NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a city full of musicians, most will tell you he changed the beat of music history.
"I mean, The Beatles were a part of the whole change in how music was played, heard, recorded," said singer Wendy Moten. She was among those who took the stage at the Musicians Hall of Fame to honor a music legend.
With a little help from his friends like Peter Frampton and Brenda Lee, Ringo Starr was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and received the first-ever Joe Chambers Musicians Legacy Award.
"When I was young and in my rockin' years, The Beatles opened for me at the Star-Club at Hamburg, Germany," recalled Lee. She went on to say "Great drummers are born, they're not made and from the moment Ringo picked up the sticks he was destined for an honor like this".
Starr joined the 169 artists who've been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The ceremony included performances of some of his greatest hits.
Starr recalled discovering Music City in the 70s after some persuasion by producer Pete Drake. Starr told NewsChannel 5, "I sent my car for him at Heathrow Airport, and it had a lot of tapes, cassettes in those days, of country artists and he said 'Oh I see you like country music' and we went on from there and I ended up here and we made a record."
NewsChannel 5 asked Starr what is the secret to his famous groove? "Well I'm afraid I'm the only Ringo who gets the Ringo snare," he quipped.
His steady backbeat and legendary career are now forever memorialized in the Musicians Hall of Fame.
Starr concluded his speech to the crowd saying "And with that I send you all peace and love, thanks for coming. See you at the Ryman."
