It's never a bad time to be Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr and T Bone Burnett were sitting astir the different time astatine the Sunset Marquis erstwhile the erstwhile Beatle abruptly turned a eating array into a drum kit and belted retired a spot of “Rock Island Line.”

“It was Lonnie Donegan who gave america each a large break,” Starr, 85, said of the precocious British vocalist whose alleged skiffle euphony — a scrappy blend of folk, blues and state from the infinitesimal conscionable earlier stone ’n’ rotation — captivated kids successful England (including the aboriginal Fab Four) successful the mid- to precocious 1950s.

“Everything followed him,” Starr added arsenic helium tapped retired Donegan’s signature bushed and Burnett looked connected with a smile.

“Did you spot conscionable then, erstwhile Ringo deed the table, however a full vibe came alive?” asked the seasoned grounds producer. “There was a consciousness determination — that’s Ringo’s magic. How does it happen? Nobody knows.”

Whatever the secret, the 2 seizure that indelible consciousness connected Starr’s charming caller album, “Long Long Road,” which Burnett produced and which comes conscionable 15 months aft the duo’s archetypal collaboration, 2025’s “Look Up.”

Like the earlier record, “Long Long Road” blends country-leaning originals by Starr and by Burnett — the second known for his enactment with Los Lobos and Counting Crows and connected the Grammy-winning soundtrack to the Coen brothers’ “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” — and features impermanent appearances by Nashvillians similar Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings and Paul Franklin.

Yet the caller LP, which besides has Sheryl Crow and St. Vincent and a screen of an oldie erstwhile recorded by Carl Perkins, is an betterment connected “Look Up,” with catchier songs, deeper grooves and much affectional singing by Starr, arsenic successful the precise tender “You and I (Wave of Love).”

“Ringo’s tone is truthful unfastened and loving — helium lives wrong my caput and heart,” says Tuttle, who joined Starr and a bevy of different players past twelvemonth for a brace of concerts astatine Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. With a laugh, Tuttle recalls her mom’s absorption to the gigs.

“She grew up obsessed with the Beatles, and Paul was ever her favorite,” she says. “Now she’s a full Ringo-head.”

This summer, Starr — who’s lived successful Los Angeles for decades with his wife, Barbara Bach — volition pb his All-Starr Band connected a circuit scheduled to wrapper June 14 astatine the Greek Theatre; helium besides shares a vocal duet with Paul McCartney — the pair’s archetypal — connected a caller medium his aged bandmate is acceptable to merchandise adjacent month.

Before each that, though, Starr was anxious to speech astir “Long Long Road,” whose screen photograph shows popular music’s astir celebrated drummer successful a ruffled purple shirt.

“If you’ve done your homework, you cognize that garment is from the ’60s,” helium said.

This medium is the uncommon illustration of a sequel that’s amended than the original.
Ringo Starr: You cognize what I was reasoning today? I was reasoning that it’s antithetic and a measurement up — not antithetic and we’re stepping down. We had immoderate discussions due to the fact that T Bone was utilizing the connection “psychedelic,” and I kept asking him, “Have you ever taken acid?”

And?
T Bone Burnett: Well, yes, I have. In fact, I had immoderate this morning.

Starr: There’s the headline.

I deliberation we’re done here.
Starr: But it worked great.

Burnett: Ringo said helium wanted it to beryllium much stone ’n’ roll, truthful I deliberation it’s got much of his earthy vigor successful it.

Starr: We besides got to cognize each other. I mean, we’d met but ne'er been retired for meal oregon anything.

“Nobody has Ringo’s consciousness — that’s conscionable the reality,” says T Bone Burnett, left. “It’s the astir recognizable consciousness of immoderate drummer.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

How did the 2 of you meet?
Starr: My communicative is that successful the ’70s and ’80s, I had a batch of parties, and helium would beryllium astatine immoderate of them. I ne'er invited him once, but he’d travel with 1 of the Band members — you know, the Band band. Actually, I don’t cognize who brought you.

Burnett: Van Dyke [Parks] oregon Harry Nilsson oregon Levon [Helm]. We’d beryllium hanging retired astatine the Troubadour, and abruptly determination would beryllium a party. I don’t adjacent deliberation you planned them, really.

Starr: Not a batch of them, no. I could perceive each the postulation successful L.A. coming to my location astatine 2 o’clock erstwhile the pubs and the discos closed.

Burnett: They were large parties. The 1 I retrieve best, you walked successful and astatine the acold extremity of the room, Mae West was sitting successful a seat with cleanable lighting successful a achromatic gown. She was glowing.

Starr: She invited america to meal once, and she got determination an hr aboriginal to acceptable the lights. Mae was great. I did a movie with her, and I enactment my limb astir her — it was similar a metallic corset.

Were these caller songs recorded astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic the archetypal batch?
Burnett: They were done good aft we did the archetypal record. Then we did that amusement astatine the Ryman, which was fantastic.

Starr: I inactive laughter each clip I deliberation of Molly doing “Octopus’s Garden” — it conscionable makes maine smile. So aft that, T Bone would nonstop maine a track, and I’d play drums connected it and sing it and past I’d nonstop it backmost and he’d enactment the last touches connected the mix.

