Ronnie McDowell
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| Ronnie McDowell | |
|---|---|
| Ronnie performing during an outside concert in the summer of 2011. Ronnie performing during an outside concert in the summer of 2011. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ronald Dean McDowell |
| Born | March 25, 1950 |
| Origin | Fountain Head, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | vocals |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Scorpion, Epic, MCA, Curb |
| Associated acts | Elvis Presley Conway Twitty |
| Website | Official website |
Ronald Dean "Ronnie" McDowell (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1977 with the song "The King Is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley, who had died not long before the single's release. From that single onward, McDowell has charted more than thirty Top 40 hits on the Billboard country music charts. Two of his singles – "Older Women" and "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation" — reached Number One on the country charts, while eleven more reached Top Ten. He has also released more than twenty studio albums, and has been signed to Curb Records since 1986.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Following the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, McDowell had a song that became his first country and only pop hit with his self-penned tribute song "The King Is Gone," which he recorded on the independent Scorpion record label. The record took off immediately, gaining airplay on country and pop radio stations across the United States and around the world. To date, "The King Is Gone" has sold more than 5 million copies. In addition, McDowell also provided vocals to the soundtrack to the 1979 made-for-TV Presley biography Elvis.
McDowell scored a second hit for the Scorpion label entitled "I Love You, I Love You, I Love You" before being signed by CBS Records Epic in 1979.
McDowell charted a string of hit singles and albums for Epic between 1979 and 1986. Every single release, except one, became a Top 10 hit, including "Older Women" and "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation." Other hits during his Epic years included "Watching Girls Go By," "Personally," "You Made A Wanted Man Of Me," "Wandering Eyes", "All Tied Up," and "In a New York Minute."
McDowell toured constantly to support each album release, and consequently built a large fan base throughout the country. He sought the advice of artists such as Conway Twitty, who became his mentor and friend. Twitty helped the young singer with advice about touring, recording and entertaining the fans.
Moving to Curb Records in 1986, McDowell scored a Top 10 hit with "It's Only Make Believe," a duet with Conway Twitty on what had been Twitty's breakthrough rock and roll hit in 1958. Initially a member of McDowell's back-up band would substitute for Twitty during live performances. Recently, however, McDowell has performed the song live with Twitty's prerecorded voice, followed by a solo from a member of the back-up band. Two years later, McDowell teamed up with Jerry Lee Lewis for a duet that McDowell wrote, entitled "You're Never Too Old To Rock N' Roll." He also recorded yet another Top 10 hit with his cover version of the pop standard "Unchained Melody," which also became a #1 country music video. He started appearing in larger venues and touring with artists such as Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn before headlining his own shows.
McDowell sang thirty six songs on the soundtrack, "Elvis," the Dick Clark-produced television movie which featured Kurt Russell as the performer. He also provided the singing voice of the soundtracks for the Priscilla Presley TV biopic "Elvis and Me", the ABC television series about the early years of Presley's career, "Elvis," and the 1997 Showtime special, "Elvis Meets Nixon."
In 2002, McDowell recorded two albums for Curb Records, one consisting of beach music with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters, entitled, "Ronnie McDowell with Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters". The second project, a country album, entitled "Ronnie McDowell Country", a collection of six new McDowell penned songs and a few country standards by such legendary country singers and writers as Buck Owens, Harlan Howard and Dallas Frazier.
McDowell often tours with The Jordanaires, Millie Kirkham, and one of Elvis Presley's original sidemen, D.J. Fontana. They stage a "no-jumpsuit" tribute to Presley's music and life. Two of McDowell's latest projects include an upcoming album consisting of music from both the "old school," and "new school" generations, and a single entitled, “Hey Mr. Oilman,” which was released during the recent gas price spike. Many other artists perform duets with McDowell on the album, including Bill Medley on the cover single, "Lost in Dirty Dancing."
McDowell continues to tour and enjoys painting as a hobby.
