During a recent interview, Ringo Starr explained why his Beatles bandmates would laugh at him when he’d present original songs to the group.

Look Up is his first for six years and his first to reflect his long-held love of country since way back in 1970, when he cut Beaucoups Of Blues in Nashville. In a new interview with the Sunday Times,

Ringo Starr discussed his “emotional” connection to country music, revealed some favorite country artists at a Nashville press event to promote his new album, 'Look Up,' and his shows at the Ryman.

On "Look Up," his first full album in nearly six years, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ringo Starr has taken a country turn -- which he did with the band by singing Buck Owens' "Act Naturally" on on his own with his second solo album,

Produced by T. Bone Burnett, the album showcases Ringo's finest work in decades, supported by a stellar lineup

Produced by T Bone Burnett, Look Up features 11 songs with Ringo playing drums and singing on all of them. On some of the songs, he’s joined by other artists like Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, Alison Krauss, Larkin Poe, and Lucius.

Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings and Alison Krauss are among the guests on Starr's T Bone Burnett-produced country set.

"We met Johnny Cash on the last gig the Beatles did, in San Francisco," Ringo Starr says today. "That was the last time we did gigs, and Johnny was there to see us off." Starr, 84, remembers it vividly,

When the Beatles fell apart in 1970, Ringo took refuge in his boyhood country dreams, for the underrated solo album Beaucoups of Blues. He flew out to Nashville to bang out a three-day quickie with pedal-steel master Pete Drake and a crew of Music Row session cats.

Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has long threaded country music into his work, both as part of the Fab Four, and his decades of solo work. During his tenure with the Beatles, Starr sang lead on the Fab Four's cover of the Buck Owens classic "Act Naturally.

During one of his two nights performing at the Ryman, Ringo Starr was surprised by Emmylou Harris who invited the former Beatles drummer to make his Grand Ole Opry.

Ringo & Friends at the Ryman' will feature Jack White and Sheryl Crow and will celebrate the singer's legacy through the lens of country music. It will tape in Nashville this week.