Ritchie was a sickly child. When he was six years old, he developed appendicitis. Following surgery, he contracted peritonitis, an inflammation of the lining of the abdomen. His recovery lasted a full year. In 1953, when he was 13, he caught a cold which progressed into pleurisy. After a brief stay at Myrtle Street Children’s Hospital, Ritchie returned home. A short time later, the 13-year-old contracted a disease which changed the course of his life. At first, Ritchie ran a low fever, became fatigued, and developed a minor cough. Ritchie’s condition gradually worsened over the course of a few weeks. His fever rose, coughing intensified, and taking a deep breath became painful. When Ritchie began experiencing chest pains, his mother took him to Myrtle Street Children’s Hospital once again. His diagnosis was tuberculosis, a bacterial disease that affects the lungs.
Being diagnosed with tuberculosis was a shock to Ritchie and his mother. In the year Ritchie contracted the disease, there were over 84,000 cases of tuberculosis in the United States. Nearly 20,000 of those cases, about 23%, were fatal. The percentage of fatal cases in Europe were similar.
“In those days,” Ritchie said, “they just kept you in bed for months. I was in bed for like ten months.” Ritchie said that while being treated, teachers would come in to teach and to keep the sick children entertained. Ritchie joked that while in the hospital, he learned to knit. “One woman came in, not so often, but she came in,” he said, “and she had percussive instruments [such as] maracas, tambourines, and a little drum.” By pointing at red or yellow dots, the woman taught the kids when to strike or shake their instruments. Ritchie said the woman handed the instruments out at random. “I’m in bed … she gives me this little drum and it was like a craziness.” Ritchie said, “I only would play the drum in this mad band that she’d bring in.”
Despite his suffering from tuberculosis, Ritchie was obsessed. He said, “I hit the drum, and I only wanted, from that moment, to be a drummer. And that was what my aim was.” He said it “became the only thing I ever wanted to do.” Ritchie slowly regained his strength and his health. His obsession with that little drum never waned. When he was 18 years old, Ritchie joined a band. For more than 60 years, Ritchie has been a fixture in the entertainment industry. On January 10 of this year, Ritchie released a country album entitled “Look Up” on which he sings, whistles, and, of course, plays drums.
Had Ritchie not contracted tuberculosis at 13, a disease which could have taken his life, and had the woman with the “mad band” handed him anything other than a drum, our musical landscape may have evolved differently. You see, Ritchie, the sickly child, was born Richard Starkey, but the world knows him better as Ringo Starr, the drummer for the Beatles.
Sources:
1. “Tuberculosis Symptoms and Causes,” Mayo Clinic, Accessed March 23, 2025, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351250.
2. “TB Incidence and Mortality: 1953–2023,” CDC, October 31, 2024, accessed March 23, 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/tb-surveillance-report-2023/tables/table-1.html.
3. Joe Taysom, “How a life-threatening illness made Ringo Starr learn drums,” Far Out, August 2, 2022, accessed March 23, 2025, https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/life-threatening-illness-ringo-starr-drums/.
4. Chris Barilla, “Ringo Starr’s Childhood Tuberculosis Hospitalization Kept Him in ‘Bed for Months’ but Ultimately Changed His Life,” People, February 20, 2025, accessed March 23, 2025, https://people.com/ringo-starr-says-tuberculosis-hospitalization-kept-him-in-bed-for-months-exclusive-11683518.