Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist.
Career
Early life (1943–1971)
Milsap was born January 16, 1943, in Robbinsville, North Carolina. A congenital disorder left him almost completely blind from birth.
With the national breakthrough of Elvis Presley in 1956, Milsap became interested in rock and roll music and formed a rock band called the Apparitions with fellow high-school students. In concert, Milsap has often paid tribute to the musicians of the 1950s who inspired him including Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Presley.
Milsap was awarded a full college scholarship and briefly attended Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia, with plans to become a lawyer. which enjoyed some local success in the Atlanta area. The single sold 15,000 copies with the help of Hughes, who played the record on his radio show. Around this same time, Milsap auditioned for a job as a keyboardist for musician J. J. Cale. It would be his only successful single during his time with Scepter. Milsap cut another Ashford & Simpson tune, "Let's Go Get Stoned", that was relegated to a B-side. Pride was impressed with Milsap's singing and encouraged him to change course and focus on country music. Milsap began working with Pride's manager, Jack D. Johnson, and was signed to RCA Records in 1973. on Liberty Records and even as his contemporaries were no longer played on country radio, scored a Top 40 hit on the country chart with the title track. In 2000, he resurfaced with 40 No. 1 Hits, a two-disc retrospective which hit the Country Top 20 and earned gold certification. That same year, his life and career were profiled in an episode of Biography, reflecting on his musical legacy and crossover success.
In 2004, Milsap recorded Just for a Thrill, a collection of pop and jazz standards. The album marked a stylistic departure and earned a Grammy nomination. He returned to RCA Records in 2006 and a mainstream country sound with My Life. His two-disc gospel set Then Sings My Soul (2009) reached the Southern gospel charts, and Country Again (2011) reflected a more traditional country style.
In 2014, Rolling Stone included "Smoky Mountain Rain" among its 100 greatest country songs. That year, Milsap released Summer #17, an album of nostalgic pop and R&B covers.
He was among 30 artists featured on "Forever Country" in 2016, a mash-up honoring the 50th CMA Awards. In 2019, he returned to the charts with Ronnie Milsap: The Duets, featuring collaborations with Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, George Strait, and others. A duet version of "Smoky Mountain Rain" with Parton reached the Adult Contemporary top 30.
By 2020, Milsap had installed a new home studio and continued to record. His album A Better Word for Love followed in 2021. In 2022, he contributed “Oh, Lady Be Good!” to Michael Feinstein’s Gershwin Country, a tribute to George and Ira Gershwin and launched a podcast, Music and Milsap. That same year, he inducted Ray Charles into the Country Music Hall of Fame and was later inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
Milsap’s final concert, for which he was joined by longtime collaborators and other country stars, took place October 3, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The event marked the end of his touring career, several months after he celebrated his 80th birthday on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Though retired from the road, he continues to record.
Amateur radio operator
Milsap is an Advanced-class amateur radio operator. His call sign is WB4KCG.
Personal life
In 1965, Milsap married Joyce Reeves. They had one son, Ronald "Todd" Milsap, who was found dead on his houseboat at the age of 49 on February 23, 2019, from an apparent medical condition. Todd's son, who had not heard from his father for the previous two days, found the body. Joyce, who had been battling leukemia since 2014, died on September 6, 2021, at the age of 81.
Discography
Industry awards and honors
Academy of Country Music
- 1982 Top Male Vocalist
- 1985 Song of the Year – "Lost in the Fifties Tonight"
- 1988 Instrumentalist of the Year, Keyboards
- 2002 Pioneer Award
Billboard
- 1980 No. 1 Country Song of the Year – "My Heart"
- 1985 No. 1 Country Song of the Year – "Lost in the Fifties Tonight"
Country Music Association
- 1974 Male Vocalist of the Year
- 1975 Album of the Year – A Legend in My Time
- 1976 Male Vocalist of the Year
- 1977 Album of the Year – Ronnie Milsap Live
- 1977 Entertainer of the Year
- 1977 Male Vocalist of the Year
- 1978 Album of the Year – It Was Almost Like a Song
- 1986 Album of the Year – Lost in the Fifties Tonight
Country Music Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
Grammy Awards
- 1975 Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends"
- 1977 Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "(I'm a) Stand by My Woman Man"
- 1982 Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me"
- 1986 Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "Lost in the Fifties Tonight"
- 1987 Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "Lost in the Fifties Tonight"
- 1988 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals – "Make No Mistake, She's Mine" (w/ Kenny Rogers)
Music City News Country
- 1975 Most Promising Male Artist
Miscellaneous achievements
- 40 No. 1 hits, 35 of which reached the top spot on the Billboard chart; the remaining 5 topped other trade charts, including Cashbox
- Over 35 million albums sold
- Inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1976
- Inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2002
- Awarded the Career Achievement Award by Country Radio Seminar in 2006
- Awarded the 2007 Rocketown Legend Award
Other honors<br>
On December 2, 2020, six miles of U.S. 129 in Graham County, North Carolina, from Yellow Creek near Robbinsville to the Swain County line, was designated Ronnie Milsap Highway.
Bibliography
See also
- List of best selling music artists