# Who do you think was the best beatle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2006, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530 "2006-05-28T09:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/21 "2006-05-29T12:10:25Z")
Nothing more to add. I just came in to say FishBicycle summed it up as Nicely as I’ve ever seen. Well done, and well said. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/22 "2006-05-31T09:38:59Z")
My curt, cynical analysis: [ul][li]Lennon was a pretentious, oh-so self-important, true-believing hippie[/li][li]McCartney was a light-as-air, pop-meister bubblehead[/li][li]Ringo was a technically adept goofball[/li][li]George was a musical genius[/li][/ul]😃 ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/23 "2006-05-31T14:14:46Z")
Invent and perpetuate cartoonish myths much? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/24 "2006-05-31T16:07:33Z")
[QUOTE=Hail Ants] My curt, cynical analysis: [ul][li]Lennon was a pretentious, oh-so self-important, true-believing hippie[/li][li]McCartney was a light-as-air, pop-meister bubblehead[/li][li]Ringo was a technically adept goofball[/li][li]George was a musical genius[/li][/ul]😃 [/QUOTE] I try not to clog SDMB with “I agree” posts, but this sums it up for me. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/25 "2006-05-31T16:26:09Z")
Another vote for Ringo. John had an uncontrollable penchant for being a blowhard. Paul, if nobody restrained him, would pen unbearably treacly pop songs. George’s foray into mysticism got on my last nerve. Ringo is always entertaining and has a very likeable public persona. He provides what I want from entertainers: enjoyable entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/26 "2006-05-31T16:40:27Z")
I agree that the best was Lennon/McCartney. The ideal songwriter is somewhere in the middle of their talents. But for one, John definitely. The greatness of the Beatles, as seen by someone who grew up with them, was that they were never satsified, and kept pushing the boundaries. Tomorrow Never Knows is a fine example, but so is Day in the Life and For the Benefit of Mr. Kite. That was all John. But Paul did add to the diversity of the albums. His Music Hall heritage really shows. You don’t get many groups today with enough range to have both Happiness is a Warm Gun and Rocky Raccoon, or Come Together and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer on one album. As for Ringo - I wonder how the Beatles would have sounded with a real drummer. The funny thing is that he was by far the most experienced and professional of the lot when he joined. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/27 "2006-05-31T17:38:10Z")
I have to agree with the folks who say the whole was better than the parts. I had this argument years ago with a college roommate of mine, who pretty much thought Lennon was a god. Just to piss him off, I told him I thought Lennon was a lazy, no-talent slacker who just happened to wind up in a group with three of the most talented musicians on the face of the planet. He rolled his eyes and said, “You’re a dreamer.” To which I promptly shot back, “Yes, but I’m not the only one.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/28 "2006-05-31T17:58:48Z")
John, for the most part. I do recognize the genuis of Paul, but he has no taste and no sense of what matters–vis a vis rock lyrics. He wanted to remove the shoulder bit from “Hey Jude” and John told him it was the best part, for just one example. I hafta agree that in this case, 1+1+1+1=1 million. All 4 together is what worked. I like Paul’s “Flaming Pie” album, but there again, he borrowed a dream of John’s for imagery (and most likely marketing purposes). Is he a better musician? I don’t doubt it. But John was a better lyricist (as was George)-and I prefer John’s anger to Paul’s sentimentality. I hafta ask: what is with the contempt for Ringo? I know nothing of drumming/percussion, but it seems to me that to despise Ringo is some kind of “done thing” --why? Even if he wasn’t as strong a drummer as \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, he helped the group in so many other ways. Not to mention that the last thing the Beatles needed was yet another ego… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/29 "2006-05-31T18:02:13Z")
[QUOTE=Hail Ants] My curt, cynical analysis [/quote] Is pretty good if one assumes you did it without listening to the Beatles. 😉 You know, to save time. Yeah, okay, Ringo was a goofball who couldn’t write a song. Still, 1.5/4 at most. [QUOTE=Voyager] As for Ringo - I wonder how the Beatles would have sounded with a real drummer. The funny thing is that he was by far the most experienced and professional of the lot when he joined. [/QUOTE] You mean instead of a tasteful player who barely had an ego at all? Beats me. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/30 "2006-05-31T18:11:08Z")
I also don’t know much about drumming and such, but I think my favorite moment on any Beatles’ song is the drums in _A Day in the Life_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/31 "2006-05-31T18:12:32Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Is pretty good if one assumes you did it without listening to the Beatles. 😉 You know, to save time. Yeah, okay, Ringo was a goofball who couldn’t write a song. Still, 1.5/4 at most. You mean instead of a tasteful player who barely had an ego at all? Beats me. [/QUOTE] I know everyone likes to dismiss Ringo and he pales to the talent of the other three but he was a solid rhythm drummer and got the job done quite well. He wrote at least one song that will probably last longer than most Rock & Roll Songs in Yellow Submarine. As the group was falling apart each Beatle went to Ringo and apologize, he was the one member everybody liked. That and his mangling of the English Language makes him the Yogi Berra of the British Invasion. He just a nice guy with a great sense of humor and a solid drummer. Jim ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/32 "2006-05-31T18:16:41Z")
