Ringo Starr of the Beatles was my first impression of what a drummer is and could be, this is why Ringo is Awesome:
He connected with people - didn’t have to have a PHD or masters in percussion to appreciate Ringo’s drumming, he brought the right energy to each song, to make people want to dance, shout, cry etc.
He make the drums sound good! - This almost seem too obvious to be a reason, yet at the end of the day sometimes players just don’t think about the overall sound of the drum kit: do they sound good? in Ringo’s case: Yes
He played musically - Only a stark minimalist would accuse Ringo of over playing. Now whether this was the influence of his bandmates or not, Ringo’s drum parts sound like they were considered in the context of the music, not just what would be cool to play as a drummer.
And so I leave some links for my students or perhaps future drummers to see what I’m talking about
