Country singer Ronnie Milsap at Packard
By John Benson entertainment@vindy.com
When it comes to country music, they don’t make blue-eyed soul singers like Ronnie Milsap anymore.
During the ’70s, Milsap was one of Nashville’s biggest stars. In his career, the blind artist won six Grammy Awards and scored 40 chart-topping singles, including “It Was Almost Like a Song,” “Smoky Mountain Rain,” “[There’s] No Gettin’ Over Me,” “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World,” “Any Day Now” and “Stranger in My House.”
Milsap will bring his “Legend in My Time” tour to Packard Music Hall in Warren on Friday for a concert.
Here are 10 things you might not have known about Milsap:
Milsap was blinded by a congenital disorder as an infant. He was raised by his grandparents and influenced musically by late-night radio broadcasts of gospel, country and R&B music.
In the early ’60s, Milsap played with J.J. Cale, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and James Brown.
Milsap scored a top-20 hit in 1965 with “Never Had It So Good.”
During the early ’70s, Milsap worked as a session musician for Elvis Presley.
Singer Charlie Pride is the one who convinced Milsap to focus his efforts on country music.
Milsap’s first No. 1 hits were 1974’s “Pure Love” and “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends.”
In terms of album sales, Milsap’s 1977 effort “It Was Almost Like a Song” and 1978’s “Only One Love in My Life” both went gold.
Milsap’s last No. 1 song was 1989’s “A Woman in Love.”
The Music City has honored Milsap with eight Country Music Association Awards (including Entertainer of the Year) and four Academy of Country Music Awards (including lifetime honor, the Pioneer Award).
Last year, Millsap was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The box set “The RCA Albums Collection” recently was released to celebrate the accolade.