[edit] Personal life
Ronnie McDowell resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He has 5 children.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | The King Is Gone | 18 | Scorpion |
| 1978 | Live at the Fox Theatre | — | |
| A Tribute to the King | — | ||
| I Love You, I Love You, I Love You | 47 | ||
| 1979 | Elvis | — | Dick Clark |
| Rockin' You Easy, Lovin' You Slow | 45 | Epic | |
| 1980 | Love So Many Ways | 59 | |
| Going, Going, Gone | — | ||
| 1981 | Good Time Lovin' Man | 6 | |
| 1982 | Love to Burn | 22 | |
| Greatest Hits | — | ||
| 1983 | Personally | 23 | |
| Country Boy's Heart | 56 | ||
| 1984 | Willing | 33 | |
| 1985 | In a New York Minute | — | |
| 1986 | All Tied Up in Love | 34 | Curb/MCA |
| 1987 | Older Women and Other Greatest Hits | — | Epic |
| 1988 | I'm Still Missing You | 45 | Curb |
| 1989 | American Music | — | |
| 1990 | The Best of Ronnie McDowell | — | |
| 1991 | Unchained Melody | 32 | |
| Your Precious Love | 72 | ||
| 1992 | When a Man Loves a Woman | — | |
| 1993 | Country Dances | — | |
| 1994 | Greatest Hits | — | |
| 1996 | Great Gospel Songs | — | |
| 1997 | Elvis: A Tribute to the King | — | Intersound |
| 1998 | Now & Again: The Best of Ronnie McDowell | — | |
| 2002 | Ronnie McDowell Country | — | Curb |
| Ronnie McDowell with Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters | — | ||
| 2006 | Live at Church Street Station | — | Acrobat |
| 2009 | Lost in Dirty Dancing | — | Curb |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released | |||
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN Country | |||
| 1977 | "Only the Lonely" | — | — | — | The King Is Gone |
| "Naturally" | — | — | — | ||
| "The King Is Gone"A | 13 | 13 | 8 | ||
| 1978 | "I Love You, I Love You, I Love You" | 5 | 81 | 5 | I Love You, I Love You, I Love You |
| "Here Comes the Reason I Love" | 15 | — | 26 | ||
| "This Is a Holdup" | 39 | — | — | Singles only | |
| "I Just Wanted You to Know" (w/ The Jordanaires) | 59 | — | — | ||
| "Animal" (w/ The Jordanaires) | 59 | — | — | ||
| "Bridge Washed Out" | — | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "World's Most Perfect Woman" | 18 | — | 35 | Rockin' You Easy, Lovin' You Slow |
| "Love Me Now" | 26 | — | — | ||
| "He's a Cowboy from Texas" | 68 | — | — | Singles only | |
| "Kiss and Say Goodbye" | — | — | — | ||
| "Knight in Faded Blue Jeans" | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "Never Seen a Mountain So High" | 29 | — | 25 | Rockin' You Easy, Lovin' You Slow |
| "Lovin' a Livin' Dream" | 37 | — | 42 | Love So Many Ways | |
| "How Far Do You Want to Go" | 80 | — | — | ||
| "Gone" | 36 | — | — | Going, Going, Gone | |
| 1981 | "Wandering Eyes" | 2 | — | 27 | |
| "Older Women" | 1 | — | 1 | Good Time Lovin' Man | |
| "Watchin' Girls Go By" | 4 | — | 3 | ||
| 1982 | "I Just Cut Myself (On a Piece of Her Broken Heart)" | 11 | — | 24 | Love To Burn |
| "Step Back" | 7 | — | — | ||
| 1983 | "Personally" | 10 | — | 11 | Personally |
| "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation" | 1 | — | 1 | ||
| "You Made a Wanted Man of Me" | 3 | — | 4 | ||
| 1984 | "I Dream of Women Like You" | 7 | — | 6 | Country Boy's Heart |
| "I Got a Million of 'Em" | 8 | — | 4 | Willing | |
| 1985 | "In a New York Minute" | 5 | — | 1 | In a New York Minute |
| "Love Talks" | 9 | — | 14 | ||
| 1986 | "All Tied Up" | 6 | — | 1 | All Tied Up in Love |
| "When You Hurt, I Hurt" | 37 | — | — | ||
| "Lovin' That Crazy Feelin'" | 30 | — | 27 | ||
| 1987 | "Make Me Late for Work Today" | 55 | — | 59 | Single only |
| 1988 | "It's Only Make Believe" | 8 | — | 5 | I'm Still Missing You |
| "I'm Still Missing You" | 36 | — | 44 | ||
| "Suspicion" | 27 | — | 57 | ||
| 1989 | "Never Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll" (w/ Jerry Lee Lewis) | 50 | — | — | |
| "Sea of Heartbreak" | 39 | — | — | American Music | |
| "Who'll Turn Out the Lights" | 69 | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "She's a Little Past Forty" | 50 | — | — | The Best of Ronnie McDowell |
| "Unchained Melody" | 26 | — | — | Unchained Melody | |
| 1993 | "Yippy Ti-Yi-Yo" | — | — | — | Country Dances |
| 1994 | "I'll Make Love to You" | — | — | — | Single only |
| "What's It Gonna Take" | — | — | — | Greatest Hits | |
| 1997 | "Love Me Tender" (w/ The Elvis Originals) | — | — | — | Elvis: A Tribute to a King |
| "Tupelo's Too Far" (w/ The Elvis Originals) | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Hey Mr. Oilman" | — | — | — | Single only |
| 2009 | "Lost In Dirty Dancing" | — | — | — | Lost In Dirty Dancing |
- APeaked at #4 on the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart at #16 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.
