What's My Name (Ringo Starr album)

What's My Name is the 20th studio album by English musician 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", which Starr invited Paul McCartney to sing and play bass guitar on,[1] and a solo version by Starr of "Money (That's What I Want)", a Motown song previously recorded by the Beatles.[2]

What's My Name
Studio album by Ringo Starr
Released	25 October 2019 (2019-10-25)
Recorded	2019
Studio	Roccabella West, Los Angeles
Genre	Rock
Length	34:00
Label	UM^e
Producer	Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr chronology
Give More Love (2017) What's My Name (2019)
Singles from What's My Name
"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, 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".[3]

Release and reception

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."[4] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented that although the album had "good-intention[s], it's silly."[5]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
NME	[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gotta Get Up to Get Down"	Richard Starkey Joe Walsh	4:20
2.	"It's Not Love That You Want"	Starkey Dave Stewart	3:34
3.	"Grow Old with Me"	John Lennon	3:18
4.	"Magic"	Starkey Steve Lukather	4:09
5.	"Money (That's What I Want)"	Janie Bradford Berry Gordy	2:56
6.	"Better Days"	Sam Hollander	2:49
7.	"Life Is Good"	Starkey Gary Burr	3:11
8.	"Thank God for Music"	Starkey Grant Michaels Hollander	3:38
9.	"Send Love Spread Peace"	Starkey Gary Nicholson	2:58
10.	"What's My Name"	Colin Hay	3:45
Total length:			34:00

Personnel

• Ringo Starr : Vocals, Drums, Percussion
• Joe Walsh : Guitar, Backing vocals
• Colin Hay : Guitar, Backing Vocals on What's My Name
• Dave Stewart : Guitar
• Steve Lukather : Guitar
• Paul McCartney : Bass and backing vocals on Grow Old With Me
• John Pierce : Bass
• Edgar Winter : Clavinet, Synthesizers, Backing vocals
• Benmont Tench : Organ, Piano, Synthesizers
• Bruce Sugar : Synthesizers
• Jack Douglas : String arrangements on Grow Old With Me
• Kari Kimmel, Richard Page, Warren Ham, Windy Wagner : Backing vocals on Magic

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7]	43
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8]	121
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[9]	34
French Albums (SNEP)[10]	128
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11]	40
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12]	49
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13]	43
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[14]	39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	50
UK Albums (OCC)[16]	99
US Billboard 200[17]	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. Sexton, Paul (13 September 2019). "Listen To Title Track From Ringo Starr's 20th Album 'What's My Name'". UDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
4. "Ringo Starr – 'What's My Name' review: peace, love and a guest appearance from Paul McCartney". nme.com.
5. "What's My Name – Ringo Starr – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic.
6. metacritic.com https://www.metacritic.com/music/whats-my-name/ringo-starr/critic-reviews. Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. "Austriancharts.at – Ringo Starr – What's My Name" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
8. "Ultratop.be – Ringo Starr – What's My Name" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
9. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201944 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
10. "Lescharts.com – Ringo Starr – What's My Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ringo Starr – What's My Name" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
12. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-11-04" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
13. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
14. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 44: del 25.10.2019 al 31.10.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Ringo Starr – What's My Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
17. "Ringo Starr Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 November 2019.