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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.
CareerFollowing the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, McDowell had a one-off 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.
Suddenly, the young man from Portland, Tennessee was a star and he quickly proved that he was not a fluke. 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, with the exception of one, became a Top 10 hit, including the chart-toppers "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," "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. 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 was the singing voice for the television movie "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.
McDowell continues to tour the road to this day.
Personal lifeRonnie McDowell resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Along with touring, he paints in his spare time.
Discographyinc-musong
Albumssubsections
Singles
- APeaked at #4 on the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart at #16 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.
Copyright Citations
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