Ringo Starr was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making him the final Beatle to receive the honor as a solo artist. Many musicians, including former bandmate Paul McCartney, showed their support in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. Rolling Stone caught up with John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono before the event, and she kept the compliments coming.
"No one is probably going to believe it," she said, "but he was the most influential Beatle." "For some reason John got it, then George got it, then Paul got it. So why didn't they think about Ringo?"
McCartney was on hand to induct the percussionist into the Hall, offering a short speech before bringing Starr to the stage.
"Eventually we got on The Ed Sullivan Show, and we got really famous," he said, recounting their days together in The Beatles. "It was just so beautiful. As all the other drummers say, he just is something so special. When he's playing behind you, you see these other bands, they're looking around at the drummer, like, is he going to speed up, is he going to slow down? You don't have to look with Ringo."
Following the drummer's speech, he hit the stage for a set that included "Boys" by The Shirelles, solo track "It Don't Come Easy" with Joe Walsh, and a closing medley with McCartney and the rest of the inductees of "With a Little Help from My Friends" and "I Wanna Be Your Man." HBO will air the entire ceremony May 30.
Lennon was the first Beatle to enter the Hall as a solo artist, being posthumously inducted in 1994. McCartney received the honor in 1999 and George Harrison got in in 2004.
Starr released his 15th solo effort last month, Postcards from Paradise. The album hit No. 99 on the Billboard 200 and features guest contributions by Todd Rundgren, Peter Frampton and Walsh.
