What's My Name (Ringo Starr album)

What's My Name is the 20th studio album by English singer-songwriter Ringo Starr. It was released on 25 October 2019 through Roccabella and Universal Music Enterprises. The album was again recorded at Roccabella West, Starr's home studio, and features collaborations with Joe Walsh, Benmont Tench, Edgar Winter, Steve Lukather, Richard Page, and Warren Ham.[1] It also includes a cover of John Lennon's "Grow Old with Me", on which Starr invited Paul McCartney to sing and play bass guitar,[1] and a solo version by Starr of "Money (That's What I Want)", a Motown song previously recorded by the Beatles.[2] Starr has stated that What's My Name will likely be his last full-length album, with plans to release EPs in the future instead.[3]

What's My Name
Studio album by
Ringo Starr
Released25 October 2019 (2019-10-25)
Recorded2019
StudioRoccabella West, Los Angeles
GenreRock
Length34:00
LabelUMe
ProducerRingo Starr
Ringo Starr chronology
Give More Love
(2017)		 What's My Name
(2019)		 Zoom In
(2021)
Singles from What's My Name
  1. "What's My Name"
    Released: 23 September 2019

Writing and recording

Several of the tracks were written with previous collaborators based around comments Starr has made. "What's My Name", the title track and first single, was composed by Colin Hay, and comes from a chant Starr has used in concert.[2] Starr co-wrote "Gotta Get Up to Get Down" with his brother-in-law Joe Walsh after a comment Starr made at a dinner they had with Klaus Voormann, while Starr composed "Thank God for Music" with Sam Hollander, who then wrote "Better Days" on his own based on an interview Starr gave to Rolling Stone.[2] The song "Magic" is a collaboration with Steve Lukather, whom Starr has worked with on his two previous studio albums.[2]

The album was recorded in Los Angeles at Starr's home studio, Roccabella West,[4] with Starr saying that he did not "want to be in an old-fashioned recording studio anymore" and that he had "had enough of the big glass wall and the separation", saying recording at his home has been good for himself "and the music".[5] Starr decided to record a cover of John Lennon's "Grow Old with Me", a song recorded during the Bermuda sessions for Lennon's Double Fantasy (1980), after meeting producer Jack Douglas by chance. Douglas, who had produced Double Fantasy, asked Starr if he had listened to the Bermuda recording sessions, and supplied them to Starr when he mentioned he had not. Starr was impressed by the song, and decided to record his own version.[4] Starr asked Paul McCartney to perform on the track.[1] The song's string arrangement incorporates a motif from the George Harrison-penned song "Here Comes the Sun", giving all four Beatles a presence on the recording.[6] Starr's cover of "Money (That's What I Want)", recorded before the "Grow Old with Me" cover was envisioned, was an attempt to create a modern version different from the Motown original and the Beatles' 1963 cover.[4] The recording incorporates the use of autotune on Starr's voice.[7]

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic61/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
NME[10]

What's My Name was released on 25 October 2019. It received mixed reviews upon its release. NME's Rhian Daly commented that the album "dares you to continue listening, to see if you can make it through its first song without spontaneously combusting from second-hand embarrassment, a spectral groan of “Grandaaad” escaping from your ashes as they sizzle and singe."[10] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented that "the spirits are sunny and the songs tuneful, it's hard not to find What's My Name ingratiating, even though much of the album is so good-intentioned, it's silly."[9]

In a positive review, Mark Smotroff of Audiophile Review felt that What's My Name described the record as "a lot of fun to listen to, one of the hallmarks of the best Ringo records", praising the album's "celebratory party-like modern indie rock flavor".[7] Smotroff, similar to Rolling Stone reviewer Brenna Ehrlich, praised the record's ensemble of veteran performers "comfortab[ly] doing what they do together",[7] and being "the sound of a klatch of seasoned performers letting loose".[11] Ehrlich felt the fun nature of the album was essential to how a quality Ringo Starr record should be.[11] Several reviewers such as NME cited Starr's cover of "Grow Old with Me" to be the highlight of the record.[10][6][7]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gotta Get Up to Get Down"
4:20
2."It's Not Love That You Want"
3:34
3."Grow Old With Me"John Lennon3:18
4."Magic"
4:09
5."Money (That's What I Want)"
2:56
6."Better Days"Sam Hollander2:50
7."Life Is Good"
3:10
8."Thank God for Music"
  • Starkey
  • Grant Michaels
  • Hollander
3:38
9."Send Love Spread Peace"
2:58
10."What's My Name"Colin Hay3:45
Total length:34:00

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 43
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 121
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[14] 34
French Albums (SNEP)[15] 128
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 40
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[17] 98
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 49
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 43
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[20] 39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 50
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 99
US Billboard 200[23] 127

References
  1. Kreps, Daniel (13 September 2019). "Ringo Starr's New Album Features Paul McCartney, John Lennon-Penned Song". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  2. Deriso, Nick (13 September 2019). "Ringo Starr's New Album Features a Very Special Beatles Moment". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  3. Light, Alan (16 March 2021). "Ringo Starr Can't Bring Himself to Practice Alone". Esquire. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  4. Newman, Melinda (24 October 2019). "Ringo Starr Emotionally Recalls Recording John Lennon Song for New Album 'What's My Name'". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  5. Sexton, Paul (13 September 2019). "Listen To Title Track From Ringo Starr's 20th Album 'What's My Name'". UDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  6. Rhodes, Clint (31 October 2019). "Music review: Ringo Starr – 'What's My Name'". Herald Standard. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  7. Smotroff, Mark (21 October 2019). "Why Ringo Starr's What's My Name Is One Of The Feel Good Records of 2019". Audiophile Review. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  8. "What's My Name by Ringo Starr". metacritic.com.
  9. "What's My Name – Ringo Starr – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic.
  10. "Ringo Starr – 'What's My Name' review: peace, love and a guest appearance from Paul McCartney". nme.com. 18 October 2019.
  11. Ehrlich, Brenna (18 December 2019). "Song You Need to Know: Ringo Starr, 'What's My Name?'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  12. "Austriancharts.at – Ringo Starr – What's My Name" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Ringo Starr – What's My Name" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  14. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 44.Týden 2019 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  15. "Lescharts.com – Ringo Starr – What's My Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ringo Starr – What's My Name" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  17. "What's My Name on Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  18. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-11-04" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  20. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 44: del 25.10.2019 al 31.10.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  21. "Swisscharts.com – Ringo Starr – What's My Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  23. "Ringo Starr Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
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