Y Not is the first album on which Ringo Starr has produced his own work, and he is joined on the record by friends old and new, notably Paul McCartney, with whom Starr sings on Y Not’s first single “Walk With You”. Also featured are Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart and longtime Roundheads member Steve Dudas on guitar, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on keyboards, Don Was and Mike Bradford on bass, as well as stars like Joss Stone, Ben Harper and Richard Marx on vocals. Dave Stewart is also credited as the co-writer on “The Other Side Of Liverpool”
Starr’s songwriting collaborators on Y Not also include familiar and new names like Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Glen Ballard, Richard Marx, Van Dyke Parks, Gary Nicholson plus Gary Wright and his former Roundhead band member, Gary Burr. But undoubtedly the most intriguing collaborator is former bandmate and longstanding mate McCartney, who adds a bass part to “Peace Dream” and vocals to “Walk With You”, a composition by Starr and Van Dyke Parks.