Ringo Starr on Making a Second Album With T Bone Burnett, ‘Long Long Road’: ‘I’d Love to Be Ray Charles, but My Voice Works for Country’

Ringo Starr, crooner. It’s not everyone’s first go-to when we’re talking about someone who has rightly earned a reputation as the most important, and many would say best, drummer in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. But T Bone Burnett has long held the belief that Starr is underrated as a singer. And the reasons for Burnett producing new recordings for the ex-Beatle in a country/Americana vein are not just about exploring the genre, although Starr has always had an association with that flavor, going back to the covers and originals he fronted as an occasional lead singer in the Beatles. It’s that the producer thought this was the best way to reframe one of rock’s most heard, and yet most undersung, voices.

The just-released “Long Long Road” is the second of the two albums Burnett has done with Starr, following just 15 months after the release of their first collaboration, 2025’s “Look Up.” Its variation on the style they embarked upon with the previous effort is remarkable, and so is the continued presence of younger musicians like Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings as well as great players like David Mansfield, Dennis Crouch, Colin Linden, Daniel Tashian and Paul Franklin. But Burnett was on to something — what may most strike you this time around is the utter sonorousness of Starr’s vocals (not to be confused, of course, with Sonor Drums). There’s a comfort food to hearing him, for any Beatles fan, but also a soothing quality that transcends strict nostalgia and makes you wonder if he could have mined a vein at the end of the countrypolitan era, had he chosen to after his band broke up.

On a recent visit to Los Angeles (the same week that old pardner Paul McCartney was performing in town), Starr sat down with Variety to discuss the new album and a few other topics, inevitably touching on origin stories for his public persona and the Beatles’ first American breakout as well as the stuff that is currently keeping him occupied at 85. Besides “Long Long Long Road,” the rest of 2026 will see a best-of, a tour and possibly even a yet-to-be-completed EP. As you will see, he was in a convivial mood… but would you expect anything less than loving peacefulness, with a side dish of wry?

Last summer, at your birthday celebration, amid all the talk about your then-new album, T Bone Burnett and Molly Tuttle were mentioning that you had yet another new album together in the works. Did it feel like you just kind of kept going? Or did it feel like there was a distinct pause before making a fresh start?

No, it was like, this is great, we’re playing together, we’ve got the band, I’m leading it, my record, and it just seemed natural. We worked very hard to promote that record, and alongside that we did a huge TV special, and we played the Grand Ole Opry, and I was sort of coming to L.A., back to Nashville, back to L.A., back to Nashville. I spent a lot of time there and hung out with some of the players. I didn’t know them physically [while making the previous album]; I knew them from the records, but that was it. And we just got to the next song — you know, “Let’s do another!” And that’s what we did.

It just seemed like the next thing to do, you know? But to enjoy, not like it’s a job. Let’s make another record, because T Bone and I were getting on well, and all his people who worked there, the engineers and everything, were doing a great job. I was doing the drums and the vocals in L.A. in my little studio. It was a treat, not hard; it was a joy. Then we’d send what I did to him in Nashville. He put on guitars, whatever instruments he wanted, because he is the producer; he’d send me the finished track, and I’d say, yeah.

Well, you’ve got your All Starr Band. He’s kind of got his all-star band of musicians he uses on studio projects. I was there last year on the night you were in the front row at a small venue to see T Bone and his crew, seeing what they do in the flesh.

Oh, McCabe’s [in Santa Monica], yeah. It’s crazy, a little, because I’d never heard of that place. It’s been around for like 500 years, and you talk any musician: “Oh yeah, McCabe’s.” But I thought it was great. The atmosphere was great, the audience is close, and he did an acoustic set. It was really good.

So we’re gonna see you playing there, some time soon?

Uh, no. [Laughs.]

Do you feel like this album has a different feel in any way than the previous one you did with T Bone?

I feel that I was more relaxed, maybe, than when we started. But it seemed like a natural thing to do, so we just moved on to another album. People these days are making an album a year — it’s like the ‘60s.

Do you think you think you could do more in this country-flavored style, or with T Bone, since you’re on such a roll?

Well, we don’t know yet. I mean, you know, it may come that we’ll do another one. We’ll see. But let’s get this one up first. I’m not even thinking of another one; I’m thinking about this one.

Any special meaning in doing a Carl Perkins song for you?

Well, the one that’s on there… the last interviewer didn’t know the song, I didn’t know the song. T Bone didn’t know the song.

Oh, really?

