New Ringo Starr Album, 'Long Long Road,' Out April 24 — Stream First Single, 'It’s Been Too Long,' Now

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Here's a first taste from Ringo's upcoming LP, Long Long Road, out in April.


And here's the news release about the new LP:

Today Ringo Starr releases “It’s Been Too Long,” featuring the lush vocals of Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz. This is the first single from his forthcoming album Long Long Road, co-written and produced by T Bone Burnett, the 10-song album also includes collaborations with Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow and St Vincent and is the highly anticipated follow-up to last year’s chart topping Look Up. 

“I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records,” Ringo stated.  
“After we did the last record, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened. I like to say sometimes I make the right moves, like you can go left or right at any point, and one of the right moves was hooking up with T Bone for Look Up, and now for this one, which I’m calling Long Long Road, because I’ve been on a long long road.”   

As the title implies, and like Ringo’s own journey, Long Long Road has solid roots in Country and Americana, and evolved into something broader, creating an aural mosaic of Starr’s musical legacy and influences, including Carl Perkins. “I recorded two Carl Perkins songs with The Beatles, and both T Bone and I wanted one on this record,” Ringo explained, “and he found this beautiful track I’d never heard before, ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’.”   

Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, this record sees the return of many of the Look Up musicians including the core band (that T Bone affectionately dubs The Texans after the 1959 band Ringo played with in Liverpool) featuring Paul Franklin, David Mansfield, Dennis Crouch, Daniel Tashian, Rory Hoffman, Patrick Warren and Colin Linden. 

“I've loved Ringo’s playing and his singing for my whole life,” T Bone stated. “And then one night we were at a poetry reading together and he said, why don't you write a song for me? So I wrote him a Gene Autry type song because I always heard Ringo as a Texas artist, the way he played felt just like Texas music to me. Ringo Starr is a recording artist of the highest caliber, and I wanted to surround him with these young masters, bringing in some of this extraordinary young energy that's happening around Nashville for both of these records.”  

Their first collaboration, Look Up, released January 10, 2025, brought overwhelming success and acclaim. It was Ringo’s first Country record in 50 years and it earned him his first Top 10 on Billboard’s all genre Top Album Sales chart, as well as landing him on multiple other Billboard Charts. In the UK the album reached a significant career milestone garnering him his first solo #1 album on the Official Country Chart. In February 2025 Starr made his Grand Ole Opry debut after being invited by Emmylou Harris during the first of his two night run at the legendary Ryman, which was recorded for a 2 hour special still streaming on CBS/Paramount Plus. 

Here are the 10-songs, 6 written or co-written by T Bone Burnett, two co-written by Ringo and Bruce Sugar, one written by Ringo Starr, Mark Hudson and Gary Burr and one by Bernie Benjamin and George David Weiss and recorded by Carl Perkins:  

SIDE ONE
  1. RETURNING WITHOUT TEARS
  2. BABY DON’T GO
  3. I DON’T SEE ME IN YOUR EYES ANYMORE
  4. IT’S BEEN TOO LONG
  5. WHY

SIDE TWO
  1. YOU AND I (WAVE OF LOVE)
  2. MY BABY DON’T WANT NOTHING
  3. CHOOSE LOVE
  4. SHE’S GONE
  5. LONG LONG ROAD

The album was produced by T Bone Burnett and co-produced by Daniel Tashian and Bruce Sugar, and will be released on UMe.


And here are the liner notes by T Bone Burnett:

Early on, about 1959, he was in a band called The Texans. In the capital of Ireland- Liverpool. I think that’s what we should name the band on this record- The Texans.

Ringo Starr and The Texans

The Texans of Liverpool started as a skiffle band, the future Sir Richard playing washboard or beating rhythm on whatever box might be around, playing Rock Island Line-type folk music. 

It is a short hop from there to rock and roll. You just add a bass drum and a snare drum. And cymbals. There is so much color in the cymbals.

But it is a long road from the mean streets of the Dingle, Merseyside, being born while bombs were falling, growing up loving Gene Autry, petitioning to move to Houston, Texas to live near Lightning Hopkins. Falling in love with Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Hank Williams. Blowing the world’s mind killing Long Tall Sally at a whole other level, and inventing drums parts that influenced every drummer since. Filming The Magic Christian, hanging with Mae West.

I hear every mile of that road in his playing and in his singing. One of the most recognizable voices in the world telling you a story.

And to score that story, and those stories, The Texans.

All of them master musicians. Paul Franklin, Dennis Crouch, David Mansfield, Colin Linden, Sheryl Crow, Daniel Tashian, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Sarah Jarosz, Rory Hoffman on an instrument he invented, Patrick Warren, Annie Clark, and Ringo Starr playing the deepest rock and roll groove that is possible to play.

Ringo Starr and the Texans at this stop on a long, long road.
T Bone Burnett, Nashville, TN January 2026

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