Ringo Starr recorded a song from one of the most important songwriters of the 1980s and 1990s. He said it would be a great New Year’s anthem. Despite this, the tune never mentions the holiday. His track begs to be compared to a George Harrison song with a similar theme.
Ringo Starr’s New Year’s song was written by someone who wrote hits for Cher and others
Diane Warren is a songwriter who has worked on hits such as Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” Ace of Base’s “Don’t Turn Around,” and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” During a 2021 interview with Variety, Ringo discussed working with Warren. “I asked Diane Warren for a song, and she sent over ‘Here’s to the Nights,’” he said. “Of course, she sent it over in the key of F-demented, and I was like, ‘F***!’ [Laughs.] With Benmont Tench’s help, we lowered the key to somewhere a human can sing.”
Ringo was proud of his work on “Here’s to the Nights.” “As we finished that track, I thought, ‘Well, Diane, it’s like a great New Year’s Eve singalong,’” he said. “Because I think many of us have a couple of nights we don’t remember, and friends we won’t forget. That’s a great sentiment — it’s hers, but it’s great.”
It’s interesting that Ringo said “Here’s to the Night” was a New Year’s Eve singalong even though it does not mention the holiday. The Beatles released several Christmas albums but they mostly ignored New Year’s. The exception is George’s “Ding Dong, Ding Dong,” which is one of the most famous songs about the holiday made by a classic rock star.
Why Ringo Starr hasn’t made an album for some time
The tune appeared on the 2021 EP Zoom In. Ringo’s last four releases — Zoom In, Change the World, EP3, and Rewind Forward — were EPs. He hasn’t put out a full-length album since 2019’s What’s My Name. The “Back Off Boogaloo” singer explained why he’s been making EPs as of late.
“After I finished What’s My Name? — the last album I had out — I thought, ‘That’s the last CD I’m going to make. I’m going to make EPs,’” he said. “I loved EPs growing up; I had a Ray Charles collection of EPs that I found in Hamburg when I played with bands there. So I thought, yeah, four tracks [though it ended up being five].”
How the New Year’s anthem performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Here’s to the Nights” was a single, but it did not hit the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appears on the EP Zoom In. That EP reached No. 179 on the Billboard 200 for a single week.
The Official Charts Company reports “Here’s to the Nights” did not chart in the United Kingdom either. None of his solo songs have become hits there since the 2007 song “Liverpool 8.” Zoom In did not impact the chart at all.
“Here’s to the Nights” wasn’t a hit but it deserves a place on your New Year’s Eve playlist.
