Aye, “tasteful” and “terrific” are two words I would also use to describe Ringo’s drumming. In fact, I would have written this post, word for word, had you not already done it for me, Stratocaster. (Thanks, btw!)
You’re welcome! 
A lot of people have dismissed Starr as supposedly a guy who got lucky - somebody who just happened to join a great band right before it became legendary.
But I think the circumstances of his joining the band point to the exact opposite conclusion. Starr wasn’t some kid from down the street who had joined the Beatles in 1960 when they were just starting out and needed an available drummer. In 1962, when Starr joined, the other members had already established themselves as a rising band and as part of their development, they went out and recruited Starr to join them. They saw Starr as a drummer of the caliber they needed to go to the next level.
Why, yes. Yes it should.
Ringo certainly got lucky – but only because he had the talent. John, Paul, and George wanted the best drummer they could find, and Ringo was considered the best drummer in Liverpool. But the group very nearly kept Pete Best – Brian Epstein didn’t want him to go – and, of course, if there were a better drummer than Ringo in Liverpool, the job would have gone to him.
I believe besides both bands being on the Liverpool circuit, they were both in Hamburg during the Beatles first run there and became pretty friendly with Ringo there. And when I read the Hunter Davies book many years ago I got the idea that Best was just a local guy they knew with a drum set who was willing and available to go to Hamburg with them. Lennon once said the Beatles were like a play and Ringo was a leading character who just didn’t make his entrance until the beginning of the second act.
And yes, Clapton was reluctant to perform on “While My Guitar”. Once he was in the studio and was welcomed by the guys, I suspect they didn’t have to twist his arm very hard to get him to help out with “Yer Blues”.
Yes, but not out of any sense of “I’m too busy,” or “It’s a bother, I’d rather do my own thing.” I’m paraphrasing, but Clapton’s reaction to George’s request was something like, “But nobody plays guitar on Beatles’ records but the Beatles!” IOW, the guitar god Clapton felt it would have been presumptuous of him!
I agree with Stratocaster that belittling Ringo’s drumming is a like wearing a sign that says “I don’t know what I’m talking about.” And about Lennon’s comment that Ringo wasn’t the best drummer in The Beatles: Paul would probably be a better drummer than Ringo in a cover band, but I can’t imagine him doing anywhere near as well as Ringo in The Beatles. Ringo was the perfect guy for that spot.
I thought Lennon never actually said that.
I think you are correct - it has been discussed here before. But that line, even if apocryphal, is still a meme about Ringo that gets tossed around…
Another bassist checking in to agree that Ringo’s got the goods. I won’t say that three bass players’ approbation trumps all commentary, but I’m thinkin’ most of the ‘ringo-dislikers’ are not quite as aware of his talents as they could/should be.
Let’s face it, most “Ringo-dislikers” are guitarists. Buncha show-offy wankers, the lot of 'em…
(kidding, kidding!)
Well, I play guitar and started this thread 
I drove the kids to Grandma’s house yesterday, and heard a 1 1/2 hour Beatles fest. I was particularly noticing how Ringo moved smoothly between three different grooves on ‘We Can Work It Out’. No question, he was the man for the job, all the way.
The “in the groove” thing–is it anything like this uneducated listener’s, “Listen to him! The man is a fucking metronome,” reaction? He’s not off the beat by a millisecond.
Ugh, how to explain groove? It’s not being a metronome. It’s making the song go.
That’s the best I can do 
A few hours behind the fake “kit” with Beatles Rock Band should convince any hater. It’s not perfectly analogous to real drumming, of course, but it gives you a great feel for how those drum parts come together and how much they’re not just plugging along and keeping a beat.
It says a lot for Ringo that I, a musician but not a drummer at all, can recognize his style. I can say that about all kinds of guitarists, piano players, even bass players, but I doubt there are half a dozen other drummers who I would recognize if they sat in on someone else’s track. (Moon, Bonzo, Peart, maybe Stewart Copeland…I’m sure there are others, but they don’t come immedately to mind.)
Ok, would four bass players’ accolades trump all commentary? Because I’ve always been bewildered by people who ragged on his drumming.
Some drummers are amazing to listen to, some are easy to play with, some are both. Ringo has always struck me as a drummer who was probably both. He always conducts the band well. You usually know from his drumming when a change is imminent with usually an accent or an extra beat, and you always know where the damn beat is. That’s a drummer’s job, IMHO. If they aren’t doing that, who cares how awesome their fills were?
As is noted above by others, when he does do a fill, it’s integral to the song and improves it. Even if I’m covering “Don’t Pass Me By” all alone with slide on an acoustic, I approximate his fills with guitar scratches. It’s not the same song without them.
If conducting and contributing to the songwriting of the biggest band in the world at the time wasn’t enough, the drum sounds that the Beatles had were innovative too. I’m not certain how much to credit who out of the Fab Four + Martin for their drum sounds, but from the bashy distorted drums off of Revolver to the pudding drums from Abbey Road, he played some of the coolest drum sounds ever.
Seriously just perfect.
I learned to play guitar by playing along with The Beatles. I’m a bass player now, and bass is my primary instrument, but when I perform live and solo I accompany myself on an acoustic guitar. I don’t consider myself a “good” guitarist; I know just enough to back up my vocals. But when I perform, everybody comes up afterwards and tells me what a great guitarist I am. It took me a long time to realize what they were hearing. What they were hearing was Ringo coming through my guitar. I was subconsciously emulating that groove that Ringo created, playing percussively while I strummed my chords.
God I need to record some video of me singing Beatles songs…