Ronnie Milsap

Ronnie Milsap (born Ronnie Lee Milsap January 16, 1943 (some sources say 1944) in Robbinsville, North Carolina) is an American Country/Pop Singer and Musician. He was one of Country Music's most popular singers in the 1970s and 1980s. He became Country Music's first blind superstar. He was one of the many crossover Country singers in Country Music at this time, which was also called Countrypolitan or Country Pop. His biggest crossover hits include "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me", "Smoky Mountain Rain", and "Lost In the Fifties Tonight". He is credited with forty number-one songs, third only to George Strait and Conway Twitty.

Biography

Early Life & Rise to Fame

Ronnie Milsap was one of Country Music's most influential artists in the 70s and 80s, becoming one of Country's biggest stars, appealing to both Country and Pop markets. Milsap was born with a congenital defect leaving him blind. ^[1] Milsap lived with his grandparents until the age of six, when he was placed in the State School for the Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina. When Milsap was seven, his instructors noticed his musical talents, and he soon began studying classical music formally. Soon, Milsap became interested in rock and roll music and soon formed a Rock band called "The Apparitions." Milsap was awarded a full college scholarship and attended college briefly in Atlanta, Georgia, until he decided to become a full-time musician. In the early 1960s, he got his first professional gig, as a member of J. J. Cale's band.

He released his first single, "Total Disaster", in 1963 at the age of twenty. This was followed by several Ashford & Simpson compositions, including the memorable "Let's Go Get Stoned", which, unfortunately for Milsap, was relegated to a B-side. A few months later, it would become a million-selling single for the more popular blind pianist, Ray Charles. Milsap moved to Memphis, Tennessee to become a session musician. He frequently worked in Memphis for Chips Moman, and can be heard playing the piano on the Elvis Presley hit "Kentucky Rain". He also sang harmony on another Presley hit, "Don't Cry Daddy." In 1970, Milsap enjoyed brief Pop Music success with "Loving You Is a Natural Thing." Following that success, he released his debut album.

1973 - 1979: "(All Together Now) Let's Fall Apart"

In 1973, Milsap moved to Nashville to pursue his dream of Country Music stardom. In 1973, he worked with Charley Pride's producer, Jack D. Johnson and was signed onto RCA Records that year. He released his first single from RCA that year called "I Hate You", which became his first Country hit and also just breaking the Country Top 10. Another single he released that year became a hit called "(All Together Now) Let's Fall Apart", which also just broke the Country Top 10 in 1973. The next year, 1974 he had two #1 hits. His first was "Pure Love" and then "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends", along with another Top 20 hit that year. In 1975, he revived the Don Gibson hit "(I'd Be) A Legend In My Time". That year, he scored another #1 hit with "Daydreams About Night Things". Milsap had a handul of Top tens, along with a string of #1 hits that made Milsap a star overnight. The remarkable thing was that he didn't leave the Country Top Ten for 15 years straight. In 1977, he crossed over to the Pop Music charts with his #1 Country hit "It Was Almost Like a Song". The song became a Top 20 hit on the Pop charts and was also a Top Ten Adult Contemporary hit. However, it was his only crossover hit in the 1970s. He kept gaining hits on the Country Music charts, however, with hits like "Let My Love Be Your Pillow", "Let's Take the Long Way Around the World" and "Nobody Likes Sad Songs".

By late 1979, his material shifted from straight-up Country to Countrypolitan or Country Pop, which gave Milsap the ability to crossover to the Pop Music charts, which he did successfully in the 1980s.

1980-1992: Moving Towards Country-Pop

In 1980, things changed a lot more for Milsap. He had a string of #1 hits that year with the songs "Cowboys and Clowns", "Misery Loves Company", "My Heart", and "Silent Night (After the Fight)". However, he managed no entries into the Pop charts that year. The next year, 1981 yielded Pop Music crossover success for Milsap. That year, two songs were crossover hits, "There's No Gettin' Over Me" and "Smoky Mountain Rain". "There's No Gettin' Over Me" became Milsap's biggest hit on the Pop charts, making it to the Top 5, as well as being an Adult Contemporary hit for him. The other crossover hit, "Smoky Mountain Rain", didn't break the Pop Top 20, but did top the Adult Contemporary charts, as well as topping the Country Music charts too. The song also has become one of his signature songs.

