When you hear a legendary artist and performer such as Ronnie Milsap has a ‘Best of’ album, it should most certainly make you wonder how they can choose only 12 songs as the best? With a career covering almost six decades, there are so many songs that could qualify. Craft Recordings certainly had its work cut out for them.
Milsap’s musical talent and melodic voice have made their way across the country, pop and adult contemporary charts for years. The Best of Ronnie Milsap, available today (5/29), is from the 70’s & 80’s cross-over hits from those genres.
Milsap’s life began as impoverished, mostly blind child. His own mother didn’t want him and at the age of one year, his father took him to live with his parents. When he was old enough for school, Milsap was enrolled in the NC School for the Blind. Though he received an excellent education, the abuse was horrific, to the point that he lost the “light vision” he was born with. That’s where his love of music began; it was his escape from the life of torment.
Inspired by many of the great artists of the 50’s and 60’s, Milsap began playing anywhere he could. He played several instruments, but the piano was his instrument. He met Ray Charles one night in Atlanta. Charles told Milsap to “follow his heart.” Milsap did just that and it lead him to become a session musician, much in demand. He even played with one of his youthful idols, Elvis Presley. Yes, it’s Milsap’s soulful piano you hear in “Kentucky Rain” and “Don’t Cry Daddy,” which he also harmonized on.
Though he played in venues, clubs and halls all across the country, it wasn’t until Milsap moved to Nashville in 1972 that his career took flight. He released his first album and the rest is history.
Remastered by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore and with liner-notes written by Joe Marchese, The Best of Ronnie Milsap is available for CD purchase, download and streaming here.
For more info on Ronnie Milsap, visit RonnieMilsap.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and Apple Music.
The Best Of Ronnie Milsap Tracklist:
- Smoky Mountain Rain
- I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World
- (There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me
- Stranger In My House
- Any Day Now
- Lost In The Fifties Tonight (In The Still Of The Night)
- It Was Almost Like A Song
- Don’t You Know How Much I Love You
- A Woman In Love
- He Got You
- What A Difference You’ve Made In My Life
- Show Her
Credits:
Reissue produced by Mark Piro
Audio Supervision: Chris Clough
Vinyl Mastering: Anne-Marie Suenram and George Horn at Fantasy Studios
Design: Jimmy Hole
Art Supervision: Carrie Smith
Editorial: Ryan Jebavy