Ronnie McDowell
Encyclopedia
Ronald Dean "Ronnie" McDowell (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 artist. He made his debut in 1977 with the song "The King Is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

, 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
Older Women
"Older Women" is a 1981 single written by Jamie O'Hara and recorded by Ronnie McDowell. "Older Women" would be Ronnie McDowell's eleventh country hit and the first of two number one songs on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of ten weeks on the...

" and "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation
You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation
"You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation" is a 1983 single written by Jeff Crossan and recorded by Ronnie McDowell. "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation" would be Ronnie McDowell's second and final number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for a single week and spent twelve weeks...

" — 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
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...

 since 1986.

Career

Following the death of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 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
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

. The record took off immediately, gaining airplay on country and pop radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

s across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...

 Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 in 1979.

McDowell charted a string of hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

s and album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s 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
All Tied Up (song)
"All Tied Up" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in April 1986, it was the first single from his album All Tied Up in Love. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July 1986 and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.-Chart...

," and "In a New York Minute
In a New York Minute (song)
"In a New York Minute" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in January 1985, it was the first single from his album In a New York Minute. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in May 1985 and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in...

."

McDowell toured constantly to support each album release, and consequently built a large fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...

 base throughout the country. He sought the advice of artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 such as Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...

, who became his mentor and friend. Twitty helped the young singer with advice about touring, recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 and entertaining the fans.

Moving to Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...

 in 1986, McDowell scored a Top 10 hit with "It's Only Make Believe
It's Only Make Believe
"It's Only Make Believe" is the title of a song written by Jack Nance and American country music artist Conway Twitty, released by Twitty as a single in July 1958. The single topped both U.S...

," a duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...

 with Conway Twitty on what had been Twitty's breakthrough rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 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
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

 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
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of the pop standard "Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....

," which also became a #1 country music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

. He started appearing in larger venues and touring with artists such as Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....

 and Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...

 before headlining his own shows.

McDowell sang thirty six songs on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

, "Elvis," the Dick Clark-produced television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 movie which featured Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...

 as the performer. He also provided the singing voice of the soundtracks for the Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the ex-wife of singer Elvis Presley, and the mother of singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley....

 TV biopic "Elvis and Me
Elvis and Me
Elvis and Me is a 1985 biography written by Priscilla Presley . In the book, Priscilla talks about meeting Elvis, their marriage, and the factors that led up to the couple's divorce....

", the ABC television series about the early years of Presley's career, "Elvis," and the 1997 Showtime special, "Elvis Meets Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

."

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
Bill Pinkney
Bill Pinkney was an American performer and singer. Pinkney was often said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. He was chiefly responsible for its early sounds...

, 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
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...

, Harlan Howard
Harlan Howard
Harlan Perry Howard was a prolific American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists...

 and Dallas Frazier.

McDowell often tours with The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...

, Millie Kirkham, and one of Elvis Presley's original sidemen, D.J. Fontana. They stage a "no-jumpsuit" tribute to Presley's music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 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
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers....

 on the cover single, "Lost in Dirty Dancing."

McDowell continues to tour and enjoys painting as a hobby.

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

Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Country
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

US
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

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
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...

)
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
Wandering Eyes
"Wandering Eyes" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in 1981, it was the second single from the album Going, Going, Gone. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart..-Chart performance:...

"
2 27
"Older Women
Older Women
"Older Women" is a 1981 single written by Jamie O'Hara and recorded by Ronnie McDowell. "Older Women" would be Ronnie McDowell's eleventh country hit and the first of two number one songs on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of ten weeks on the...

"
1 1 Good Time Lovin' Man
"Watchin' Girls Go By
Watchin' Girls Go By
"Watchin' Girls Go By" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in 1981, it was the second single from the album Good Time Lovin' Man. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart....

"
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
You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation
"You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation" is a 1983 single written by Jeff Crossan and recorded by Ronnie McDowell. "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation" would be Ronnie McDowell's second and final number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for a single week and spent twelve weeks...

"
1 1
"You Made a Wanted Man of Me
You Made a Wanted Man of Me
"You Made a Wanted Man of Me" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in 1983, it was the third single from the album Personally. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart....

"
3 4
1984 "I Dream of Women Like You
I Dream of Women Like You
"I Dream of Women Like You" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in 1984, it was the first single from the album Country Boy's Heart. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart....

"
7 6 Country Boy's Heart
"I Got a Million of 'Em
I Got a Million of 'Em
"I Got a Million of 'Em" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in 1984, it the first single from the album Willing. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:...

"
8 4 Willing
1985 "In a New York Minute
In a New York Minute (song)
"In a New York Minute" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in January 1985, it was the first single from his album In a New York Minute. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in May 1985 and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in...

"
5 1 In a New York Minute
"Love Talks
Love Talks
"Love Talks" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in 1985, it was the second single from the album In a New York Minute. The song reached #9 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:...

"
9 14
1986 "All Tied Up
All Tied Up (song)
"All Tied Up" is a single by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell. Released in April 1986, it was the first single from his album All Tied Up in Love. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July 1986 and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.-Chart...

"
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
It's Only Make Believe
"It's Only Make Believe" is the title of a song written by Jack Nance and American country music artist Conway Twitty, released by Twitty as a single in July 1958. The single topped both U.S...

"
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
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

)
50
"Sea of Heartbreak
Sea of Heartbreak
"Sea of Heartbreak" is a song written by Paul Hampton and Hal David and recorded by Don Gibson in 1961.The song has been covered by other artists a number of times, perhaps most famously by Johnny Cash. Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, recently covered the song in 2009 as a duet with Bruce...

"
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
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....

"
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
Love Me Tender (song)
"Love Me Tender" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music, adapted from the tune of "Aura Lee" , a sentimental Civil War ballad.- History :...

" (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.

External links

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