In 1982, he had other crossover hits, with the songs "He Got You", "Any Day Now", and "I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World". These songs were big Pop hits, making Milsap one of Country Music's most successful crossover singers. He was not the only crossover superstar in Country Music at the time. It seemed that all of Nashville in the early 1980s, was switching their artists over into Pop material. Although not all of Nashville's artists were crossing over into the Pop charts, a lot of them did, like Crystal Gayle, Lee Greenwood, Juice Newton, Eddie Rabbitt, Kenny Rogers, and Sylvia.

Between 1985 and 1987, Milsap enjoyed a string of uninterrupted #1 hits, enjoying his biggest success at this time. The big #1 hits were "She Keeps My Fire Burning", "In Love", "Snap Your Fingers", and "Where Do the Nights Go". As other Country Popsingers were beginning to fade away from the Country Music charts, Milsap was one of the few Country singers to continue to achieve success, well after Country Pop was big.

In 1989, Milsap had his last #1 hit with "A Woman In Love". Although he had his last #1 hit, he still remained successful on the charts. Other Top Tens between 1989 and 1990 include "Turn The Radio On" and "Houston Solution". In 1992, he had his last major hit, "All Is Fair In Love and War". The song just missed making the Top Ten, peaking at #11. By 1992, Milsap's chart success faded away, but he didn't stop touring the country. He has remained as one of Country Music's most popular concert attractions.

1993-Present: Life Today

Ronnie Milsap has remained one of Country Music's greatest influences. In 1993, he released another single called "True Believer". In 2000, Milsap released another single called "Time, Love, and Money". It was evident that by this time Milsap's chart success days were over, but in 2006, he released another single called "Local Girls", which went to #54.

His biography has been featured on A&E Networks's Biography television series. He has been featured on CMT's numerous shows, including 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Milsap has forty #1 hits, which few Country singers have achieved.

Trivia

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• Ronnie Milsap has 40 number one country hits, third only to Conway Twitty and George Strait.

• In 2003, CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music ranked Milsap #30 on their list.

• Milsap has recorded music with Kenny Rogers, Elvis Presley and Barry Manilow.

• Ronnie and his wife Joyce currently make their home in Nashville.

• Milsap is also an avid Amateur radio operator, callsign WB4KCG.

• The extremely popular 80's dance hit "If You Don't Want Me To", or more commonly known as "The Freeze", is performed by Ronnie Milsap. Copies of the song are difficult to find. Legal issues prevented the song from release, but it was recorded as the B-side of "Houston Solution".

• In 2007, Ronnie was an opener on George Strait's It Just Comes Natural tour along with newcomer Taylor Swift. The last two shows of that tour, scheduled for March 9 and March 10 in Uncasville, CT at the Mohegan Sun Casino Arena, were postponed due to Strait's case of severe laryngitis. The shows are rescheduled for April 26 and April 27.

Discography

Singles

Albums

• Where My Heart Is (1973)
• Pure Love (1974)
• Legend In My Time (1975)
• Night Things (1975)
• 20/20 Vision (1975)
• It Was Almost Like A Song (1977)
• Only One Love In My Life (1978)
• Images (1979)
• Milsap Magic (1980)
• Greatest Hits (1980)
• Out Where the Bright Lights Are Glowing (1981)
• Inside (1982)
• Keyed Up (1983)
• One More Try For Love (1984)
• Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1985)
• Lost In the Fifties Tonight (1985)
• Christmas with Ronnie Milsap (1986)
• Heart & Soul (1987)
• Stranger Things Have Happened (1989)
• Back to the Grindstone (1991)
• Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 (1991)
• True Believer (1993)
• The Essential Ronnie Milsap (1995)
• Only One Love (1997)
• Live (2002)
• Just for a Thrill (2004)
• My Life (2006)

Notes

See also

• List of best selling music artists

In a recent interview with Ronnie Milsap, he said he was born blind due to congenital glaucoma. (Interview in March, 2007)

References

• Goldsmith, Thomas. (1998.) "Ronnie Milsap." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 348-9.
• "Just The Facts." The Official Ronnie Milsap Website. Retrieved Aug. 18, 2004.

External links

• Ronnie Milsap official website

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