Ringo Starr is a rock star unlike any other. He was the drummer for the Beatles, a Grammy-winning soloist, a photographer, a narrator, an actor, and an activist. To describe him as productive would almost be an understatement of his achievements. In addition, it feels correct.
His fourth extended play in three years is titled “Rewind Forward,” and it will be released on October 13.
He adds of the format, “I’ve enjoyed EPs since they first came out in the ’60s. Then I heard that the young people were creating EPs and thought, “That’s great!”
The title is a typical “Ringoism,” as John Lennon liked to call his mispronunciations, a strange expression created by the same person who was behind “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
Later, profundity was ascribed to it. I believe it indicates that you are spending some time sitting still. If you go back in time, you’ll discover that he claims, “I was a much better person then,” or “This was working for me better then.” You don’t have to dwell there constantly, only periodically.
He chuckles, “Of course I’m making this up.”
The four-song EP was co-written by a number of Starr’s friends, including Steve Lukather of the All Starr Band, Joe Williams of Toto, Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, as well as many others, including his engineer and regular co-writer Bruce Sugar.
The song “Feeling the Sunlight” was composed by Paul McCartney, a former member of the Beatles, who Starr claims he “FaceTimes twice a month” and hangs out with whenever he is in London or McCartney is in LA.
He continues, laughing, “When he received the track, he’d really done the drums, so we had to take them off.
If there is a unifying theme to “Rewind Forward,” or any of Starr’s solo work, it is an unwavering optimism that even the most trying situations can be overcome by peace and love.
His perseverance has come from this spirit. His current tour, which began on September 17 in Ontario, California, and will culminate in Thackerville, Oklahoma, is for the fall. When so many bands are starting their farewell tours, it’s an accomplishment for a seasoned performer.
“Many have said, ‘That’s the last gig,'” Our children and my wife are tired of hearing me say it after every tour. He makes a joke, “Oh, you said that last time. He travels still because he merely adores it: “I get everything I need.”
There are also plans for more compact collections. “Right now, I’m EP crazy,” he admits.) The following was developed from country music. Starr met Tom “T-Bone” Wolk while attending a poetry reading by Olivia Harrison, the late Beatle George Harrison’s widow. They made the choice to collaborate. Starr anticipated receiving a pop tune, but Wolk handed him a country song instead. He claims, “He actually opened the door.” “So I reasoned, ‘Why don’t we also do that?'” “A rural one.”
Starr and McCartney recently worked together on Dolly Parton’s rendition of the Beatles’ “Let It Be.” “It’s good to be a part of it,” he says, adding that no persuasion was necessary. “I’m simple,”
Using artificial intelligence technology to extract John Lennon’s voice from a piano demo, a final Beatles recording was made, according to news reports in June. This technique was also used to separate the Beatles’ voices from background noises while making director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series “The Beatles: Get Back.”
Concerning the application of AI, there was considerable misunderstanding—and perhaps even some fear. The speculations about Lennon’s contributions to the next song, he continues, “were that we just made it up.” “Like we would ever do that anyway.”
“The four Beatles are only going to appear on this track once in history. Ringo, John, Paul, and George,” he claims.
When questioned about its release date, he responds, “It should’ve been out already.”
There is also the Beatles’ enormous discography to explore if that’s what you’re craving. Or all eight hours of “Get Back,” which gives unfettered access to the biggest band in history and its most personal moments, such as the scene where Harrison joins Starr as he starts to write “Octopus’s Garden.”
When the captain informed Starr that octopuses have gardens and that they gather stones and shiny stuff, Harrison had already quit the band and Starr was in Sardinia aboard Peter Sellers’ yacht. With his guitar in hand, he began writing. “I play three chords, that’s about it,” he adds.
In his view, the documentary allows viewers to see exactly what came next — and the magic of being a Beatle.
“It was a great time of my life. Being a Beatle was great,” he says. “I had three brothers, I’m an only child, and that’s life.”