{"id":2108,"date":"2025-09-21T18:04:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T18:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/countrymusictune.com\/?p=2108"},"modified":"2025-09-21T18:04:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T18:04:53","slug":"drumming-is-my-madness-ringo-starrs-favourite-drumming-song-from-his-solo-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/countrymusictune.com\/?p=2108","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Drumming is My Madness\u2019: Ringo Starr\u2019s favourite drumming song from his solo years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ringo Starr\u00a0was never one to show off his technique every single time he played the drums. He played for the song above anything else, but even when he reached his solo career, he admitted that a few tunes were worth revisiting because of how much power he put into his performance.<\/p>\n

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Then again, Starr\u2019s entire ethos was about not having the drums get in the way of the vocal or the melody whenever he played a tune. The drums may have been the backbone to nearly every single Beatles song, but when looking through some of their finest songs, Starr never plays anything too busy. He\u2019s there to make sure the song can breathe, and even if he played a specific fill for the tune, it wasn\u2019t like any of it was clearly thought over before he went into the studio to record.<\/p>\n

A lot of great drumming is based on instinct and working off of what the rest of the band is doing, but when Starr struck out on his own, it was a much different ballgame. He could still play the drums on the record, but now that he was the true star of the group, he needed to make sure that he was covering all the bases. It helped when he played cover songs and could do justice to an arrangement, but it\u2019s not like he would make his solo tunes a drum extravaganza.<\/p>\n

At least, not yet. If you think about it, Starr\u2019s first official solo songwriting on The Beatles\u2019 \u2018Don\u2019t Pass Me By\u2019 is filled to the brim with as many percussion layers as he wanted, and when looking through his solo discography, it\u2019s not like he couldn\u2019t break out a few rhythmic hooks every time he got behind the kit.<\/p>\n

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Out of all his solo records, \u2018Drumming is My Madness\u2019 always held a special place in Starr\u2019s heart. While he was still going through a handful of personal issues, hearing him and Jim Keltner lock in on a groove together is a match made in musical heaven as Star sings Harry Nilsson\u2019s lyrics about the pure love of all things percussive. Keltner was always a sympathetic drummer, the same way Starr was, but if there was one thing that Starr always went back to, it was the sense of fun that came from playing with his friends.<\/p>\n

The song is far from the most thoughtful thing in the world, but Starr always looked back fondly on the record and how it reflected his purpose as a drummer,\u00a0saying<\/a>, \u201c\u2018Drumming Is My Madness\u2019 is one [of my favourites], because it was fun. It was Harry Nilsson, Jim Keltner and I. I truly believe that my heartbeat keeps the tempo, because I naturally have a great time, as you all noticed, and that\u2019s not blowing my own horn. I just have a great time, and that\u2019s the rhythm of my heart and my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the song wasn\u2019t going to earn Starr any major awards by any stretch, his best songs are always the ones that fit his voice the best. He never had a show-stopping\u00a0set of pipes<\/a>\u00a0like his bandmates, but a song that\u2019s all about the joy of being able to bang on things for a living and celebrating his role as the drummer feels like a natural, silly follow-up to his other lighthearted numbers when working with The Beatles.<\/p>\n

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But the fact that this is one of his favourite drum tracks is actually far more telling of the kind of drummer Starr naturally was. Not every piece of the tune is meant to be flashy, and a majority of its runtime involves Starr laying down a solid foundation for the rest of the band, but giving a song that kind of pulse was what he always felt was his art.<\/p>\n

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