'The kind of song we all want to sing along to': Ringo Starr taps Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow for new single

Like fellow Beatle Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr spent the coronavirus lockdown recording new music.

Starr shared one of his new tracks, "Here’s To The Nights," this week. It's the lead single from a new five-track EP, appropriately called "Zoom In," due out March 19.

Joining Starr, 80, on "Here’s To The Nights" are a slew of big-name musicians, including McCartney, Corinne Bailey Rae, Eric Burton from Black Pumas, Sheryl Crow, Dave Grohl, Lenny Kravitz and Chris Stapleton.

Prolific songwriter Diane Warren wrote "Here's To The Night." An accompanying video arrives Friday.

“When Diane presented this song to me I loved the sentiment of it,” Starr said in a release. “This is the kind of song we all want to sing along to, and it was so great how many wonderful musicians joined in. I wanted it out in time for New Year's because it feels like a good song to end a tough year on. So here’s to the nights we won’t remember and the friends we won’t forget — and I am wishing everyone peace and love for 2021.”

The lyrics, as you might expect, are right on target for 2020: "Here's to falling on your face // Getting back up and winning the race // Here's to taking it to extremes // Never losing faith in our crazy dreams // Here's to having no fear // Here's to right now, right here."

"Zoom In" was recorded between April and October at Starr's home studio. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a number of precautions had to be taken, including spacing out visits from contributors.

Earlier this year, Starr was forced to take his annual birthday bash online because of COVID-19. The Beatles musician usually stages a major street party in Los Angeles to mark his July 7 birthday.

The event, streamed on YouTube, featured plenty of star power, including Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Keb Mo and Willie Nelson.

Follow Gary Dinges on Twitter @gdinges

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ringo Starr drops new song, announced new EP recorded during lockdown