Ringo Beat
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| "Ringo Beat" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ella Fitzgerald | ||||
| B-side | "I'm Falling in Love" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Recorded | October 23, 1964[1] | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 1:52 | |||
| Label | Verve 103440[2] | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ella Fitzgerald | |||
| Ella Fitzgerald singles chronology | ||||
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"Ringo Beat" is a 1965 novelty single written and recorded by American singer/songwriter Ella Fitzgerald. It was inspired by the popularity of Ringo Starr, the drummer of The Beatles.[3][4] Fitzgerald had described the rock drumming style of her 16-year-old son, Ray Brown, Jr. as the "Ringo beat...cause that's where it all started".[5] The guitarist Barney Kessel also appears on the song.[1]
The Billboard magazine review from December 12, 1964, commented that "Swinging' Fitzgerald takes off on that all too famous beat. Great opportunity for the WNEW's to recognize The Beatles".[4] Fitzgerald had complained in a November 1965 interview for Downbeat magazine that disc jockeys were refusing to play the song.[5] It was released on CD as part of the 2003 album Jukebox Ella, a compilation of Fitzgerald's singles recorded for Verve Records.[6]
Reviewing Jukebox Ella for Allmusic, John Bush described "Ringo Beat" as the only one of Fitzgerald's Verve singles to acknowledge rock and roll and felt that it was "mostly unembarrassed".[6] In his biography of Fitzgerald, Stuart Nicholson described the song as "awful" and placed in the context of Fitzgerald's constant search for an elusive hit record.[1]