As anticipated, Ringo Starr has officially announced details about his previously reported country album. The record, titled Look Up, will be released on January 10, 2025, and features 11 original songs.
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Look Up was co-produced by T Bone Burnett, who also wrote or co-wrote nine of the tracks. Starr also co-wrote one song, “Thankful,” with his longtime studio collaborator Bruce Sugar. One tune also was composed by veteran country songwriter Billy Swan—“You Want Some.”
Starr recorded Look Up in Nashville and Los Angeles earlier this year with various guest artists and local session musicians.
Among the guests joining Ringo on various tracks were Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, Larkin Poe, Lucius, and Molly Tuttle. Krauss lent her talents to “Thankful.”
Starr has released a song titled “Time on My Hands” as the album’s lead single. The track, which was co-written by Burnett, Daniel Tashian, and Paul Kennerly, is available now as a digital download and via streaming services. You also can pre-order the album now.
Look Up is Starr’s full-length album since What’s My Name in 2019. It’s also his first album solely devoted to country music since his second solo effort, Beaucoups of Blues, in 1970.
To celebrate the release of Look Up, Starr has scheduled two special concerts at the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The show, which will take place on January 14 and 15, 2025, will feature the legendary Beatles drummer joined by a variety of as-yet-unannounced musical friends. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 25.
How the Look Up Album Came About
Starr said that his collaboration with Burnett came about after the two met at an event in Los Angeles in 2022. Ringo, who had been releasing a series of EPs starting in 2021, asked Burnett if he had a song for Starr to record. As Ringo explains, the Burnett offered him was a country tune, which got the ball rolling on what became Look Up.
“I’ve always loved country music,” Starr noted in a statement. “And when I asked T Bone to write me a song, I didn’t even think at the time that it would be a country song—but of course it was, and it was so beautiful. I had been making EPs at the time and so I thought we would do a country EP—but when he brought me nine songs I knew we had to make an album! And I am so glad we did.”
Ringo added, “I want to thank, and send Peace & Love, to T Bone and all the great musicians who helped make this record. It was a joy making it and I hope it is a joy to listen to.”
Burnett’s Comments About Look Up and Working with Starr
Burnett, meanwhile, said he was thrilled and honored to collaborate with the Beatles icon.
“I have loved Ringo Starr and his playing and his singing and his aesthetic for as long as I can (or care to) remember,” he shared in a statement. “He changed the way every drummer after him played, with his inventive approach to the instrument. And, he has always sung killer rockabilly, as well as being a heartbreaking ballad singer.”
Burnett continued, “To get to make this music with him was something like the realization of a 60-year dream I’ve been living. None of the work that I have done through a long life in music would have happened if not for him and his band. Among other things, this album is a way I can say thank you for all he has given me and us.”
Starr’s Upcoming TalkShopLive Appearance
Starr and Burnett will appear on the TalkShopLive shopping website on Tuesday, October 22, at 7 p.m. ET. Ringo and T Bone will be on hand to discuss Look Up and possibly other topics.
Fans who visit the site will have the chance to pre-order CD copies of the album, which come with a limited-edition poster.
Look Up Track List:
- “Breathless” (featuring Billy Strings)
- “Look Up” (featuring Molly Tuttle)
- “Time on My Hands”
- “Never Let Me Go” (featuring Billy Strings)
- “I Live for Your Love” (featuring Molly Tuttle)
- “Come Back” (featuring Lucius)
- “Can You Hear Me Call” (featuring Molly Tuttle)
- “Rosetta” (featuring Billy Strings and Larkin Poe)
- “You Want Some”
- “String Theory” (featuring Molly Tuttle)
- “Thankful” (featuring Alison Krauss)
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