Karen Carpenter started out as a drummer and was considered pretty good. She started in 1964, after joining her high school marching band in order to get out of gym class.
She persuaded her band director to let her switch from glockenspiel to the drums, despite concerns that ‘girls don’t play drums’.
Yep, it was only A&M’s Herp Alpert who convinced her to sing, she had intended to be the drummer only. The first record was remarkably jazzy, very unlike what Richard and Karen would ultimately be known for.
Follow-on to above, Ringo innovated more than he gets credit for. His cymbal work on I Feel Fine might be the closest thing to Stewart Copeland till the Police. He was playing double kick-bass on Good Morning, Good Morning decades before death metal. His fills on Rain and A Day In The Life are routinely cited by accomplished rock drummers as groundbreaking revelations.