This year has been pretty devoid of large gatherings because of, you know, the whole pandemic thing. Even when it comes to projects made in quarantine, many of the biggest and best, from Charli XCX’s how i’m feeling now to Taylor Swift’s folklore and evermore, relied on just a few close collaborators. Not Ringo Starr’s quarantine music. The former Beatle released a new song, “Here’s to the Nights,†on December 16, featuring vocals from 13 other musicians: former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney, past All-Starr Band and Eagles member (not to mention Starr’s brother-in-law) Joe Walsh, current All-Starr Band and Toto member Steve Lukather, Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl, Jenny Lewis, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Chris Stapleton, Corinne Bailey Rae, Billie Eilish producer FINNEAS, Ben Harper, Yola, and Black Pumas member Eric Burton. But that’s not all. The song was penned by star songwriter Diane Warren and features Lukather also on guitar and the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench on piano. So you can find some reason to listen to it, right?
“This is the kind of song we all want to sing along to, and it was so great how many wonderful musicians joined in,†Starr said in a statement. “It’ll be part of a larger project, the Zoom In EP, recorded in his home studio during quarantine. (We hope he didn’t pack all those musicians in there.) The full record will be out on March 19 — but if you enjoyed McCartney’s backing vocals or just have an insatiable appetite for solo Beatles music, McCartney’s own quarantine album, McCartney III, comes out December 18.
Update, December 17: We feel it would be a journalistic injustice if we didn’t alert you to this very adorable behind-the-scenes video Ringo Starr created for “Here’s to the Nights,†especially as Paul McCartney’s stuffed mouse, Joe Walsh’s palatial California balcony, and Sheryl Crow’s pencil all make cameo appearances. Guess how many times he says “peace and love.â€