One-on-one with Ronnie Milsap

After nearly four decades in country music, which has included multiple gold and platinum albums and six Grammy Awards, singer Ronnie Milsap is still going strong in Nashville.

Now, he's coming to Sandusky - or to be more precise, the Sandusky State Theatre on May 2. The show is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, and tickets range from $35 to $60.

And while some artists with Milsap's credentials would see fit to tour their catalog, this country singer has more stories to tell in the form of new music with a studio album due out later this year, as well as a covers project.
"I absolutely love the recording process," Milsap told Funcoast.com in a phone call from Music City. "I love being part of that and not only technically' but Nashville is a songwriter's town so finding good songs here is not a hard thing."

Perhaps picking the songs isn't hard to do, but Milsap points out he's an old school artist in a ProTools world. Today's music industry relies heavily on computers and overdubbing to create songs, which goes against Milsap's belief.

"I much prefer getting the performance live with the band," Milsap said. "I still love the magic of getting it and all of us being together. There's a real chemistry about that. I'm old school in knowing that the real magic in recording happens when all of the people are in the studio together interacting with each other.

"When something somebody plays is going to make me sing a line differently, maybe the rephrasing will be slightly different. Sometimes you record a song and it doesn't quite work out and then sometimes there's a song you didn't think was very strong and for some reason it comes together more than you ever dreamed it would."

Milsap said the latter experience occurred on his 1977 hit track "It Was Almost Like a Song," which was almost discarded in the studio before he discovered a unique arrangement in the studio. The track became Milsap's first million selling single.

Born blind from congenital glaucoma in North Carolina, Milsap was a child prodigy in music. At the age of 7, he began to study classical music on first the violin and later the piano and guitar.

Entranced by rock 'n' roll, Milsap dreamed of a career in music while he studied pre-law in college. It wasn't until he crossed paths with a legend that his future behind a microphone and in front of an audience was solidified.

"I went to a Ray Charles concert when I was 20 years old and I was lucky enough to get backstage," Milsap said. "I said, ‘Ray you're the one person I've looked up to all my life. You're the true inspiration and I want to be in the music business, but I have a dilemma. I'm currently in law school.'

"So he said, ‘Play me something.' There was a piano in his dressing room, and I played three songs. Then he said, ‘Well son, you can be a lawyer if you want to, but there's a lot of music in your heart and if I were you I'd follow what my heart tells me to do.'"

Soon after, Milsap was on his way. A few years later he ended up in Memphis, Tenn. where he even recorded with another musical icon, Elvis Presley.

"I got to hang with Elvis and played on two albums with him," Milsap said. "I sang on ‘Kentucky Rain,' which still gets played on the radio today. He was very complimentary on what I played. He was a very generous man.

"And certainly being in the studio with him, you could feel the years of experience. He really knew how to make it work."

Making it work and having a good time is what Milsap said he'll be doing when he comes to Sandusky next month.

"The good thing is, our live shows are still the best thing I ever do," Milsap said. "It's the electricity that happens with an audience, it's just phenomenal. It flows back and forth, and because my band knows everything I've done, people can make requests. So it's a very versatile show."

 

 

Ronnie Milsap
WHEN: 7 p.m.,
May 2
WHERE: Sandusky State Theatre, 107 Columbus Ave., Sandusky
COST: $35-$60
INFO: 419-626-1950
or 877-626-1950