Ringo All-Starr Band member gets a little help from his boss on first album

Ringo Starr’s drums makes you see stars ★★★★★

Mark Rivera, who says he’s “living a dream” as one of the members of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band that kicks off its 2012 tour tonight in Canada, is also bumping up his own career with the release of his first album next week.

“Common Bond,” with the single “Turn Me Loose,” hits the streets June 21. The album title refers to his career as a sideman musician and his Brooklyn roots.

Among those helping out on the album are Ringo Starr and Billy Joel. Rivera has played in the bands of both men onstage. Starr plays drums on “Frontline,” while Joel appears on B3 on “Spanish Castle Magic.”

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Mark Rivera Photo credit: Rob Shanahan

Also on the album are Nils Lofgrin, Charlie Drayton, Steve Conte, Jeff Kazee and Jonny Gale. Jimmy Bralower co-wrote all the original material on the album.

Rivera began his career in 1972 with Sam & Dave, and has worked with Foreigner, the Billy Joel Band, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates and Simon & Garfunkel. In the mid-1990’s, he became Ringo Starr’s music director.

He was in Billy Joel’s band in 2008 for the “Last Play at Shea” shows that featured a surprise appearance by another Beatle, Paul McCartney. The concert was later released onDVD and  Blu-ray

Rivera is one of the members of the 13th Ringo Starr All-Starr Band for the tour that begins tonight and continues this summer. He’ll play saxophone and be music director for the tour, which starts in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

It’s the seventh collaboration between Rivera and Starr. And he says he’s most proud of his continuing relationship with the Beatle drummer.

As Rivera describes it, “I’m living a dream.”