‘They’ve never let me down.’ Why Ringo Starr’s NC-made Ludwig drums mean so much to him

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‘They’ve never let me down.’ Why Ringo Starr’s NC-made Ludwig drums mean so much to him

BY ADAM BELL

The Charlotte Observer

UPDATED AUGUST 28, 2024

Ask Ringo Starr about his decades-long love affair with Ludwig drums. Go ahead; we did. You’re guaranteed to smile. 

What’s more, the Beatles drummer also gave two thumbs up (and playfully stuck out his tongue) when The Charlotte Observer asked about his instruments made in North Carolina — and nowhere else — for 40 years now.

So may we introduce to you the Beatle we’ve pursued for all these years, as he finally tells the Observer exactly what those drums mean to him.

Starr, now 84, also took questions from other U.S. and international reporters during a 50-minute Zoom press conference earlier this year from his home studio in L.A. The occasion was the kick-off of his latest All-Starr Band tour and on the heels of his new album, “Crooked Boy.” (That tour and Starr’s drums don’t have Charlotte on the itinerary.) 

A relaxed, joking Starr was dressed all in black, with a small chain and silver peace sign pendant around his neck. During the Q & A, where his publicity team read him reporters’ questions, Starr also discussed his old mates, AI and keeping the vibes positive.

Ringo Starr answered a Charlotte Observer question about his long-standing love of his Ludwig drums, which have been made in Monroe for 40 years. It took the Observer nine years to connect with the Beatle. Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com

COME TOGETHER 

Back in 2015, the Observer profiled Ludwig’s operations at its Monroe plant and has been seeking an interview with Starr ever since. We had to know why he sought these particular drums, out of all the drums out there.

Ludwig, which is owned by Conn Selmer, employs about 70 people in Monroe. The manufacturing plant last handled a custom job for Starr in 2019, according to the company.

So just what do Ludwig’s drums mean to him? We’ll let the man himself tell it. 

One fateful day in April 1963, Starr and Beatles manager Brian Epstein were strolling down a London street when a music store display caught Starr’s eye. 

“I went in and said, ‘Oh man, I want those drums.’ And the guy said, ‘Are you in a band, lad?’

“Yeah, we’re in a band.” 

Starr wanted the Ludwig drum kit. “We were all into (anything) American” at the time, he recalled. 

The Drum City Ltd. salesman went to rip off the Ludwig logo on the drum front when Starr stopped him. “Leave it on,” Starr said. “It’s American, you know. It was just the kit for me.”

The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Feb. 9, 1964. Demand for Ludwig drums exploded after 73 million people in the U.S. watched the show, and Beatlemania was born. ZUMA/MCT

EIGHT DAYS A WEEK 

Those drums also meant something to Ludwig, especially after 73 million people tuned in to “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Feb. 9, 1964, and saw the Beatles in America with Starr on his Ludwig Downbeat oyster black pearl drum kit. 

For one thing, drum production ballooned from an eight-hour day, five days a week, to 24 hours a day, six day a week. Back then, Ludwig was still based in Chicago. Company leaders were grateful. Very, very grateful.

When The Beatles flew to Chicago in September 1964, Ludwig leaders presented their favorite drummer with a gold-plated Super Sensitive snare drum as thanks for choosing their brand. 

“I met Mr. Ludwig, Mr. Ludwig and Mr. Ludwig, who was their granddad, the son and his son. I met all the boys,” Starr told the Observer.

On Sept. 5, 1964, ahead of a Beatles concert in Chicago, Ludwig Drums gave Ringo Starr a gold-plated snare drum as thanks for choosing the brand. Sales had exploded after the band appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February. Chicago was Ludwig’s headquarters at the time, and company President William Ludwig II, left, and marketing director Dick Schory presented the drum to Starr. Ludwig Drums

“I do have several kits now, but the first kit, we played all the time,” he added. “They’re (a) great sound for me.” 

Starr also had plans with his drums so he wouldn’t be overshadowed by the other lads during their live shows.

“Usually the drum was on the floor, and you’d have to look around one of the frontmen to see me,” he said. “So I thought — not that I invented it — but I demanded a rostrum to put me up a bit, so I’d be more part of it.”

The Beatles in 1969, the year they performed a famed rooftop concert atop the Apple Corps headquarters in London. From left, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Music

LOVE ME DO 

When the Observer visited the Ludwig shop nine years ago, employees spoke of the palpable excitement they felt whenever a special order comes in for Starr.

The feeling, most assuredly, remains mutual. 

“Mainly, my heart swells when I look at my (drum) kit, you know, and I still love them,” Starr said. “I’m still using them all these years later. From ‘63, say, we started. And they’re still the drums for me... 

“They’ve never let me down.”

Ringo Starr on his “Jelly Bean” drum kit, a Ludwig drum set comprised of individual drums from his kits of the last 15 years. Ludwig Drums

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS 

Starr also fielded non-North Carolina questions during the Q&A about his album. 

▪ Linda Perry wrote and produced all the songs on the new album and had read up on how sickly Starr was as a child. But Starr insisted each song had to reflect some of his trademark optimism.

“(There’s) gotta be at least a glint of sunlight... I like to give it a positivity of, you know, peace and love,” Starr said. 

“All my songs, they can be like, ‘The world’s gone mad and the grass won’t grow. But oh, there’s a flower in the corner. What do you know.’” 

▪ Starr and fellow Beatle Paul McCartney continue to jam together whenever McCartney’s in town. “It’s always great to work with Paul. I love the man, and he’s my friend.”

▪ Starr still enjoys touring, and his fall schedule keeps him on the road throughout September. “I have a passion for playing. And you know, I’m the drummer, so I need a band in front of me... I still do it because I love it. And I still do it because I can.” 

▪ Starr was asked about his motto, “Peace and Love,” something he also chants on his birthday July 7 and encourages his fans around the world to chant too. “ It’s just part of me now. You know, it came in in the ‘60s, thanks to the hippies. And we became hippies in our own way.”

Ringo Starr answered reporters’ questions during a live, virtual interview earlier this year. He also frequently flashed the peace sign, part of his “Peace and Love” mantra. Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com

▪ The press conference wrapped up with Starr being asked about AI. Starr marveled at how director Peter Jackson deployed AI to help isolate John Lennon’s vocals on an old demo tape from the late 1970s. Combine that with some George Harrison riffs from the 1990s, and Starr and McCartney vocals from a couple years ago, and you get last year’s release of The Beatles’ last song called “Now and Then.” 

“John is there because of AI,” Starr said. “I know there’s a lot of fear out there that AI will steal your soul. But I won’t steal anybody’s soul, so you’re OK.”

And with that, the interview ended. Starr bade his audience one final “peace and love,” then signed off, with a Ludwig drum kit ensconced nearby.

Ringo Starr told The Charlotte Observer he was first interested in Ludwig drums in 1963 because they were made in America. “They’ve never let me down,” he said over 60 years later. Susan Pfannmuller McClatchy file photo