Jim - that was nice, except Ringo didn’t write “Yellow Submarine.” He wrote “Octopus’ Garden” and “Don’t Pass Me By.” ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/33 "2006-05-31T18:16:42Z")
Gummo. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/34 "2006-05-31T18:49:29Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I know everyone likes to dismiss Ringo and he pales to the talent of the other three but he was a solid rhythm drummer and got the job done quite well. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that was pathetically unclear on my part. I meant that while he WAS a goofball and not a songwriter - I could be wrong, but I’ve heard that Octopus’s Garden was heavily rewritten by George - but I was agreeing that he was a technically adept and groundbreaking drummer. And Ringo’s goofiness is part of his charm. I think Octopus’s Garden is a very good song, and Don’t Pass Me By would be good if not for one couplet I probably don’t need to quote. The instrumentation isn’t good either. But anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/35 "2006-05-31T19:00:13Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Don’t Pass Me By would be good if not for one couplet I probably don’t need to quote. [/QUOTE] nam daed no em nruT > [@](#): > > The instrumentation isn’t good either. Aw, I like it…that weird electric piano sound, and the wheezy fiddle…it’s certainly a unique combination. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/36 "2006-05-31T19:27:33Z")
[QUOTE=Hail Ants] My curt, cynical analysis: [ul][li]Lennon was a pretentious, oh-so self-important, true-believing hippie[/li][li]McCartney was a light-as-air, pop-meister bubblehead[/li][li]Ringo was a technically adept goofball[/li][li]George was a musical genius[/li][/ul]😃 [/QUOTE] Light-as-air pop is an unfair term for a song collection including rockers like back in the ussr and get back. Not to mention crazy non-pop songs like helter skelter and wild honey pie. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/37 "2006-05-31T19:39:30Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Aw, I like it…that weird electric piano sound, and the wheezy fiddle…it’s certainly a unique combination. [/QUOTE] It’s just the piano tone that bugs me. But the uniqueness is indisputable. 😉 I really like Ringo’s playing during the choruses of Strawberry Fields Forever. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/38 "2006-05-31T19:47:53Z")
Regarding Ringo’s drumming ability: Just what is he doing in the anthology version of helter skelter? dum…dum…dum…dum…dum…dum…dum…dum…dum…dum (etc) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/39 "2006-06-01T00:38:18Z")
While most of the songs were credited to Lennon/McCartney, a lot of their greatest songs were still pretty much solo compositions. What they did do was mercilessly criticise each other. That’s what kept Paul from writing treacly pop songs while they were together - it wasn’t John’s musical input, but the knowledge that John would mock him if he didn’t put some ‘meat’ in the song. When the Beatles broke up (and they probably broke up in part because of that tension between them), Paul no longer had the the sarcastic biting criticism of John to worry about, and John no longer had to try to match Paul’s talent for melodic hooks. Also, the creative tension between them led to a pretty strong rivalry. They wrote their songs in part to show the other that they weren’t as crappy as the other said they were. I’ll bet you songs like Helter Skelter came out of Paul thinking, “So he thinks I write pop songs, huh? I’ll show him.” So yeah, they both suffered from leaving the Beatles, but not because they wrote as a team. They just motivated each other into individual excellence and massive creative output. Frankly, I think of them as Paul the nice guy with talent, John the dickhead with talent, Ringo the guy who could get along with anyone, and George the quiet artistic type. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530/40 "2006-06-01T00:50:11Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] … Also, the creative tension between them led to a pretty strong rivalry. They wrote their songs in part to show the other that they weren’t as crappy as the other said they were. I’ll bet you songs like Helter Skelter came out of Paul thinking, “So he thinks I write pop songs, huh? I’ll show him.” … [/QUOTE] For what it is worth, I heard it was not competition with John but the Who. From Wiki which is the same way I heard it: > [@](#): > > McCartney was inspired to write the song after reading a newspaper review of The Who’s latest single, most likely “I Can See For Miles.” The review described the single as the loudest, wildest song ever recorded, with distorted guitars, reverb, and screaming. McCartney took this as a challenge to write something louder and “Helter Skelter” was the result. Some historians of popular music believe that this song was a key influence on the development of heavy metal. Jim [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-was-the-best-beatle/358530.md?page=3)