Who was the most talented musician in the Beatles?

Answer 1

I'm going to take your question at face value, and (a little artificially) disregard songwriting, as being a separate gift.

Or, for simplicity, let's paraphrase it as:

'If the four Beatles had made their living purely as session musicians, which of them would have prospered, and which would have eventually ended up cleaning the terraces at Anfield after match day?'

My ranking (in descending order of solvency & general 'OK-ness')

a. Paul

At a time when he wasn't inclined to be kind to Paul, Lennon called him, quote: 'one of the greatest bass players who ever played bass.' Quite a fair assessment. Too many good moments to mention, even though they are very subtle, for the most part. Also capable of drums, piano, percussion, maracas, and bits of lead (the 'solo', to glorify it a bit, from 'Back In The USSR' is his). Hands-down the most versatile and accomplished all-rounder, plus a true master of his core instrument.


b. George

The harshest thing that I've read was in Lennon's biography by Albert Goldman, who quoted someone as calling George a 'crab-fingered, crib-book' guitarist. Hmmmm...yes and no. The Beatles' music is largely about that old cliche about parts, sums and wholes. Mr. Harrison was never going to get a 3-minute-plus 'guitar pyrotechnics break' on record, and didn't need to. Credit him for picking up enough sitar, quite quickly, to do the 'Norwegian Wood' riff. 'And Your Bird Can Sing', a high point. The solo from 'Taxman' has been ripped off many times by other guitarists.


c. Ringo

Not many people's choice as The Man Who Rewrote The Whole Approach To Drums, but rock-steady all the same. There are some pretty imaginative fills on some records, but in keeping with the band ethos, they draw attention to the music, not to themselves.


d. John

Competent (but not much more) on acoustic and as a rhythm electric player. The numerous Beatles bootleg outtakes available highlight his slight difficulty with anything requiring real 'chops' - not as in 'leads' or 'solos', as he played very few of those, but on some of the more complex picking - 'Julia', 'Prudence' etc. Career Prognosis: After 3 years of struggling around Liverpool studios, J. becomes a stand-up comic in local clubs, and keeps getting thrown out for punching the punters.

Answer 2

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were the principal songwriters. George was crowded out by the older, more dominant Beatles, John and Paul, so in the end, there are only about 20 of George's songs commercially recorded. The rest of the Beatles' numbers--around 180--are credited to John and Paul jointly. The two did collaborate early in their career, sometimes truly working together as equals, sometimes one helping the other out with little suggestions. But, as their careers unfolded, each went his own way. Even though they were always jointly credited, many songs were not collaborations at all. So how do we know who wrote what? We can begin with interviews. It's nice when both John and Paul agree. But sometimes John said,"I wrote most of that," and then Paul said later, "No, I wrote that." Then we have to rely on stylistic evidence, on what we know each tended to do musically. But what happens if Paul was imitating John's style?


Simply, they wrote great music. Their songs are well crafted. They have good tunes. They're effective. They're powerful. They're moving. Clearly, the Beatles are the most accomplished rock musicians we've had.

Answer 3

I think Paul McCartney. He was the most melodic and versatile and was right there from the start. He and John Lennon were an unbeatable combination.....sadly neither of them were as good on their own. Wings was a bit naff on the whole....and Plastic Ono? Oh no !!

George was a late developer and did some brilliant stuff, but he never really got the recognition he deserved.

I admire Ringo for not making out he was any kind of musician at all. He's just a nice guy who got lucky....but no pretensions there.....

Answer 4

Gotta hand it to Paul too. Esp. when it came to writing a memorable melody. Think about it- most of the bigger, more well-known Beatle songs are primarily Paul tunes: "Let It Be", "Penny Lane", "Yesterday", etc...

Though *lyrically*, gotta hand it to John. He could play w/ words like nobody else.

On a side note, I always defend Ringo when people call him "untalented". The Beatles would not be the same w/o Ringo. He perfectly rounded out the 4 personalities. I also think he was the 1st rock drummer w/ a personality. Can you think of any *before* him? I can't....
The guy inspired countless drummers to play & comparing him to later, more flashy drummers is unfair. For his *day*, Ringo was pretty good.

I'm done.

Answer 5

That's a tough one. They are/were all extremely talented.
I would have to give the edge to Paul McCartney and John Lennon because of their extreme gifts in song writing as evidenced by the huge music catalog they both possess.

Answer 6

Paul McCartney, hands down. After the Beatles broke up, Paul formed The Wings, which produced more hit songs than the Beatles did! McCartney has written or co-written over fifty top ten hits, more than any other songwriter, and has been an influential bassist as well as an accomplished singer, guitarist, pianist, and drummer. With The Beatles, he was one half of the highly successful songwriting team credited as Lennon/McCartney, along with fellow bandmate John Lennon. Their compositions for The Beatles remain among the best known songs in rock and pop music. Following the break-up of The Beatles on April 10th 1970, McCartney launched a successful solo career (released his first album on April 17th 1970) and formed the band Wings, scoring 30 top ten singles in the United Kingdom and United States. The keyboardist for Wings was McCartney's first wife, Linda McCartney. At the time of its release in 1977, the Wings single "Mull of Kintyre" became the highest selling record in British chart history (and remained so until 1984). McCartney has also worked in the fields of classical music (with works such as Liverpool Oratorio) and ambient/electronic music (under the pseudonym The Fireman).

Answer 7

George Harrison

Answer 8

John Lennon.

Answer 9

All the Beatles were talented.

Answer 10

Each was talented in his own right.I rate them in this order:Paul McCartney,John Lennon,George Harrison and Ringo Starr