Beatles legend Ringo Starr has revealed details of his 22nd solo album, ‘Long Long Road’, along with the lead single, ‘It’s Been Too Long’. The album continues the country-inspired sound he explored on last year’s ‘Look Up’ and is produced by acclaimed musician and producer T Bone Burnett.
Long Long Road features collaborations with St. Vincent, Sheryl Crow and bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings. It is set for release on April 24 via UMe, with pre-orders now open.
The first single, It’s Been Too Long, was written by Burnett and Daniel Tashian and includes harmony vocals from Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz. The track highlights Starr’s vocals over twanging Americana guitars and warm, reflective production.
Speaking about the project, Starr said, “I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records. After we did the last album, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened. I like to say sometimes I make the right moves. One of the right moves was working with T Bone on Look Up, and now for this one, which I’m calling Long Long Road, because I’ve been on a long long road.”
Burnett added, “I’ve loved Ringo’s playing and his singing for my whole life. One night we were at a poetry reading together and he asked me to write a song for him. I wrote a Gene Autry-style track because I always heard Ringo as a Texas artist. His playing felt like Texas music to me. Ringo is a recording artist of the highest calibre, and I wanted to surround him with some of the extraordinary young talent in Nashville for both of these records.”
Ringo Starr will be portrayed by Barry Keoghan in the upcoming series of Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes. The four films, titled ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’, are set to focus individually on each member of the band, with Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. Mia McKenna-Bruce will play Starr’s wife Maureen Starkey. The films are scheduled for release in April 2028.
Keoghan has shared that meeting Starr in preparation for the role was overwhelming, but Starr encouraged him to focus on capturing the human essence of his personality rather than simply imitating him.
Starr’s son, Zak Starkey, commented on the challenge of portraying his father, noting that it is his personality and charisma that made him iconic, not just his appearance.
