Song:Ain't I'm A Dog
Album:Ain't I'm A Dog: 25 More Rockabilly Rave-Ups
If you're a rockabilly fan and you listen to Ronnie Self, you may wonder why he was never a big star. His music still sounds great today but as a recording artist he never broke out of the regional level. And he was on a major label but probably the wrong one. He had much more success as a songwriter. He was born July 5, 1938 in Tin Town, MO and became interested in music at a very young age. In 1956, he signed a songwriting contract with Red Foley's manager Dub Albritton. He released a single on ABC Records that went nowhere. In 1957, Albritton sent him on the Phillip Morris Caravan, the only rockabilly act on a country music tour. But his performance on the tour earned him a contract with Columbia Records against the wishes of Columbia A & R chief Mitch Miller. A few singles were released including Ain't I'm A Dog and Bop-A-Lena reached #68 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. He even earned a screen test for the film Rally Round The Flag Boys. But Self got married and had his first child and dropped out of the Phillip Morris tour. He was known to be wild anyway and concerns about his reliabilty resulted in Columbia dropping him at the end of 1958. You can get some of Self's Columbia recordings on this budget various artists comp. Self signed with Decca. And though he never had any success as a recording artist, Brenda Lee recorded his songs I'm Sorry and Sweet Nothins. So that's how he made his living. Self continued to attempt to record and tour and he was highly regarded in Europe. But his alcohol and drug fueled erratic and violent behaviour got so bad he couldn't work anymore until his death on Aug. 28, 1981 at age 43. So a very sad end to the underappreciated rockabilly singer Ronnie Self. Here's a video for Ain't I'm A Dog by Ronnie Self.
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