Burnett: Daniel Tashian arranged the vocals, and he’s a slayer collaborator — produces Kacey Musgraves and writes with her. He did benignant of a Beach Boys happening successful “Long Long Road.”

Starr: That was a astonishment — wasn’t connected the way erstwhile I sang to it.

Burnett: It was a astonishment to maine too. I near it to him, and helium did that.

Starr: It’s an homage to Brian [Wilson], God bless him.

You play drums passim the record, Ringo. Is determination an medium of yours wherever you didn’t play drums?
Starr: No. There’s not adjacent a track, I don’t believe.

If you’re making a record, you’re playing drums.
Starr: I’m the drummer — that’s however it works. I sing the songs too, but I emotion to play.

T Bone, you’ve spoken astir the musicality of Ringo’s drumming. Do you physique a opus astir his playing successful a mode that’s antithetic from that of different drummers?
Starr: No.

Burnett: Yes.

Starr: Yes?

Burnett: Nobody has Ringo’s consciousness — that’s conscionable the reality. It’s the astir recognizable consciousness of immoderate drummer. Today, drummers person to play to click tracks. Ringo doesn’t travel anyplace adjacent one.

Starr: I can’t play to a click way — I get excessively tense.

Burnett: Ringo is the click track.

Starr: I’ll velocity it up oregon dilatory it down but lone by a millisecond. The lone different drummer I cognize that does that is Jim Keltner.

One of the greats.
Starr: I taught him everything helium knows.

Drummers emotion to accidental that you’re their favourite drummer. Who’s your favourite drummer?
Starr: Jim Keltner. We’ve played unneurotic [in the All-Starr Band] — if I bash a fill, the adjacent one’s up to him. I’ve played with drummers wherever you bash a capable and past they bash each this accelerated stuff, which I don’t do. With Jim, it was large from the beginning.

Ringo Starr

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Is determination a capable connected this album, T Bone, that lit you up erstwhile Ringo played it?
Burnett: My favourite portion of the drumming connected the grounds is the choruses of “Baby Don’t Go,” wherever Ringo played thing I ne'er heard him play before. He was conscionable relating to the song, and it turned into this benignant of 2nd enactment feel.

A New Orleans vibe.
Starr: Played it with brushes. I conscionable beryllium down the drums and play, and immoderate comes, comes. If we bash Take 2, I whitethorn not bash it the aforesaid mode — I whitethorn beryllium successful a wholly antithetic spot due to the fact that it’s an emotion, and the emotion came earlier. I can’t explicate the mode I play. I play due to the fact that I emotion to play, and things hap arsenic I’m going along.

Did your emotion of state euphony marque you an oddball arsenic a schoolkid increasing up successful England?
Starr: School I didn’t bash a batch of, truthful I don’t know. But Liverpool was into it — the neighbors and my pals. I’m grateful I was calved determination due to the fact that it was a port, and successful this country I lived, astatine slightest 1 of the sons of each household was successful the Merchant Navy, and they’d bring backmost records from America. I worked connected the time boats trying to get my summons for the Merchant Navy, but they fired me.

Burnett: Fortunately for the world.

As a young instrumentalist successful Texas, T Bone, did you perceive Ringo’s “Don’t Pass Me By,” from the White Album, arsenic a state song?
Burnett: Definitely, yea — it had a fiddle connected it. It sounded similar an orchestra fiddle subordinate trying to play state music.

Starr: It was English state music.

Would the set that made this grounds ever spell connected tour?
Starr: It could spell connected tour, yeah. It’s different All-Starr Band — the state All-Starr Band.

Burnett: It would beryllium absorbing — Billy and Molly and Sarah Jarosz and Dennis Crouch. We could bash that.

Starr: Not this year, OK? I’ve got capable this year.

Do you envision this concern continuing successful the studio? Think there’ll beryllium different record?
Burnett: I don’t privation to tempt fate. It’s been specified a beauteous collaboration.

Starr: Might happen.

Burnett: I’m unfastened to it.

Starr: Now I cognize we’ve some thought astir it.

Last 1 for you, Ringo: I heard Paul’s caller medium the different day, with the duet betwixt the 2 of you. That’s thing I’d ne'er heard before.
Starr: Well, cipher has. I went to Andrew Watt’s location possibly 2 years agone — we were conscionable jamming, helium wasn’t producing maine oregon anything. He got a guitar, and idiosyncratic had near immoderate drums determination and I played those. Then I said, “Oh, 4 o’clock — I gotta go.” So I left. Then I started doing a record. I kept calling Andrew: “Send that way up, possibly we tin bash thing with it.” He ne'er sent it.

Just keeping it safe.
Starr: He became not my champion person instantly [laughs]. But past what happened to it was Paul was moving with Andrew, and Andrew played him the happening with him connected guitar and maine connected drums. Paul wrote a opus astir that, and truthful helium benignant of had to inquire maine to sing connected it, didn’t he?

At the lawsuit wherever I heard the album, it was wide however moved radical were to perceive the 2 of you together.
Starr: Same is existent for us. That’s wherever we travel from.