Ringo Starr has continued to make music since The Beatles broke up, and his fans have followed him for decades. He might not be the most successful solo member of the band, but he is enjoying something of a comeback at the moment. This current week on the Billboard charts has turned out to be Starr’s best in a long, long time, and it’s all thanks to one high-profile collaboration.
Starr appears on three Billboard charts for the first time in his lengthy career this week, at least as a soloist. The singer and drummer makes his mark on the trio of rankings with a new rendition of The Beatles’s “Let It Be.” The tune was re-recorded and released as a collaboration between Starr and his Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney, with the production led by Dolly Parton. It was recorded for Parton’s forthcoming rock album Rockstar, and fans of all three artists sent it right to a number of lists.
“Let It Be” opens highest on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart. It narrowly misses out on running the show, as it begins at No. 2 on the ranking of the bestselling tunes labeled as rock in the U.S. The tune is Starr’s first top 10 on a Billboard chart in some time.
The same cut also finds its way to the Country Digital Song Sales chart. This is likely due to the fact that Parton’s name is front and center. While the track itself might be more rock in style and sound, it is apparently country enough for Billboard to place it on that sales-only tally as well. On the Country Digital Song Sales chart, “Let It Be” opens at No. 15.
Over on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart, “Let It Be” launches lowest of all the three rankings mentioned, but this makes sense, as it’s the most competitive of all the lists. On this tally, “Let It Be” begins its time at No. 22. According to data shared by Luminate, the company that compiles sales and streaming sums that fuel the Billboard charts, Starr, McCartney, and Parton’s hit sold just under 2,900 copies in its opening frame.
This newfound success comes just ahead of another busy period for Starr. The musician is gearing up to release his new EP Rewind Forward in mid-October. The short project contains collaborations with several well-known artists, including McCartney, who helped write one of the tracks on the EP.
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