Someone brought it to him in Nashville, and it was great. “I don’t see me in your eyes anymore” —  I mean, what a great line; so beautiful, and so country. And then the last verse is, “I see me in your eyes again.” A beautiful country attitude to that song. And “Matchbox,” which I did with the Beatles, was Carl Perkins…

Most of the record isn’t distinctly retro or anything, but you go there a little bit with that song, which sounds like it’s right out of Sun Records. And then there’s a different kind of retro with “Choose Love”…

“Choose Love” is an old song I had recorded [originally for the 2005 album of the name]. I’m a co-writer on that one, and he [Burnett] wanted to do something with it, so that was a change. I re-rerecorded it, played drums again, and we put everything new on it. It just has a country feel to it. The message is country— no matter what you choose, choose love. So, we’re sort of exploring a little more on this than we did on the last one.

With “Choose Love,” obviously there’s some kind of very Beatle-esque touches on there, and what sounds like a backwards something. I don’t know if it’s actually backwards.

It’s not backwards, no.

Oh, OK.

But you know, some of the lines could have been used by other people. Ha ha ha ha! [The song includes lines that reference Beatles songs — “The long and winding road is more than a song / Tomorrow never knows what goes on” — as well as his own solo hit “It Don’t Come Easy.”]

How did you you like promoting the last record and doing things like the Grand Ole Opry?

It was incredible, incredible. We played the Ryman (Auditorium, original home of the Opry) with the All Starrs for the last eight, nine years. That was a thrill, to be on the Ryman stage — ah, wow. Then they did that thing where they invited me to the Grand Ole Opry, and they gave me three songs, and every other band three songs. But with the Ryman,you think all of those great old country artists,  and that’s where they headed; that was the point to get to. Now it’s in a huge place (the circa-1970s Opry House) because it’s bigger than it was. I love and I’ve always loved country music. But I’ve loved music, really. I’ve loved the blues, I’ve loved pop, I’ve loved soul. There’s always a piece of (everything) that I’ve enjoyed.

T Bone is someone who raves constantly about your voice, and how he wanted to frame it right — yours is one of his favorite voices, and he thinks that hasn’t gotten its due nearly as much as your drumming. Listening to this album, there’s something so comforting about hearing your voice and the tone of it.

Well, it works great, my voice, with country music. It’s just how it is. It’s my voice — what can I say? I’d love to be someone like Ray Charles. When I was in the studio, I used to think I’d be Ray Charles, and then I’d come out and listen: “Oh, it’s me again.” [Laughs.] But the voice works for country; it’s good.

T Bone Burnett is one of the great characters in music. Now that you know him a little better, how does he strike you?

Oh, he is hard to be with. I mean, what the hell is he talking about? [Laughs. He leans into the recorder.] Just having fun at your expense, brother! I love you, man. … We get on well, but we’ve known each other for many years. Not known each other, but, “Oh, hey. Oh hi,” and now we got to really know him. We had a meal together in Nashville. He was in L.A. a while back, and we went out for dinner. So we’re hanging out just regularly more now, because we have this common interest, which is the two records.

T Bone has liked to remark on your roots and your love of early country music and Western films. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the name Ringo came from Westerns, like “Stagecoach,” on into the spaghetti Westerns of the ‘60s. I remember growing up and seeing that name in films, and thinking, why are these cowboys naming themselves after Ringo Starr?

Well, you know, it wasn’t about a movie. It was about where I lived. If you had any attitude, you’d be called [a nickname]. I’d started wearing rings, and so from Richard it went to “Hey, Ring. Hey, Rings.” And so with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes [his pre-Beatles group in the early ‘60s], we went to Butlin’s holiday camps, and we all changed our name, bar Rory. And so I went, “Ringo Starkey … no, Ringo Starr.” That’s how that came about. We just did it for these gigs we were doing. And I kept wearing rings and they kept calling me “Ringo” —  it just became a natural thing. I mean, there was one guy who lived in Liverpool they called the Hammerman, because he used to carry it and wack you with it if he didn’t like you. [Laughs.]

Did you ever regret the nickname, or were you always happy you’d adopted it?

I never regretted it. I mean, sometimes it can get in the way because it takes over the whole being, but… You know, the family all call me “Richie,” you know. Or, if Barbara’s angry, “Richard.” [Laughs.]

T Bone just loves all those connections to your early career. And the fact that you had a band called the Texans — is that right?

He said that, but I didn’t want to hurt him. I know I don’t remember it. I don’t remember having a band… He mentioned it to me.

And you were like, “If you say so, T Bone?”

Yeah. “OK!”

