# Who's your favorite Beatle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156 "2009-12-13T23:46:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/21 "2009-12-14T02:18:13Z")
In general, I like John’s songs better and his voice better than Pauls. But Paul McCartney is THE reason I play bass. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/22 "2009-12-14T02:55:04Z")
> [@Sidney Evgeni Jordan](#): > > Strongly in favor of John, although I love the others, too. I have come to learn that most of my favorite Beatles songs were written primarily by John, and he also contributed bits that I particularly appreciate in other Beatles songs. And his singing was amazing. This. I prefer John’s voice and songs, that’s pretty much it. His last verse of _A Day in the Life_ still gives me chills, 30+ years after I first heard it. IMHO, _Strawberry Fields Forever_, _Mr. Kite_, _Tomorrow Never Knows_, _I Am the Walrus_, _Help!_, _Norwegian Wood_, _Rain_, _Across the Universe_ and _In My Life_ is a better collection of songs than _Hey Jude_, _Yesterday_, _Eleanor Rigby_, _She’s Leaving Home_, _Let It Be_, _Can’t Buy Me Love_, _Got to Get You Into My Life_, _Helter Skelter_, and the majority of the last 20 of _Abbey Road_. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/23 "2009-12-14T03:33:20Z")
Blue ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/24 "2009-12-14T04:32:01Z")
> [@choie](#): > > … and “Something,” which Frank Sinatra himself called the greatest love song ever written. Then why did Sinatra have to go and do “that thing” to “Something”. Ahhrrrrrgh!! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/25 "2009-12-14T04:35:16Z")
I didn’t choose, as depending on the day, it could be any one of the Fabs. The thing is that they worked together in a way that they never did during their solo careers. A sort of joyful discovery of a new world. And yes, there are whole days when Octopus’ Garden and It Don’t Come Easy could be my favorite Beatles songs. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/26 "2009-12-14T04:41:49Z")
> [@choie](#): > > “Something,” which Frank Sinatra himself called the greatest love song ever written. I believe he also famously (mis-)credited the song to Lennon & McCartney. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/27 "2009-12-14T05:27:23Z")
Paul was my favorite Beatle. George was my favorite ex-Beatle. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/28 "2009-12-14T05:48:08Z")
William Campbell. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/29 "2009-12-14T05:49:31Z")
My vote is highly biased by my age and television viewing habits as a child: between his role as Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station and his reply to Marge’s letter on The Simpsons, Ringo always seemed like the coolest Beatle to me. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/30 "2009-12-14T06:14:56Z")
Paul, although many of my favorite songs are George songs. Bottom line is they’re all better together. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/31 "2009-12-14T06:16:36Z")
John, by a mile. With the Beatles, it’s all about who you relate to, it seems. Not surprising to me that this would be a George-leaning board (no insult intended; he seems the most SDMB-ish choice to me, for some inexplicable reason). ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/32 "2009-12-14T06:21:22Z")
At a San Francisco Dopefest, the subject of why everybody likes George came up. I concluded that it’s not so much that everybody _likes_ George, it’s just that nobody _dis_likes him, with the possible exception of The Chiffons. What’s there to dislike, really? ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/33 "2009-12-14T06:21:51Z")
> [@Martha\_Medea](#): > > George was always my favourite. Less ego than John, cooler than Paul and more intelligent than Ringo. This about says it for me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/34 "2009-12-14T06:56:33Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > At a San Francisco Dopefest, the subject of why everybody likes George came up. I concluded that it’s not so much that everybody _likes_ George, it’s just that nobody _dis_likes him, with the possible exception of The Chiffons. What’s there to dislike, really? He’s So Fine? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/35 "2009-12-14T08:10:35Z")
> [@Martha\_Medea](#): > > George was always my favourite. Less ego than John, cooler than Paul and more intelligent than Ringo. Thirded. John was not a very nice person, sometimes, Paul was very success driven and he’s way too bubble-gummy for me (with and without the Beatles), Ringo seems to be nice enough but not really bright enough to want to have a long conversation with. George, though, was quietly intelligent, and even if he was extremely rich and famous, didn’t appear to want to be a celebrity with a celebrity’s perks. I have to admit, at first I loved Ringo until I read that he was so anti-feminist in one of the early (late 60s?) official biographies. He couldn’t believe that women wanted equal rights instead of being a man’s inferior. Maybe he’s changed. I mean, everyone has. But that left me with a very bad taste in my mouth about him. For the record, I’m 52, and I started to listen to rock just about when the Beatles broke up. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/36 "2009-12-14T08:43:01Z")
Apu, the fifth Beatle. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/37 "2009-12-14T08:51:41Z")
Mine’s used to be John, but these days I lean Ringo. John was all wide eyed idealism and convictions, Paul was a raging dillhead, George was into the weirdest shit… Ringo just got on with the beating on stuff with other stuff and the goofy smiling. He never did seem (to me at least) to take any of it seriously. Dim ? Maybe a little bit. But if his drumming is any indication, simplicity can be deceiving. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/38 "2009-12-14T13:33:15Z")
Micky. Or maybe Peter. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/39 "2009-12-14T14:07:38Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Ringo. He’s the essential Beatle. The band would not have worked without him, he held them together. > > His drum parts were rarely flashy and showy, but they were innovative and always managed to be an essential part of the song. A very musical drummer. > > People who don’t know anything about music consistently underrate Ringo as a drummer, but talk to any good rock drummer and they’ll all tell you the same thing: Ringo was a brilliant drummer. Even drummers with far more flashy technique are in awe of Ringo. You’ll never hear a real drummer say anything bad about Ringo’s playing. > > Apart from his musical contribution, he was the Beatles’ favourite Beatle. There’s a reason why Ringo continued drumming on the others’ solo albums. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156/40 "2009-12-14T14:57:48Z")
I voted for Paul, even though I wanted to say “all four of them.” Paul’s contribution to the Beatles was at least as great as any of the others’, and from what I understand, the role of pushing the band to break new ground and be all that they could be alternated between John and Paul. Paul’s the most sheerly musical of the Beatles. He seems to always have genuinely loved making music and performing, and though he certainly could have long since rested on his laurels and retired or just kept repeating himself or turned into an oldies act, he’s never stopped writing and recording and performing new material and trying to remain at least a little bit vital as a creative artist—and for me, the points he gains for this make up for the points he loses for his tendency to be “bubblegum” or schmaltzy or to crank out forgettable pop. John’s at a bit of a disadvantage, since he might well have gone on to do some really good things if he hadn’t been killed. There’s no question about his greatness, but some of the attention he gets is due to his being so outspoken about his politics and about his personal demons, in ways that I don’t identify with as strongly as some other people do. As a Beatle, George was overshadowed by John and Paul and hadn’t yet fully matured as an artist. As both a Beatle and a solo artist, I like him very much, but he never had the range or versatility of Paul or John. Still, he gets points for The Traveling Wilburys, for financing and befriending Monty Python, for his quiet spirituality and his sense of humor. Ringo is Ringo. A great drummer and a cool guy. I’m actually glad that “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Octopus’s Garden” are part of the canon; he was the right choice to sing songs like “With a Little Help From My Friends”; I’ve enjoyed his solo work; and his birthday’s the same as mine; but the competition’s just too stiff for him to have a shot at being my favorite Beatle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-beatle/521156.md?page=3)