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Goin' To The County Fair II
An Evening
with Ronnie Milsap
Reviewed by Jace Carlton
Originally published in
The Songwriter's Connection - August 2003 |
Ah-h-h-h
… summertime! Hot, dusty days
and balmy nights. Just the right combination to catch some of
the great entertainment hitting the county fair circuit. Too many
great entertainers, too little time ... Hold it!! Hold
everything! I'm repeating myself. Ah, what the heck,
it's the truth. Two nights after seeing Cledus I was back at the
fairgrounds for another great show.
Count 'em … 40 #1 Hits, 6 Grammy's, 8 CMA awards including
3 CMA's for "Best Male Vocalist" and a CMA "Entertainer of the Year",
memories galore from over 30 years on the charts ... RONNIE MILSAP!
An absolutely perfect evening ... a balmy sunset during the first show
and bright stars for the second. The near capacity crowd,
anxiously waiting for the show to begin, was a
wide mixture of ages, speaking volumes of Ronnie's ability to draw fans
from his nearly four decades as a top notch performer.
Early in his set he sang an abbreviated version of his
first #1 hit, "What A Difference You’ve Made In My Life" and shared how
that song is his thanks to us, his fans, for blessing him with such a
tremendous career. Before his monologue began, though,
I was looking around at the audience and noticed a couple, probably in
their 70's, swaying back and forth, looking deeply into each other’s
eyes ...
such love! Then I saw another couple across
the way in their early 20's swaying the exact same way, also looking
into each other's eyes the same way. I could only
think that the younger couple is just beginning to get a glimpse of
what the older couple has no doubt experienced throughout their life
together.
After more favorites, and more of my memories flashing
through my heart, Ronnie's female back-up vocalist, Rhonda Hampton,
took over for a great rendition of Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After
Midnight". Back to Ronnie for another smash hit, "Lost In The
Fifties Tonight" leading the time capsule back a few more years, and
after the song Ronnie was joined at the front of the stage by the rest
of the band for a "street corner a capella doo wop session" of some
50's hits. He admitted to having nearly 3 hours worth of
this kind of material, "but just try snapping your fingers for three
hours and
then trying to read Braille".
Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ronnie studied
classical music but learned so much from listening to the radio.
When it came time to begin making a living
at what he loved doing, he moved to Memphis, working as a studio
musician. Remember Elvis' "Kentucky Rain"? That's Ronnie on
the piano.
From Country to Pop to R&B to Adult Contemporary,
Ronnie's career of delivering the smooth ballad and pumping heavyweight
has
covered it all (he even performed a tribute to Grand Funk Railroad with
"We're
An American Band"), which explains his wide popularity among fans of
all
ages. For those of us who've heard his
hits on the radio and his albums starting in the 70's, to the teens and
"20
Somethings" who've just begun to enjoy his talent and versatility, we
all
enjoyed an awesome evening.
As a fitting close to a wonderful evening he sang "America
the Beautiful" with everyone rising to sing along with him.
In the words of one his songs, "I wouldn’t have missed it for the
world."
Copyright © 2006 by Jace
Carlton
Jace
Carlton
lives in the Nashville, TN area and is a member of NSAI. A
Freelance Writer /
Photographer, Poet, Author, and former Radio DJ, he now enjoys a career
as a Songwriter, and a
collaborator much in demand predominantly in the Country genre, but
also enjoys occasionally writing for A/C, Pop, R&B, Smooth Jazz,
and
Cabaret.
As a Freelance Writer he has contributed reviews on new CD's to online
newsletters and regularly contributed book and concert reviews along
with personal commentary on the music industry to Nashville's Songwriter's
Connection e-Zine.
Jace is also the creator of the Change Your Stars! website
and its
companion daily motivational / inspirational e-mail message that's read
by over 14,000 people all over the world. For a free subscription
click here and you'll be added within 24 hours. Privacy Statement
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