Ronald Dean McDowell Sr. (born March 25, 1950)[2] is an American country music artist, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his 1977 song "The King Is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley, who had recently died.[4] From that single onward, McDowell charted more than thirty Top 40 hits on the Billboard country music charts, though he never experienced further pop success after "The King is Gone." 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.
Following the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, McDowell, a devoted fan of Presley’s, recorded 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. The record took off immediately, gaining airplay on country and popradio stations across the United States and around the world.[1]
It peaked at number thirteen on Billboard's Hot 100 singles, and became a gold record. In January 1978, McDowell performed the song on the NBC special, Nashville Remembers Elvis on His Birthday, in which he appeared alongside a number of Presley's contemporaries. To date, "The King Is Gone" has sold more than five million copies.[5]
McDowell was commissioned to cover a number of Presley's songs for the soundtrack to 1979 made-for-TV Presley biography film Elvis,[6] during which Kurt Russell, portraying Presley, lip-synched to McDowell's vocals. He actually recorded 36 songs, but not all of them were used in the film.[7] McDowell also sang the Presley vocals for the 1981 TV movie Elvis and the Beauty Queen and for the 1988 TV miniseries Elvis and Me.[citation needed]
All of the Presley's vocals for the 1990 TV series, Elvis, were performed by McDowell.[6] McDowell also contributed to the 1997 Showtime special, Elvis Meets Nixon. He scored a second hit for the Scorpion label entitled "I Love You, I Love You, I Love You" before being signed by CBS RecordsEpic in 1979.[6]
McDowell charted a string of hit singles and albums 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".[citation needed] Other hits during his Epic years included "Watching Girls Go By", "Personally", "You Made A Wanted Man Of Me", "Wandering Eyes", "All Tied Up", and "In a New York Minute".[citation needed]
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.[6] 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 pre-recorded voice, followed by a solo from a member of the back-up band.[citation needed]
Ronnie McDowell at MMP Music Award and Hall of Fame Ceremony
In 1988, he teamed with Jerry Lee Lewis for a duet that McDowell wrote, entitled "You're Never Too Old To Rock N' Roll". He recorded yet another Top 10 hit with his cover version of the pop standard "Unchained Melody," which also became a No.1 country music video. He started appearing in larger venues and touring before headlining his own shows.[citation needed]
In 2002, McDowell recorded two albums for Curb Records, one consisting of beach music with Rock & Roll Hall of FamerBill Pinkney's Original Drifters, 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.
In January 2017, McDowell collaborated with Richard Lynch on a military tribute duet "Love Tattoo".[8]
On January 17, 2018, he unveiled "The Magic Moment", his original painting of Presley getting his first guitar at the Tupelo Hardware Store in Tupelo, thus kicking off the pilot for his forthcoming TV show, entitled Ronnie McDowell Painting America.
On January 22, 2019, McDowell was inducted into the Mississippi Music Project Hall of Fame in Biloxi, Mississippi and was awarded the MMP Music Award for his lifelong commitment to the music industry, by Commander Joseph W. Clark.[9]
In 2023, a collaboration with Dolly Parton and the Jordanaires, “I Dreamed About Elvis” (credited to “Dolly Parton with Ronnie McDowell and special guests The Jordanaires”), was released on Parton’s 2023 album Rockstar. It is unknown when McDowell’s contributions were recorded, but the Jordanaires’ vocals would have to have been recorded at some point prior to 2013, when group leader/first tenor Gordon Stoker died and when the group disbanded.
Personal life
Ronnie McDowell resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He has five children. His son, Tyler Dean McDowell, was also signed to Curb Records.[10] Another son, Ronnie Jr. and a nephew, Chris, recorded in a band called Six Shooter on Curb in 1991.[11]
Harold Lloyd Jenkins, better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. He was inducted into both the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls of Fame.
Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist.
Jerry Reed Hubbard, known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included "Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", "A Thing Called Love", "Alabama Wild Man", "Amos Moses", "When You're Hot, You're Hot", "Ko-Ko Joe", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "East Bound and Down", "The Bird", and "She Got the Goldmine ".
"Burning Love" is a 1972 song by Elvis Presley, written by Dennis Linde, originally released by Arthur Alexander earlier in 1972. Presley found major success with the song, it becoming his final Top 10 hit in the American Hot 100 or pop charts, peaking at No.2.
John Marty Stuart is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a solo artist in the early 1980s. His greatest commercial success came in the first half of the 1990s on MCA Records Nashville. Stuart has recorded over 20 studio albums, and has charted over 30 times on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His highest chart entry is "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'", a duet with Travis Tritt. Stuart has also won five Grammy Awards out of 16 nominations. He is known for his combination of rockabilly, country rock, and bluegrass music influences, his frequent collaborations and cover songs, and his distinctive stage dress. Stuart is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocalion Records, Stop Records, and many other smaller independent labels.
Ray Walker is a member of the singing group the Jordanaires. Walker has been the bass singer for the group since 1958. During his tenure with the Jordanaires, the group was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the NACMAI Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Walker was also awarded the "Avalon Award," the highest award given for contribution and accomplishment by his alma mater, David Lipscomb University, in 2005.
"(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" is a popular song first recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957 for the soundtrack of his second motion picture, Loving You, during which Presley performs the song on screen. It was written by Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe and published in 1957 by Gladys Music.
Elvis is the second studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor on October 19, 1956 in mono. Recording sessions took place on September 1, September 2, and September 3 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, with one track left over from the sessions for Presley's debut album at the RCA Victor recording studios on January 30 in New York. It spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart that year, making Presley the first recording artist to have both albums go straight to number one in the same year. It would go on to spend 5 weeks at #1 in total. It was certified Gold on February 17, 1960, and Platinum on August 10, 2011, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"It's Only Make Believe" is a song written by drummer Jack Nance and Mississippi-born singer Conway Twitty, while they were touring across Ontario, Canada in 1958. Twitty was a relatively unknown rock n' roll singer at the time, and this song was his first hit, reaching No. 1 on the 'Billboard chart in November 1958 for two weeks.
"There'll Be Peace in the Valley for Me" is a 1939 song written by Thomas A. Dorsey, originally for Mahalia Jackson. It was copyrighted by Dorsey under this title on January 25, 1939, though it often appears informally as "Peace in the Valley".
"Smoky Mountain Rain" is a song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Milsap. It was released in September 1980 as the first and only single from his Greatest Hits compilation album. The single became one of his best-known songs.
Millie Kirkham was an American singer who was featured on many classic hit recordings from the mid-1950s through the 1980s.
"(You're the) Devil in Disguise" is a 1963 single by Elvis Presley. It was written by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye and was published by Elvis Presley Music in June 1963. The song peaked at No. 3 in the US on the Billboard singles chart on August 10, 1963, and No. 9 on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues singles chart, becoming his last top ten single on those charts. The single was certified "Gold" by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in the US. The song also topped Japan's Utamatic record chart in the fall of 1963. In June 1963, when the song was debuted to a British audience on the BBC television show Juke Box Jury, celebrity guest John Lennon, leader of The Beatles, voted the song "a miss" stating on the new song that Elvis Presley was "like Bing Crosby now". The song went on to reach No. 1 in the UK for a single week.
"She's Not You" is a 1962 song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single on RCA Victor.
"Paralyzed" is a 1956 song recorded by Elvis Presley for his album Elvis. The song was recorded on September 1, 1956, and has been well received by music critics. The song was written by Otis Blackwell, with Elvis receiving partial song-writing credit.
"There's Always Me" is a 1961 song by Elvis Presley originally on the album Something for Everybody. The song was also released as a single in 1967.
My Farewell to Elvis is the twenty-seventh studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard, released in 1977 and his second release for MCA Records. It reached Number 6 on the Country album chart. The single "From Graceland to the Promised Land" reached number 4 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The album is a tribute to the music of Elvis Presley, who died on August 16, 1977. He is backed by Roy Nichols, Ronnie Reno, and Mark Yeary of The Strangers.
John Barlow Jarvis is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before moving to Lake Tahoe in 2014, he had lived in Nashville, Tennessee since 1982.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
