Get the latest gossip

Ringo Starr Says Childhood Tuberculosis Hospitalization Kept Him 'In Bed for Months,' but Ultimately Changed His Life (Exclusive)

Ringo Starr tells PEOPLE that the true catalyst for his legendary music career came from an unlikely source: a hospital stay. After being exposed to the world of percussion instruments while recovering from tuberculosis, Starr knew that playing the drums would become an integral part of his life.

Ringo Starr knows the exact moment that drumming was what he wanted to dedicate his life to, but it came at a time of immense personal strife. Starr, 84, tells PEOPLE during the unveiling of his new "Beats & Threads" exhibit at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, that he first discovered the world of percussion — and knitting — while recovering from tuberculosis in an English sanatorium. Despite having to "work in a few factories at the time" once he recovered from tuberculosis, history proves that Starr's fondness for music developed during that pivotal hospitalization laid the foundation for drumming, as he says, becoming "the only thing I ever wanted to do."

Get the Android app