Paul McCartney celebrated #78 last month, and Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) turned 80 this week.  They are the two surviving members of what we used to call "The Fab Four."

Ringo will probably go down in history as one of the luckiest men ever born.  Talk about "being in the right place at the right time" or winning the biggest lottery of all time.

In the fall of 1962, The Beatles, and new producer George Martin, walked into a studio to record their first single.  Martin settled on "Love Me Do,," a Lennon-McCartney tune, and it did reach the top 20 in the U.K.  It did not chart in the U.S.  The B-side was "P.S. I Love You," one of their most underrated songs!

The rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say, is that Martin replaced drummer Pete Best, an original member of the band and lifelong friend from Liverpool.  He replaced Pete with Ringo. 

Ringo had a good reputation as a drummer and played with several bands.

Pete Best was out.  Ringo Starr was in.  Pete ended up with 9-to-5 job, and sadly, no one remembers his birthday.  Ringo has a big mansion, and everyone remembers his big #80.

Within a year of the roster change, the Beatles had two #1 songs in the U.K.: "Please Please Me" and "She Loves You."  Eighteen months later, Ringo and his pals were on The Ed Sullivan Show, and their songs dominated the U.S. charts.

In a few months, Ringo went from being a Liverpool drummer to playing behind John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

He had a great sense of humor, and the media loved him.  He had critical roles in the Beatles' movies, such as his "ring" in Help and that funny walk to "This Boy: Ringo's theme," in A Hard Day's Night.

Ringo did a couple of lead vocals, such as the #1 song "Yellow Submarine."  However, his greatest contribution was being a professional drummer, exactly what George Martin had in mind back then. 

We remember Ringo's birthday, and I hope he is doing well.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.