Released earlier this month Ringo Starr’s new album Look Up finds the former Beatle reconnecting with the country music that started it all for him, way back in a Liverpool cinema in the 1940s. As part of our extended interview with Starr in the latest issue of MOJO, Paul McCartney discussed his old bandmate’s “natural genius”, affinity for country music and why he was the perfect drummer for The Beatles...
Ringo’s new album Look Up is a collection of country songs. What is it about his personality – and singing voice – that is so perfectly suited to country music?
He always loved country from the first minute I met him. He liked the old country singers like George Jones and people like that, and he was a big fan of that. So I think, you know, maybe, it suits his personality. He’s a very sincere, straightforward guy, and I think that’s the sort of theme behind a lot of country music.
Ringo was the perfect drummer for The Beatles. But why?
Impossible to say why – he just was.
When you first hit America, why do you think Ringo was so particularly endearing to the fans? And could you get behind the Ringo For President campaign?
Ringo for President? Yeah, absolutely! He would do a great job. President of what is the question?
When The Beatles split, Ringo immediately launched a solo music career and pursued a parallel film career. Was it clear that he wouldn’t just join another band as a drummer, that he had more strings to his bow?
Like all of us, he wanted to continue in music. And besides country music, he’s a big fan of old standards, so that’s why he did Sentimental Journey as his first album.
On the rare occasions you get together on-stage these days, do you find you both lock back into some long-practised groove?
Yeah, it’s just amazing, actually. It’s just, yep, it’s like wearing a very comfortable pair of shoes, if that’s the right metaphor.
You once described Ringo to MOJO as “a natural genius”. In what ways?
Many ways, actually. You know, he didn’t have a sort of heavy education, like a lot of people. So anything he knows is self-taught, most of it, he’s very clever that way. He picks things up and is very witty. And, above all else, he’s an amazing drummer who just knows how to do it. Simple as that.
“When The Beatles were over, I had to sit around the garden and think, y’know, I’ll just enjoy the sun… or a joint. And then I thought, ‘Nah, come on, you gotta get up...” Get the latest issue of MOJO to read our exclusive interview with Ringo Starr about the demise of The Beatles, solo success, his new album and a life-long affinity with America. More info and to order a copy HERE!
Main picture: Barbara Bach, Ringo Starr, Paul and Nancy McCartney, Paris, 2024. Credit: Getty