Why Ringo Didn't Play Drums on The Beatles' First Hit Record
By 1962, The Beatles could boast of some humble accomplishments as a band. They’d wowed audiences from Liverpool to Hamburg and gained a solid local following along the way. Bit by bit, they had begun building their reputation.
However, they still didn’t have a hit record to their name. When Brian Epstein (the band’s manager) got them an audition at EMI in London, they had a shot at changing that. Unfortunately, producer George Martin didn’t think drummer Pete Best was good enough for the record.
Martin planned to use a session drummer for the recording date and have Best sit it out. But The Beatles had other plans and fired Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr. The thing was, that didn’t settle the issue for Martin.
After seeing Ringo in action on “Love Me Do” he decided to bring in that session drummer anyway. When the record label released “Love Me Do” and it sold well, Ringo wasn’t on the hit version.
Source: cheatsheet.com
