To all intents and purposes, the band ceased to be the day that John Lennon died.
So the question begs to be asked, why does Ringo still do what he does?
One has to believe that he keeps doing it not for the money, for he surely can live like a sultan for the rest of his days, but rather because he still loves what he does.
The passion that was inside him all those years ago in his Liverpool days still burns brightly in him today.
This in itself speaks volumes about who he is as a performer and as a person.
He will be forever remembered for his signature song, With A Little Help From My Friends, but there can be no doubt that he has achieved some very notable successes in his post-Beatles career as well.
Songs like Photograph, It Don't Come Easy, The No No song and even the rather juvenile '50s rocker You're Sixteen were all major hits for Ringo, and their unique style and presentation has made them instantly recognizable.
To a song, they are indeed those tunes that one simply can't help but sing along with whenever they come on the car radio.
Looking back from the vantage point of this time and place at what the Beatles left behind, we see now that they were a magical sphere of their times.
They were creative writers who penned what was a memoir for a generation, and Ringo Starr was always a key element in that dreamy mix.
Not an accident at all, but one of rock music's premier drummers whose steady cadence was the underpinning of a sound that changed the course of rock music forever.
Sadly and unfairly, today he still wears the label of being the most underrated and unappreciated drummer in rock music.
For Ringo, across the years it has always been a case of It Don't Come Easy.
Paul Collins is an American freelance writer and public relations consultant who lives in Massachusetts.
