| Milsap was born blind from congenital glaucoma, and when he was five began attending the Governor Moorhead School for the Blind. When he was seven, his instructors noticed his extraordinary musical talents and he began to study classical music formally. A single year after he began learning the violin, Milsap was declared a virtuoso; he also mastered piano, guitar and a variety of other stringed instruments, as well as various woodwinds. In 1965, Milsap started his own band and four years later, after having an R&B hit with "Never Had It So Good," moved to Memphis to become a session musician. There he frequently worked for Chips Moman and can be heard playing keyboards on Elvis' "Kentucky Rain" and singing harmony on "Don't Cry Daddy." "I Hate You," his first single for RCA, reached the country Top Ten in the summer of 1973. The following year, he had three number one hits in a row — "Pure Love," "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends," and "(I'd Be) A Legend in My Time," a cover of Don Gibson's classic. Milsap had a handful of Top Ten hits in 1975 and but in late 1976, he became a genuine star, with a string of six number one hits in a row. In turn, that string of hits begat a remarkable run where Milsap didn't leave the Top Ten for 15 straight years. Between 1980 and 1982, Milsap had ten more consecutive number one hits. In 1984 Ronnie, who had many crossover hits, released the 12" single of "She Loves My Car." The song became an instant club favorite and highly sought after cult classic. Milsap then had yet another string of uninterrupted number one hits between 1985 and 1987, racking up eight consecutive chart toppers. He had his last number one hit in 1989, when "A Woman In Love" spent two weeks on the top of the charts. In total, he had 35 number one singles. In the early 1990's, Milsap's commercial appeal began to decline — after 1992, he wasn't able to break into the country Top Ten. Nevertheless, he continues to record and perform regularly. |
