Ringo Starr, meeting the beating heart of the Beatles

Ringo Starr. To be honest, it wasn’t in my plans, even though I’ve always been a big fan of country music. A year ago, in Los Angeles, Olivia, George Harrison’s widow, organized a reading of the book she dedicated to him. I went there to support her, and there were lots of people I knew. One of them was musician and producer T-Bone Burnett. We met several times in the 1970s, but never really clicked. We attended the same parties, often organized at my house, in fact. Today, it makes us laugh, but I’ve never invited him once!

Was musical love at first sight immediate?

I told him to send me a composition if he thought of me. I was very surprised to receive a country song, because I hadn’t even thought to tell him I was into pop. It was a very ‘old school’ song, similar to what I listened to when I was 17. You know, the kind of song about the wife who walked away, the dog who died and the lack of change for the jukebox! [Il rit.]

The rest after this ad

And from a title, you went to an album?

After receiving the song, I started composing ‘Thankful’ to complete my EP. Musician Linda Perry also took part. Then T-Bone came to Los Angeles. He told me he had nine songs for me. That’s how it started. Without a big project. At the end of this jam, and with the work of many artists such as Larkin Poe, Alison Krauss, Joe Walsh and Billy Strings, you get ‘Look Up’.

“I went through a really complicated period. My wife told me to stop looking in the mirror, to take charge of myself. And we’re still together after forty-four years.”

‘Thankful’ also seems to be a declaration of love to your wife, Barbara Bach. Why do you say she made you ‘a better man’?

She told me to stop looking in the mirror, to stop being unhappy, to take charge of myself. And here we are. We’re still together after forty-four years. I went through a really complicated period, but that’s life… It lifted me up just right.

In the documentary ‘Beatles’64’, produced by Martin Scorsese, we realize how very young you all were. How do we experience life in such circumstances?

It was incredible. We were there for each other. We were in the United States, where all the music we loved came from. We were overloaded, those around us kept asking us: ‘Can you do this? Can you do this?’ I remember the four of us hiding in a toilet to take a break. We said to ourselves: ‘We’re really happy here.’ The images in this documentary are crazy. I don’t even know who asked the Maysles brothers to film. You should ask Paul, he will definitely know. Finally, I will ask him myself… [Il sourit.]

“The American press loved us because we were very different from other British artists. We had the comeback from Liverpool”

What memories do you keep of this first tour in the United States?

I especially remember a concert in Washington where we played on a central stage. My stage rotated on itself. At one point it got stuck. But we’re Liverpool guys! So I got up and we tried to fix it ourselves. This is to tell you how early we were… That wouldn’t happen nowadays. You’d have fifty roadies rushing to fix this. The American press loved us because we were very different from other British artists. We had the comeback from Liverpool.

Wasn’t that a problem for you when you met the English royal family in 1963?

Ah that! It’s a miracle I didn’t kneel to Elizabeth II. We were so young! We grew up with a very specific idea and images of the Queen and Princess Margaret, anchored in our minds since childhood.

The Beatles are nominated for the Grammy Awards this year, for the title ‘Now and Then’, created from a model, with John Lennon on vocals. What feeling do you have?

It’s completely crazy, but it’s awesome. The song is over forty years old. We had vaguely worked on this song, because, at that point in our lives, we were focused on ‘Free as a Bird’. Paul called me to ask me to play on it. I obviously accepted. So I did what I had to do and sent him the file. Nowadays, you just have to send an email… I also told him that I wanted to sing the chorus, he was surprised. [Il rit.] The result works really well. The music video is awesome. We are seen with George and John. It’s fabulous!

Ringo solo: good and bad

Benjamin Locoge

The beginnings. “Sentimental Journey” (1970). The release of the Beatles drummer’s first solo album, on March 27, 1970, was overshadowed by the announcement, two weeks later, of the separation of the Fab Four. Too bad, because this collection of covers of standards – “my mother’s favorite songs”, he says – is of high quality. And allows Ringo to develop his crooning voice.

The masterpiece. “Ringo” (1973). For his third opus, he asks his old friends, Paul, John and George, for a helping hand. Who all redoubled their efforts to offer him a flamboyant album, with the hits “Photograph”, “You’re Sixteen” and “I’m the Greatest”, one of John Lennon’s most beautiful compositions. The best sale of his career and the last time we found them on the same LP.

Delirium. “Goodnight Vienna” (1974). Recorded in Los Angeles, the album oozes alcohol from title to title, boosted by the presence of John Lennon as well as those of Elton John and Harry Nilsson. Fifty years later, the record feels like a fantastic ride in the middle of an alcoholic world.

La catastrophe. « Ringo The 4Th » (1977). He tried disco, then in vogue, but forgot to compose good songs. The public is not mistaken and shuns this bloated, poorly sung, poorly played album. Which marks the start of the desert crossing for the funniest of the Beatles. For the record, Ringo loved the song “Wings” so much that he re-recorded it in 2012.

La renaissance. « Time Takes Time » (1992). Nine years after the very average “Old Wave”, Ringo finds inspiration, buoyed by the success of his first solo tour with his All-Starr Band. In a very 1990s pop-rock tone, “Time Takes Time” allows him to work with Brian Wilson, Jeff Lynne and Don Was.

The tribute. “Liverpool 8” (2008). An order from his hometown for a one-off show (and without much interest – we were there) allowed him to sign again with EMI, the Beatles’ historic label. On this album, Ringo rediscovers his youth with elegant melancholy.

The good surprise. “Look Up” (2025). Fifty-five years after his first step towards country (the record was called, jokingly, “Parents of Blues”), Ringo became infatuated with T-Bone Burnett and embarked on a well-crafted country album. Where he invites both Alison Krauss and Larkin Poe. A surprising side step for an artist who no longer has anything to prove.