Sir Ringo Starr and T Bone Burnett's new album 'Look Up' happened because the two musicians met up unexpectedly at the launch party for Olivia Harrison's book 'Came the Lightening - Twenty Poems for George' - which she released to mark the 20th anniversary of her husband George Harrison's death - back in November 2022.
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00:30We bonded as friends actually in the 70s because I was resident in LA for a while
00:39and I had a lot of parties and any party I had he was there and I did not invite
00:47him once but he would be there and he'd come with one of the band you know
00:53leave on one of them and so we got to know each other a little bit and but
01:00only like hi hi hi we didn't have any real conversation and that's how this
01:07record came about because Olivia was reading poems for George at the marquee
01:12the Sunset Marquee Hotel and I was there and he was there and so a lot of other
01:18people were there how are you doing what's going on well I'm doing this and
01:22if you've got a song you think it'd be good for me send it down and that's how
01:28it started and then he went to Nashville and you carry on. It was inspiration
01:32because I met him at this party we were at and I've met him many times but this
01:38was a you know just getting together and hey what are you doing what are you
01:47doing I said oh I'm making EPs and I thought well if you've got a song send
01:52me the files and he sent me the the song and it's the most beautiful country
01:58track I've heard in many years it's so sort of 50s country and so I thought
02:06well I'll just make a country EP now and he came to LA we were chatting and I
02:12thought I'm gonna ask him to do an EP will he produce it then I asked him you
02:18know do you got any songs he said yeah I got songs and he had them in his pocket
02:22said nine so I said well let's make an album and that's how it all happened
02:28there was no real plan it was just bumping into each other and it ended up
02:34I'm glad to be getting to be friends with Ringo I have to say and and I have
02:50to say too that you know American music rock and roll I felt when I was about in
02:591957 I was eight years old nine years old and a friend played me a Jerry Lee
03:05Lewis record a whole lot of shaking going on and I remember listening to it
03:12over and over again rolling around on the floor laughing at the the explosion
03:17of freedom and love and just everything that was in that in that record and it
03:22was very different from Fort Worth in the 50s which was very I would say rigid
03:28it was an uptight kind of scene I was living in and I thought oh I want to do
03:34that that's what I want to do and by 1959 that whole rock and roll revolution
03:40was over Jerry Lee was disgraced Elvis was in the army little Richard was in
03:46the ministry you know Buddy Holly had been killed in a plane crash Eddie
03:53Cochran had been killed in a car wreck and I thought oh this isn't what I want
03:58to do with my life it's you know that's over rock and roll's a fait accompli and
04:04and then the Beatles the Beatles came and played in New York in 1964 February
04:1264 and they gave us back our music at that point and they opened doors and
04:19windows that so many of us have walked through or climbed through over over the
04:24years and so I've got this deep gratitude to all those cats and Ringo in
04:29particular you know the gift that they've given us that he's given us is
04:35immeasurable so you know the to get to even get to be friendly with Ringo means
04:43a tremendous amount to me I gotta say
04:49you