Ringo Starr has long been a country music fan, and he’s showing the genre some love again. Ringo guests on The Grifter’s Hymnal, the latest album by outlaw country artist Ray Wylie Hubbard. As it turns out, he contributes to a cover of his own song, “Coochy Coochy,” which was originally released as a B-side of the “Beaucoups Of Blues” single in 1970 (and is now available as a bonus track on the Beaucoups Of Blues album reissue).

It turns out that Ringo has been a fan of Ray Wylie’s for a few years, and they eventually met up and became friends. Hubbard was at Ringo’s home one day, and he recalls that the Beatle “Said something about how he liked my songwriting, and I said, ‘Well, I really like your songwriting, too.’ And he said, ‘Very few think of me as a songwriter, nobody ever cuts any of my songs.’ And I said, ‘I will!’” Ringo contributes vocals, handclaps, shakers and even guitar (but not drums) to the recording.

This isn’t the first time Ringo has worked with a country artist: “Write One For Me,” off of his 2003 Ringo Rama album, was a duet with Willie Nelson. And the aforementioned 1970 album, Beaucoups of Blues, was recorded in Nashville with a number of country session players.

– Brian Ives