Page i- rday, August 15,1626-The Michigan Daily
Bulletin: The walrus is Ringo
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By STEVEN KURTZ
In these days of fickle musical
taste-in today, out tomorrow-it's nice
to know that The Beatles are always
safe to like ("Phony Beatlemania" of
the Clash notwithstanding). So I'd like;
to, if I may, doa nostalgic article on the
Beatles. But certainly not their whole
career and the sociobiological
ramifications of their Aoelian modes;
that is far too vast. I'd just like to
discuss the famous myth of-yes, you
guessed it-of the supposed death of
Ringo Starr.
There were numerous clues. So
many, in fact, that the Beatle fans at
that time felt the evidence to be over-
whelming. Now, of course, in
retrospect, with Ringo alive and
kicking (well, at least alive) the
"clues" seem merely silly-or more the
product of the frenzied imagination of
the gossip happy crowd. The Beatles
themselves have always denied any in-
tentional cluedropping and there is no
reason to doubt them now. But let's
don't be spoilsports-just humor me in
my nostalgic reverie. Herein, is, album
by album, from Sgt. Pepper to Abbey
Road, a list of the famous clues that in-
disputably prove Richard Sharkey,
r Esq., being of sound mind and body, is
no longer with us.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band: On the cover, the four Beatles (in
the center) all hold their instruments
vertically-as one stands-except
Ringo, whose instrument is held flat out
horizontally-as one lies in a coffin. Of
the younger Beatles on the left, the
most concerned and most in need of
consoling over the "Beatles" funeral is
Ringo. The hand on his shoulder is, as
everyone knows by now, a near univer-
sal sign of death throughout hundreds
of cultures. Above the fancy costumed
Ringo is the vistage of Marilyn
Monroe-who had died tragically young
several years before the album was
released-and the countenance of
Edgar Allen Poe, another celebrity
taken before his time. On the back
cover, Ringo's face had twice the word
"nothing" written on it, as webl "mor-
ning", a pun on mourning.
Magical Mystery Tour: This album is
chock full of clues, so I'll only go over
the most well known. In the two page
photo (pps 12-13) of the booklet in-
cluded, Ringo is intentionally out farther
than the group and his eyes are closed.
On page 22, there is a picture of Ringo
with a cup on his head-not unlike a
shiny grave marker. The small picture
of the four wizards on the left side of the
inner jacket shows the front faces of all
the Beatles but Ringo. In the lyrics of
"Magical Mytery Tour" not only is the
band hoping to take you away, but
dying. And "dying" perfectly rhymes
with "Flying", the only song on the alb-
um that Ringo had a hand in creating.
In "Your Mother Should Know:" We're
asked to dance to a song before our mother
was born "- confusion of identity.
The White Album: Black is the color
for mourning, but in certain cultures,
white is the color of mourning, fear,
anger, sadness, etc. (as Melville among
others have pointed out). Leave it to the
Beatles to be original in the Western
world and mourn in full white. Ringo
wrote few songs for the Beatles, so
Ringo songs are important in finding
clues of his untimely demise. In his sole
contribution to the White Album,
Ringo's song "Don't Pass me
By"-mentions a poor fellow who "was
in a car crash" and lost his hair. Hm-
mm, interesting. In "Blackbird," there
is singing in the dead of night. There is
much imagery here of night and
blackness with an overriding stark
feeling, pointing to Richard Starkey,
who all along had been "waiting for his
moment to arrive."
Abbey Road: On the cover, Ringo
is dressed the darkest (why not, he's
mourning for himself). Look at the
white or light feet of his three com-
patriots compared to the blackness of
his shoes, where, after all, the sole is
located. On the back cover, the Beatles
sign is cracked, symbolizing the-
separation or loss of a member-and
the letter cracked is "s", Ringo's
initial. On the album, in another one of
Ringo's rare songs (though he
mysteriously started writing more af-
ter he dies) "Octopus's Garden,"
Ringo sings he's like to be under the
sea, possibly hinting a desire to be
buried at sea.
Of course there were other reasons
which led to the conclusion that Ringo
had met his maker. He was obviously
the easiest to replace, since he wrote
the least, sang the least, and played the
fewest instruments. Also, Ringo him-
self never came out to speak to the
press to claim reports of his death were
wildly exagerated, but rather main-
tained a spooky silence on the subject
-sort of like the spooky, eerie feeling
there is at CRISP six weeks after
classes have started, where it's so quiet
you can hear a class drop.
And, of course, there is
always ... excuse me, I have to an-
swer the phone. "Hello . .. no, I'm
busy now, I'm writing an article on the
rumored death of Ringo Starr back in
the Beatle days ... What? ... are you
sure? Paul? That's ridiculou., the
clues were so overwhelming ... Huh?
Who said? . . . Where'd you read
that? . .. Rolling Stone!?! . . . Well,
listen, I'll check back with you later.
I've got to put on the finishing
touches ... Yeah, thanks, goodbye.
Pardon the interuption, pay no atten-
tion. Incidentally, I think there may be
a few slight mistakes-nothing
major-so I'll just recheck my sources
and complete this article later.
Just bear with me and I'll get it right
yet.
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Read all about it
Given the relatively schizophrenic
nature of Ann Arbor's cultural life, one
can very easily get swamped in the sea
of concerts, films, plays, museums, etc.
Though this may not result in total
disaster for the arts-minded soul, he or
she mayunknowingly miss out on many
enriching and memorable experiences.
Grace be Ahed.
To help simplify this forboding maze
of local artistic resources for school-
bound students, the Daily's Special Fall
Edition makes its annual appearance
on the first day of classes. In addition to
reviewing the area's political,
academic, commercial and athletic
resources, an extensive roundup of
cultural attractions can be found-in
the Arts and Leisure section. Under the
watchful direction of Arts Editor Mark
Coleman, Daily staffers have reported
on local theater groups, nightclub ban-
ds, film cooperatives, and art galleries,
among others, and their features
provide for enlightening reading, for
veteran Ann Arborites as well as the
newcomers.
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ARTS s LEISURE
LII"
.4
The AnnbArbor Film Coopetve
Presents et MLB: $1.50
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1S
THE GOOD, THE BAD,
AND THE UGLY
(SERGIOLEONE 966)
Epic spaghetti Western, the third in the brilliant
"man with no name" series. Features rambling
norrative hat manes to tk e in the Cvil Wr,
"good" CLINT EASTWOOD,."'hod LEE VAN CLEEF
an "ugly" ELI WALLACH. Cinemscope.
Tomorrow: Alan Bates and Genevieve Bujold
in THE KINGOF HEARTSoatMLB.
THIS SPACE CONTRIBUTEDBY THE PUBLISHER
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