In this undated photo provided by Julien’s Auctions, shows the Beatles’ “T” logo drum head from the band’s live American television debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show”.
Advertisement
Andy White, one of the original musicians who performed with The Beatles, has died aged 85.
Andy’s family confirmed he died following a stroke at his New Jersey home in the US.
White played drums for the Beatles on a 1962 recording of the single version of “Love Me Do” and the B-side, “P.S. I Love You”. He added that Ringo played “a bit behind the beat, which is not what a drummer should do”. When The Smithereens recorded their Beatles tribute album in 2007, they recruited White to play drums on “P.S. I Love You”.
“I had vaguely heard of The Beatles”, White said in 2012. White later played drums on Tom Jones’ 1965 hit “It’s Not Unusual”, and toured with Marlene Dietrich, Burt Bacharach and Rod Stewart, the BBC said.
Ringo Starr was relegated to tambourine on that early single as he continued to find his footing as the Beatles’ newly installed drummer.
The initial British pressing of “Love Me Do” used a version with Starr drumming, but most subsequent releases featured White. He only recorded with The Beatles once and received a one-off fee of £5, never claiming royalties for the song.
Later in his life, Andy moved to the US, where he married voiceover actress Thea Ruth and settled in Caldwell, New Jersey.
Advertisement
Beyond that, White was an established session musician. He was also called upon to teach drums to Steven van Zandt for his role as Silvio Dante in the telvision series The Sopranos.
