Ringo Starr is sinking his roots even deeper into the realms of country music and Americana. The influential musician has reunited with co-writer and producer T Bone Burnett to create Long Long Road, the follow-up to his long-awaited 2025 genre-focused album.
Set for release on April 24, the record was unexpectedly born following the pair’s creation of Look Up, the collaboration-filled LP that marked Starr’s first fully country music-focused project.
“I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records,” Starr shares in a statement. “After we did the last record, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened. I like to say sometimes I make the right moves, like you can go left or right at any point, and one of the right moves was hooking up with T Bone for Look Up, and now for this one, which I’m calling Long Long Road, because I’ve been on a long long road.”
“I’ve loved Ringo’s playing and his singing for my whole life,” shares Burnett. “And then one night we were at a poetry reading together, and he said, ‘Why don’t you write a song for me? So I wrote him a Gene Autry-type song because I always heard Ringo as a Texas artist; the way he played felt just like Texas music to me. Ringo Starr is a recording artist of the highest caliber, and I wanted to surround him with these young masters, bringing in some of this extraordinary young energy that’s happening around Nashville for both of these records.”
Ringo Starr, Long Long Road
‣ SIDE ONE
1. “Returning Without Tears”
2. “Baby Don’t Go”
3. “I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore”
4. “It’s Been Too Long”
5. “Why”
‣ SIDE TWO
1. “You and I (Wave of Love)”
2. “My Baby Don’t Want Nothing”
3. “Choose Love”
4. “She’s Gone”
5. “Long Long Road”
ALBUM OUT APRIL 24 VIA UMe
Although it took decades for Starr to release his own country music project, he’s been vocal about his close connection to the genre throughout his incredible, extensive career.
“I recorded two Carl Perkins songs with The Beatles, and both T Bone and I wanted one on this record,” explains Starr. “And he found this beautiful track I’d never heard before, ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’.”
That song is one of 10 tracks on Long Long Road, which includes collaborations with Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, and St. Vincent. Released today (March 3), the record’s lead single, “It’s Been Too Long,” features Americana standouts Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz.
“It’s been too long since we smelled the flowers / It’s been too long, lost track of the hours,” Starr sings in the track’s groovy chorus, elevated by Tuttle and Jarosz’s heavenly harmonies. “It’s been too long since we heard the heavens ring / It’s been too long since we didn’t do a thing.”
Watch the official visualizer for “It’s Been Too Long” featuring Sarah Jarosz and Molly Tuttle below:
