Ronnie Dyson
Ronnie Dyson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ronald Dyson |
| Born | June 5, 1950 Washington, D.C., United States |
| Died | November 10, 1990 (aged 40) New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Soul, Rhythm and Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor |
| Years active | 1968–1990 |
| Labels | Columbia, Cotillion |
Ronald Dyson (June 5, 1950 – November 10, 1990)[1] was an American soul and R&B singer and actor. He had a lead role in the Broadway production of Hair and scored a top ten single in 1970 with "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?"
Early career
[edit]Born in Washington, D.C.,[1] Dyson grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he sang in church choirs. At 18 years of age, he won a lead role in the Broadway production of Hair,[2] debuting in New York in 1968.[3] Dyson became an iconic voice of the 1960s with the lead vocal in the show's anthem of the hippie era, "Aquarius". It is Dyson's voice leading off the song and opening the show with the famous lyric "When the Moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars..." He made a cameo appearance in the 1979 motion picture version of Hair, singing "3-5-0-0" with another Hair alumnus, Melba Moore.
Later career
[edit]
Dyson also appeared in the 1969 film Putney Swope.[3]
After Hair, Dyson pursued his stage career with a role in Salvation in 1970.[2] His recording of a song from the Salvation score, "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?", successfully launched his record career, breaking into the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eight in 1970.[2] The follow-up, "I Don't Wanna Cry", was a US R&B hit,[2] climbing to number nine.
In 1971, his cover, "When You Get Right Down to It", was a more dramatic version of a song that had been a hit the previous year for the Delfonics; it reached number 34 on the UK Singles Chart in December.[4]
His record company, Columbia Records, sent him to Philadelphia in 1973 to be produced by Thom Bell, one of the premier producers of the day, for several tracks. Bell's highly orchestrated style suited Dyson with hits including "One Man Band (Plays All Alone)", which reached number 28 on the Hot 100 and number 15 on the R&B chart, and "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely", peaking at number 60 on the Hot 100 and number 29 on R&B. They appeared on an album which was also made up of re-mixes of some earlier recordings, including "When You Get Right Down to It".
Dyson remained with Columbia working with top-line producers for another three albums, The More You Do It (1976), Love in All Flavors (1977) and If the Shoe Fits (1979).[2] The title track of the first of the three resulted in one of the singer's biggest-selling records, reaching number six on the R&B chart. It was produced by Charles "Chuck" Jackson (half brother of Jesse Jackson and no relation to the more famous singer of the same name, who recorded for the same company in the 1960s) and Marvin Yancy, who had been responsible for successfully launching the career of Natalie Cole with a series of hits. (Jackson and Yancy had also produced hits for a Chicago soul group, The Independents, with whom Jackson was also lead singer.)
In 1986, Dyson also provided the vocals for the song "Nola" on the She's Gotta Have It soundtrack.
Dyson then moved to an Atlantic Records subsidiary label, the Cotillion Records label, in 1981 for two albums and several singles which were only moderately successful. His acting and singing career had begun to stall in the late 1970s due to ill health, and it was in 1983 that Dyson appeared on the R&B chart for the last time on Cotillion with "All Over Your Face".[2] His final solo recording was "See The Clown" in 1990.[3]
Death
[edit]Dyson died at the age of 40 from heart failure on November 10, 1990, in Brooklyn, New York.[1]
Legacy
[edit]A posthumous release on Society Hill Records appeared in 1991, when a duet with Vicki Austin, "Are We So Far Apart (We Can't Talk Anymore)", dented the US R&B chart, reaching number 79 during a five-week run.[5]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] |
US R&B [6] | ||||||
| 1970 | (If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You? | 55 | 12 | Columbia Records | |||
| 1973 | One Man Band | 132 | 34 | ||||
| 1976 | The More You Do It | — | 30 | ||||
| 1977 | Love in All Flavors | — | 45 | ||||
| 1979 | If the Shoe Fits | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | Phase 2 | — | — | Cotillion Records | |||
| 1983 | Brand New Day | — | 53 | ||||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||||
Singles
[edit]| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [7] |
US R&B [8] |
US AC [9] |
AUS [10] |
UK [11] | ||
| 1970 | "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?" | 8 | 9 | — | 68 | — |
| "I Don't Wanna Cry" | 50 | 9 | — | — | — | |
| 1971 | "When You Get Right Down to It" | 94 | 37 | — | — | 34 |
| 1973 | "One Man Band (Plays All Alone)" | 28 | 15 | 16 | — | — |
| "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" | 60 | 29 | 30 | — | — | |
| 1974 | "We Can Make It Last Forever" | — | 62 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | "The More You Do It (The More I Like It Done to Me)" | 62 | 6 | — | — | — |
| "(I Like Being) Close to You" | — | 75 | — | — | — | |
| 1977 | "Don't Be Afraid" | — | 30 | — | — | — |
| 1978 | "Ain't Nothing Wrong" | — | 77 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | "Heart to Heart" / "Bring It On Home" |
— | 57 / 66 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | "All Over Your Face" | — | 23 | — | — | — |
| 1991 | "Are We So Far Apart (We Can't Talk Anymore)" | — | 79 | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | ||||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1990 - 1991". 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
- ^ a b c "Ronnie Dyson | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 174. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Joel Whitburn presents top R & B/hip-hop singles, 1942-2004 - Joel Whitburn - Publishers Billboard ISBN 9780898201604
- ^ a b "Ronnie Dyson - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 214. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 127.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 83.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 99. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 243. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
External links
[edit]- Allbutforgottenoldies.net
- Ronnie Dyson at IMDb
- Ronnie Dyson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ronnie Dyson at AllMusic
- Ronnie Dyson at Find a Grave
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