keeping the public aware of Pete Best. Unless a younger fan were to carefully read the liner notes, they probably wouldn't even know that Pete Best is heard on a number of songs from that album.
As for your statement that "The Beatles were not The Beatles until Starr joined", that is just plain false. They were called The Beatles the entire 2 and 1/2 years that Pete was in the group.
Plenty of bands have had a revolving door containing various group members. Were The Rollig Stones not The Rolling Stones until Ron Wood joined the band? Was N.W.A. not N.W.A. without Ice Cube? What about Public Enemy, D-12, Digital Underground, The Eagles, The Who, The Monkees, The Supremes, The Beach Boys, Van Halen, Guns and Roses, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney and Wings, The Plastic Ono Band, The Jacksons , Genesis and on and on and on? These bands have ALL changed lineups over the years.
The marketing of The Beatles was so powerful and effective that many fans will ONLY except John, Paul, George and Ringo as The Beatles. For some people this is set in stone. The truth is that The Beatles, like every other band on the planet, never had only one line up. There have always been 6 official Beatles; John, Paul, George, Pete, Ringo and Stu.
74 - Andrew
J.J. Hunsecker,
Pete Best continued to record plenty of music through out the 60s. He recorded with The Lee Curtis All-Stars, The Pete Best Four, The Pete Best Combo and under the name Peter Best. He stopped recording after 1968 because his various groups had very little success. This doesn't mean that what he recorded wasn't any good, in fact a lot of it was exceptional!
Pete's story is similar to that of Florence Ballard, one of the original Supremes. The movie Dreamgirls was loosely based on her experience. Neither Pete or Florence's later failures in the music industry had anything to do with how talented they were.
"The popular story is that Flo (who coined the name Supremes) had the better singing voice but was less aesthetically pleasing than Diane Ross. Eventually the name of the group was changed to "Diana Ross and the Supremes." Flo was a proud girl, and resented the attention heaped on Diana and (literally) being shoved to the background. Motown fired her and replaced her with Cindy Birdsong."
So, making it in the music industry is not just about talent. Pete Best, like Florence Ballard was given the shaft and never got the same breaks again.
The Beatles also didn't do anything to help Pete's career in the 60s. In fact, they hindered it by saying a lot of untrue things such as, "he was addicted to pills" or "he was late and unreliable" in the press. Pete won a lawsuit over the false accusations. I'm sure the things they said did nothing to get anyone excited about working with him.
The music industry is littered with stories of talented people who missed making it big at some point and never recovered.
I hope that clears things up for you.
Cheers!
75 - John
Suzanne,
Sorry for the misspelling of Klaus's name. Of course I know that it is Voormann with two N's! Haven't you ever typed so fast that you've made a mistake before? I'll be careful to proof read my posts a little closer for you.
Yes, I know that Klaus Voormann has the utmost respect for Ringo's drumming, I never said that he didn't! He also likes Pete Best's drumming. He is entitled to like both.