Claim: Ringo Starr makes music.

Rory Storm -LRB- 7 January 1938 -- 28 September 1972 -RRB- was an English musician and vocalist . Born Alan Ernest Caldwell in Liverpool , Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes , a Liverpudlian band who were contemporaries of the Beatles in the late 1950s and early 1960s . Ringo Starr was the drummer for the Hurricanes before joining the Beatles in August 1962 , replacing original drummer Pete Best .   The Hurricanes were one of the most popular acts on the Liverpool and Hamburg club scenes during their existence , although their attempt at a recording career was not successful . They released only two singles -LRB- and one additional compilation track -RRB- during their early 1960s heyday , and none of their material made the charts . Their second and final single was a version of the West Side Story song `` America '' , and was produced by the Beatles ' manager Brian Epstein .   When Storm 's father died , he returned from Amsterdam to Liverpool to be with his mother at Stormsville , at 54 Broad Green Road , Broadgreen , Liverpool . On 27 September 1972 , Storm developed a chest infection and could not sleep properly , so he took sleeping pills . The next day Storm and his mother were both found dead . A post mortem determined that Storm had not taken enough pills to kill himself , but it was suspected that , after finding her son 's body , his mother had .