After dipping his toes into country music on last year’s ‘Look Up’, Sir Ringo Starr is coming back for second helpings with 2026 album ‘Long Long Road’. He announced the album earlier this week, as well as releasing lead single ‘It’s Been Too Long’.
Born Richard Starkey, Starr has been a monumental figure in British music since joining The Beatles in 1962. Although best known for his work behind the kit for The Beatles, Sir Ringo, now 85 years old, has forged an incredibly successful solo drummer-singer-songwriter career, releasing 21 studio albums and 54 singles since the band split in 1970. Previously added alongside the rest of the “Fab Four” as a group, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an individual in 2015 for “Musical Excellence”, and in 2018 he was knighted by Prince William for services to music. Since 1989 he’s toured the globe with his All-Starr Band, a supergroup with a rotating roster of rock’s finest artists, including Toto’s Steve Lukather, Joe Walsh of Eagles, and on occasion his son, fellow drummer Zak Starkey.
After announcing he was moving away from full-length albums to more concentrated EPs in 2021, he released his first LP since 2019 in January last year. ‘Look Up’ marked a shift in sound towards country music, due to Starr beginning a partnership with American writer and producer T Bone Burnett. Formerly a guitarist for Bob Dylan, Burnett’s work on film scores have bestowed upon him an astonishing 13 Grammy Awards from his Americana and roots soundtracks on movies including Cold Mountain and country music-oriented Crazy Heart. Crazy Heart also won him both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Sir Ringo is quoted by the BBC as saying “I’m blessed to have T-Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records.”
The first single from his new project released yesterday, Tuesday the 3rd of March. Titled ‘It’s Been Too Long’, the track is a groovy little number, rolling along with Sir Ringo’s drumming and singing. The overall template is very Beatles-adjacent, but made distinct by the twanging country guitars and the female backing vocals. Guest features are provided by country artists Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz.
Also confirmed to be on the album ‘Long Long Road’ is a cover of guitarist Carl Perkins’ 1959 song ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’. Nicknamed “The King of Rockabilly”, The Beatles had previously covered three of Perkins’ songs, with Starr himself singing on their versions of ‘Honey Don’t’ and ‘Matchbox’. Sir Ringo explained that Perkins’ influence is felt throughout the record, saying “I recorded two Carl Perkins songs with The Beatles, and both T Bone and I wanted one on this record and he found this beautiful track I’d never heard before, ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’.
View this post on Instagram
The full album ‘Long Long Road’ will release on label Universal Music Enterprises on the 24th of April, with a cast of extras including Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, and Billy Strings. You can check single ‘It’s Been Too Long’ on Sir Ringo’s official Youtube channel, and pre-order physical versions or pre-save the album on streaming platforms here. See below for the full track listing:
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
6. You and I (Wave of Love)
7. My Baby Don’t Want Nothing
8. Choose Love
9. She’s Gone
10. Long Long Road
