great time keeper but not my cup of tea .. I was always into the more enthusiastic players Baker, Appice, lang, Mitchell Bonham etc... I ask what would Ginger do.. :)

I ask what would Bun E. do? To me, he's the perfect combination of Ringo, Charlie, and Keith.

A very interesting topic.Ringo was and is a "band" drummer-playing the song ,not so much adding drums "to"the song.You could not replace Ringo's signature playing with the Beatles any more than Don Henley's with the Eagles.IMHO.....Burger Kin

Great answers so far.

Some of this draws from my own experiences because the bands I played with wanted time keeping with flair rather than a virtuoso player who sounded better than their guitar player!!!! Seriously, I have found that playing the song rather than showing my chops got me a lot further when it came to the bands I was in.

Beatles and Ringo were a major influence on me. It gave me the things I needed to learn how to play. I spent hours with my ear plastered to the stereo speaker to hear what he was doing. Turning to either the L or R speaker channel would isolate drums and vocals on many tracks and allow me to hear better what was going on. Or playing the record on a slower speed to pickup what I had trouble with. The drum track to "My Life" is a classic example. Simple yet so effective. My drumming roots for sure.

Although I loved the Beatles, I was never influenced by Ringo's playing. My influences were Earl Palmer, Al Jackson Jr., Bernard Purdie, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield & yes, Bonzo! Been told that I'm a black guy in a semi-white body. LOL! Not sure why these guys influenced me, but have always loved groove drummers that could swing a song without playing a swing groove. Played in a James Brown tribute band when I was 19...I was the only white guy in the club most of the time and had an absolute blast. Joe Starr (James Bown singer guy) called me the funkiest white boy alive during the "give the drummer some" break...I loved it. The thing I loved about all of the guys mentioned above is that they all played for the song...even Bonzo! Most people think of John as being over the top...but he gave every song just what it needed for the songs Zep was doing. He also had a fantastic swing feel!

Don't get me wrong, I was/am a rock n' roll guy, but so were all the guys I listed above to a certain extent...like Earl Palmer said in an interview..."I invented this $hit!"

Just my 2 cents

Dan

I am mainly influenced by Ringo when I know I need to hold back a bit.

That being said, while I appreciate drummers trying to have a drumgasm, I think it does not make the band sound any better in a song. Fungus mentioned some great examples. I can't think of the Booker T and the MG's bloke's name, but he also exemplifies how to just hold a good groove. If its a good steady beat, the birds dance and that's not a bad thing...

And yes, Bonham did not over play, in my blunt opinion. He did show his rudimentary prowess, but it never stepped on the tune!!! I have heard so many drummers try to have a drum solo during a tune, and it just is an aural assault!!!!

I mentioned him above, Al Jackson Jr., tragically killed in 1975 with 6 bullets in the back. Steve Crooper said "I played with a drum machine years ago, his name was Al Jackson"...one of my hero's!

It's my somestimers- at least my memory loss isn't all the time; otherwise it's all's timers!!!!