They’ve reissued a number of your albums on vinyl recently. We have our favorites, but do you have a favorite among your solo albums?

[Long pause.] No. There’s a lot. I’m trying to think. Now they’re putting out a track from all of those CDs I made, like “The Best of Ringo” [a forthcoming compilaton]. And that’s how “Choose Love” came in (as an idea to re-record). And also, “You Can’t Fight Lightning,” the song I wrote, and we found the tapes at last. [Prior to 1981’s “Stop and Smell the Roses,” Starr had reportedly recorded a “lost” album that had “You Can’t Fight Lightning” as its title track. This, apparently, will be showing up on the forthcoming compilation.]

But, no, I’d have to have it in front of me. I can’t even remember half of them now. I mean, I loved the “Ringo” album [from 1973] because it really did great for me. You know, we’d broken up, and suddenly I’m No. 1. The other three are, “What the hell?” [Laughs.] And that had some great songs. I mean, they all had; that’s why we did them.

On a personal note. I still think back on the “Ringo” album, because it was touted at the time as the first Beatles solo album to have all the former members contributing to it. That year, I was on a family vacation, and every time we’d get to a city like New York, I’d go into the nearest record store and ask, “Is the ‘Ringo’ album in yet?” Until finally one day it was.

Yeah. Well, you know, before that, when George came to America to see his sister [in 1963], he came back and he said, “Oh, it’s gonna be tough,” because he was going into the record stores, and he said, “Have you got the Beatles in?” “Never heard of them.” This was before Shea (Stadium) and Ed Sullivan. He came back and he said, “Oh, it’s gonna be tough.”

But then we landed. You know, you can’t plan to have the No. 1 record the day you’re arriving [in America], you know what I mean? And Murray the K’s on your side and it just was played a lot and that helped it move in. So, that’s like it says on “Long Long Road” — things like that have happened that just fill your heart with peace and love. A guy gets off the plane at Heathrow — Ed Sullivan. We’re getting off another plane, and it was full of fans. And he books us. He doesn’t know us, we don’t know him. We get to New York that day. It’s been No. 1 for like a week. You can’t plan it, it just happened.

This is a big week for Beatles fans in L.A., knowing both you and Paul are in town. Are you going to stop by one of Paul’s shows at the Fonda this weekend?

Well, I’m not telling you… You’ll read it in the paper on Sunday morning. [Laughs.]

Well, I’ll be there at the first show Friday night. So if you have to pick a night, I’m just saying, pick Friday.

Yeah, yeah. Well, now that I know that, we’ll be there Saturday. [Laughs.]

I don’t know how much time you spend dealing with Apple Corps and ongoing business stuff. But obviously there have been changes there…

Oh, Apple’s great, with the new head of Apple (Tom Greene, appointed CEO last summer). We were Zooming on the board meeting last week, just checking in. And, yeah, it’s gonna go through some changes, which is good. The Beatles are out there and they can put that to some use. But we’re just going through the first stages right now, till it gets closer, then I might talk to you about it. But things are good, thank you.

Finally, on the subject of the All Starr Band coming back this summer, you’ve been keeping the band pretty intact from year to year.

Yeah. Well, it started as a new band every year; I would change the whole band. And as you get on and you’re doing it, you think, well, I don’t have to change the whole band to tour. So then I started just changing two players, to change the song lineup. And then I got this band, which just works — it’s a treat. I mean, I love this band. And it’s like we’ve become the band, you know what I mean? They know they’re gonna get a little love from my friends, and they’re gonna get Colin (Hay)’s songs, and we’re gonna do them again.

L.A. fans will be pleased you are getting back to the Greek again this go-round (on June 14).

Well, we’re doing it because this year I’m only doing 12 gigs. I’ve got the records going, with Universal, and I’ve got the best-of going. And I’ve got this idea for doing some other tracks and maybe an EP and will put that out as well.

I don’t suppose you can say what the idea for that EP is?

The idea is just getting the songs and putting ‘em together and seeing how it works. But the plan is an EP, where you can see the end of the road (because of the brevity), though these (the two albums with Burnett) were really quick. But, you know, I can get a lot of lads in L.A. who play, and it’s not heavy or big. That’s what we did in the pandemic. We’d make four tracks, so you could be there with your mask on, and not for an album that could have taken a long time. And we might do one of those again. So this year could be this “Long Long Road,” it could be the best-of, and could be an EP, and one tour thrown in the middle. So that will keep me busy enough.

We’re glad for that. Thank you.

OK? They’re throwing you out, brother. [Laughs.]