If it seems like every time you turn on the internet these days, there’s news about yet another pop star making a country album, you’re not imagining things. Ringo Starr is considered a music legend of the highest order worldwide, regardless of your genre allegiance, so you might find a little more grace in “Going Country.” So, another performer is making a country album?
But for Ringo Starr, staying true to himself and going to the countryside isn’t so far-fetched. This isn’t his first foray into the country genre. If there’s one member of the Beatles who loves true country music, it’s definitely Ringo. A true country fan from the beginning of his music career, Ringo was to the Beatles what Gram Parsons was to the Byrds.
Ringo Starr was the least-celebrated singer of the Beatles, which is not surprising considering he was the drummer. But when the Fab Four recorded “Act Naturally,” a country song popularized by Buck Owens on his 1965 album Help!, it was Ringo who sang lead. Incidentally, this production, right in the middle of Beatlemania, had a huge impact on Buck Owens, the Bakersfield Sound, and country music. That’s one of the reasons Buck became one of the country’s greatest artists in the ’60s.
There are only a few Beatles songs that can be marketed straight up as “country,” but one of the most obvious examples is Rubber Soul’s “What Goes On” (1965). Not only is this song one of the few Beatles songs that Ringo co-wrote, he also sang lead on it. Ringo also wrote and sang “Don’t Pass Me By” (1968), which many consider to be another example of country influence in Beatles music.
If there’s an example of a Beatles country album, band historians would point to 1964’s Beatles for Sale, and so would the Beatles themselves. “You could call our new album the Beatles’ Country and Western LP,” John Lennon said at the time, and many critics, including Beatles biographer and music critic Ian MacDonald, agreed. agreed, saying the album was “dominated by[country and western]albums.” and Western) idioms.
beatles for sale cover
As well as leaning into the influence of Bob Dylan (which may have been the equivalent of American country to the Liverpool boys), the Beatles also covered songs by Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins on their albums, and also covered songs by Ringo. Starr sings the Carl Perkins song “Honey Don.” “The Beatles and their biographers specifically cited Ringo Starr’s influence within the band as a reason for the country shift.
(Trivia bonus: Another great Beatles country song is “I’ll Cry Instead” from A Hard Day’s Night, sung by John Lennon.)
But all of Ringo’s work with the Beatles was just the beginning of Ringo Starr’s country music career. After the Beatles broke up, Starr’s second solo release was a straight country album with songs written by country writers, performed by country pickers, and recorded specifically in Nashville. The song is called “Beaucoups of Blues” and is considered an underground country classic.
It’s all because of Country Music Hall of Fame steel guitarist Pete Drake. In late May or early June 1970, fellow Beatle George Harrison was recording his album All Things Must Pass and wanted to include steel guitar on it. So he called Nashville to fly a high-end plane to England, and Pete Drake answered. Ringo Starr also played on the album and coincidentally picked Drake up from the airport and drove him to the studio.
While riding in the car with Ringo, Pete Drake noticed that he had all of Ringo’s country albums. The two started talking about country and came up with the idea of making a Ringo Starr country album. According to Drake, songwriters in Nashville could come up with a song for Ringo to record within a week, and session players from around the city would line up to work on the song. That’s exactly what happened when Ringo flew to Nashville the week after finishing George Harrison’s album and completed Beaucoup of Blues in three days.
This album features some of Nashville’s session players at the time. Charlie Daniels, Jerry Reed, and Jerry Kennedy all played guitar, of course Pete Drake played pedal steel, Charlie McCoy played harmonica, and even The Jordanaires contributed backing vocals. I did. . The Session was engineered by Scotty Moore of Elvis fame.
As is often the case with country albums where a rock star leaves, Beaucoup of Blues was a huge flop for Ringo, but he didn’t really care. This was a passion project, but it has since evolved into a cool project with country lovers. It also gave it as much country music street cred as a British pop star could receive.
Important footnote: The same week that Ringo Starr announced he would be releasing a new country album, news broke that songwriter Buzz Rabin had passed away. Among the songs Buzz Rabin wrote for Gene Watson, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., David Allan Coe, Alabama, Mel Tillis, Johnny Paycheck, and others, “Beaucoups of Blues” I wrote a song called “. Considered a songwriter’s songwriter, Buzz also released his own solo album, Cross Country Cowboy.
Born on October 25, 1940 in Alexandria, Louisiana, Buzz Rabin is little known outside of Nashville songwriter circles, except for being the author of Ringo Starr’s “Beaucoup of Blues.” There wasn’t.
So when news broke that Ringo Starr would be releasing a country album called Look Up on January 10, 2025, some country fans may have certainly rolled their eyes, but… Probably shouldn’t. As with Beaucoup of Blues, Starr enlisted real country music talent to put this together, with production by T. Bone Burnett and full performances by Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle. Alison Krauss, Larkin Poe, and Lucius also participated.
Most of the songs on Look Up were written by T Bone Burnett, so we’ll have to see how that goes. But at the very least, this album should be another interesting collaboration across the pond that reminds the world just how big a fan Ringo Starr really is. Starr has also collaborated with Ray Wylie Hubbard (Bad Trick) and other artists from neighboring countries over the years. In 1989, Ringo produced a new version of “Act Naturally” as a duet with Buck Owens, and the two appeared in the video together.
“I’ve always loved country music,” Starr said as part of the announcement of his new album. “When I asked T-Bone to write a song, I had no idea at the time that it would be a country song, but of course it was, and it was beautiful. I was working on an EP at the time. , I was thinking of making a country EP, but when he brought me nine songs, I knew I had to make an album! And I’m so glad I did.”
Look Up is Ringo Starr’s first solo record in six years and his first country record in 55 years.
And now you know the secret country music life of Ringo Starr and the Beatles.
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Track list:
1. Thankful (featuring Alison Krauss) (Richard Starkey, Bruce Sugar)
2. Breathless (featuring Billy Strings) (T. Bone Burnett)
3. Look Up (featuring Molly Tuttle) (Daniel Tashian, T. Bone Burnett)
4. Time on My Hands (Paul Kennerly, Daniel Tashian, T. Bone Burnett)
5. Never Let Me Go (featuring Billy Strings) (T. Bone Burnett)
6. I Live for Your Love (featuring Molly Tuttle) (Billy Swan, T. Bone Burnett)
7. Come Back (featuring Lucius) (T. Bone Burnett)
8. Can You Hear Me Call (Featuring Molly Tuttle) (T. Bone Burnett)
9. Rosetta (featuring Billy Strings and Larkin Poe) (T. Bone Burnett)
10. You Want Some (Billy Swan)
11. String Theory (featuring Molly Tuttle) (Daniel Tashian, T. Bone Burnett)
