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Richard Starkey was born in a small two-story terraced house in the Dingle area of Liverpool, on July 7, 1940, making him the oldest Beatle, three months older than John. His father, who's name was also Richard, was originally a Liverpool dock worker, and later worked in a bakery where he met Ringo's mother Elsie. His parents broke up in 1943, and Elsie later married Harry Graves, who little Richie called his "step ladder". Although remaining cheerful throughout his childhood, it was filled with hospital time, for appendicitis at 6, at which time he went into a coma for two months, and a cold which developed into pleurisy when he was 13, causing him to miss much school. By fifteen he could just barely read and write. Like the other Beatles, young Ritchie also eventually became caught up
in Liverpool's Skiffle craze. After starting his own group with Eddie
Miles called The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group in 1957, he joined The Raving
Texans in 1959, a quartet which played while Rory Storm sang. During this
time, he got the nickname Ringo, because of the rings he wore, and because
it sounded "cowboyish", and the last name Starr so that his drum
solos could be billed as "Starr Time". The Beatles' first movie, originally to be called Beatlemania became to be called A Hard Day's Night because it was something Ringo had said one evening after a long and particularly grueling session. Ringo married his long-time girlfriend Maureen Cox on February 11,
1965, and they had three children, Zak, Jason and Lee.
Biographical info from the book Shout! by Philip Norman, The Love You Make by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, and The Beatles A To Z by Sue Weiner.
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