Here’s some interesting and random trivia about Ringo Starr, the funny Beatle.

• This week Ringo Starr earned induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. He is the fourth of the four Beatles to be recognized as such for his solo work. The Beatles are the only band in the Hall who also have all four of its members in the Hall by themselves, too.

• Starr’s style of drumming came about from learning to play on a right-handed drum kit, which he still uses. Why is this notable? He’s left-handed.

• Starr may not have earned the same amount of respect that his Fab Four bandmates have enjoyed. Muhammad Ali once said of Starr, “My dog plays better drums.” When John Lennon was asked by a reporter if Starr was the best drummer in the world, Lennon replied, “He’s not even the best drummer in the Beatles.”

• It’s a long-standing rumor that Starr’s 1972 hit “Back Off, Boogaloo” is a confrontational dig at Wings, Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band. It’s actually about T. Rex singer Marc Bolan, who Starr says inexplicably peppered his conversations with the nonsense word, “boogaloo.”

• After firing drummer Pete Best, the Beatles went after Starr, who in 1962 was the drummer with a bar band called Rory Storm & the Hurricanes. That band paid him 20 pounds a week; he jumped over to the Beatles because they offered to pay 25 pounds a week.

• The Beatles shocked their fans when they all grew beards in the late ‘60s. Starr was the first Beatle with a beard. He had one in 1962 when he joined the band, but shaved it off.

Looking for more music trivia? Check out Uncle John’s Plunges into Music.