Nearly 50 years after "Octopus's Garden" was released alongside other hit tracks on The Beatles' iconic "Abbey Road" album, Ringo Starr has finally received his knighthood. In a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the former Beatles drummer and current frontman for the All Starr Band received the royal honor at the hands of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. He joins former band mate Sir Paul McCartney to become the second knighted Beatle. “It means a lot actually,” Starr told the BBC. “It means recognition for the things we’ve done.
I was really pleased to accept this.”
All-Starr career
The oldest member of the rock band that dominated the global music stage throughout the 1960's, Ringo Starr -- whose real name is Richard Starkey -- provided the drum beats behind such hits as "Please Please Me" and "Come Together," as well as vocals on tracks including "Yellow Submarine" and "Don't Pass Me By." Ringo Starr is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee both individually and as a member of the Beatles. In addition to his Beatles career, Ringo has recorded 19 solo albums.
Ringo's illustrious musical career has spanned six decades, and the 77-year-old continues to perform with his All-Starr Band, which first came together in 1989.
The All-Starr Band features rotating members who are all individually successful musicians. During a typical concert, all band members have a chance to take the stage with music from their own careers. The All-Starr Band is now in its thirteenth iteration, and features the talents of Colin Hay and Gregg Rolie. The band is scheduled to tour this summer, commencing in Atlantic City, NJ, on June 2 and culminating in Rome, Italy, on July 11.
So you're a knight, now what?
Ringo stated that he's not quite sure what to do with the new honor or how to use it. According to Variety, when asked by the Irish News if he would now go by Sir Ringo, he answered, “I don’t know yet. It’s new and I don’t know how you use it properly.” He then quickly told the reporter, "But I expect you to use it." At the very least, Ringo did seem to know what to do with the medal: "“I’ll be wearing it at breakfast.”
Ringo said that he felt "a bit shaky" without his band mates there; the group had been honored with the prestigious MBE -- Member of the Order of the British Empire -- in 1965. He did, however, mention that Sir Paul had given him a useful, simple piece of advice for the knighting ceremony: "Keep smiling." Or, perhaps more fitting, all he had to do was act naturally.
