Sir Ringo Starr has enlisted Sheryl Crow and St. Vincent to perform on his new album.
The Beatles legend has announced his next album, Long Long Road, will be released on 24 April and marked the news by sharing the first single from the record, It’s Been Too Long, which features backing vocals from Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz.
The 10-track record was co-written by Ringo, 85, and producer T Bone Burnett – who he worked with on his 2025 record Look Up – and also features an appearance from Billy Strings.
The former Beatles drummer said in a statement: “I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records.
“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.”
Long Long Road was recorded in Nashvilleand Los Angeles and largely features the same musicians as Look Up. The country and Americana-influenced record was particularly influenced by guitarist Carl Perkins.
Ringo said: “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.”
T Bone explained his and Ringo’s collaboration came about after they attended a poetry reading together and agreed to subsequently write a song.
He said: “I’ve loved Ringo’s playing and his singing for my whole life.
“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 calibre, 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.”