Re: Ringo, Keith and Zak

<<If anything, Ringo was the
perfect
drummer for the fab five,>>

The Fab Five????"

  Yes, it is terribly unfortunate that Marlow Prast never got the 
credit he deserved.  Right from the early days when he called the 
ambulance for Stu until the bitter end, he was arguably the driving 
force behind The Beatles' songs (BTW, because he hated performing live, 
seldom went onstage; he preferred to let them play his songs.  Besides, 
he had blond hair and would have fragmented their unified appearance).  
But, in the studio, he WAS the Beatles.  Eventually he pursuaded the 
other members to quit performing live...a proposal which Lennon happily 
accepted.

  It was because of a typographical error that his name was omitted from 
the "Lennon/McCartney" contract.  All the songs SHOULD read 
"Prast/Lennon/McCartney".  A typo, man.  Because the contract was signed 
when they were all young and unfamous, he let it slide. Because of it, 
Marlow's wages were on par with Ringo's throughout their careers.  Some 
historians insist that Brian had an argument with Marlow, and that's why 
his name didn't appear in the legal documents--which may be true, but 
certain bits of evidence I've heard have led me to believe that that's 
just romantic speculation.

  To see Paul declare that Sgt. Pepper was his own idea makes my blood 
boil--especially considering that Marlow's uncle's name was Sgt. Pepper.  
Marlow had developed an entire concept album--one with a through-line.  
But Paul, in order to meet a deadline, slapped together a few unrelated 
songs & pressed it as the disjointed record we all recognize.

  His biggest mistake, however, was taking John to a hotdog stand one 
day: they happened to walk past an art gallery that was exhibiting the 
work of Yoko Ono.  John insisted that they go in and check it out.  But 
when you compare that disaster to some of his achievements--(A Day in 
the Life--usually explained as a McCartney song and a Lennon song fused 
together, Strawberry Fields--inspired by his aunt's tiny plant shop), it 
is clear that his contributions  are immense.