Song:Lost In The Fifties Tonight
Album:Playlist: The Very Best Of Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Milsap was one of the most successful country music artists of the 70s and 80s. He was particularly successful at crossing over to pop and Adult Contemporary. Lost In The Fifties Tonight is a nostalgia laden song that topped the country chart and did well on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1985. Milsap was born Jan. 16, 1943 in Robbinsville, NC. He was born almost completely blind and was abandoned by his mother and raised by his grandparents until he was placed in a school for the blind at age 5. His instructors noticed Milsap's musical talent and he studied classical piano. He was a big fan of 50s rock 'n' roll especially Ray Charles. After briefly attending college on a music scholarship, Milsap decided to become a full time musician. While playing as a sideman, Milsap recorded for Scepter Records and had a top 20 R & B hit in 1965 with Never Had It So Good. He moved to Memphis and recorded an album for Warner Bros. in 1971 while working as a session musician. Then he moved to Nashville and Charley Pride got him a record deal with RCA Records. Pride convinced Milsap to switch to country music. But Milsap's recordings have always had rock and soul elements and that's why he has been so successful crossing over to pop. In the 70s, Milsap had success in country music with hits like It Was Almost Like A Song in 1977. But he started crossing over to pop in the 80s. The biggest of those hits was Any Day Now in 1982. It topped the country and adult contemporary charts and was a top 20 pop hit. Lost In The Fifties Tonight topped the Country Singles and Adult Contemporary charts in 1985. It also won a Best Country Vocal Performance Grammy. It was one of the biggest country hits of that year. Lost in The Fifties uses pieces of the classic doo wop song In The Still Of The Night. So Fred Parris of The Five Satins got a songwriting credit. Lost In The Fifties was written by Mike Reid and Troy Seals. Reid was a defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals who turned to country music after retirement. He recorded two albums in the 90s but has been successful as a songwriter. He also wrote the Milsap hit Stranger In My House. Troy Seals is the brother of Jimmy Seals of Seals & Crofts and Dan Seals. He recorded a few singles in the 70s but has had success as a songwriter in the 80s. The sax solo is by veteran session musician Jim Horn. This budget comp is a good intro to Milsap's music. He started to fade in the late 80s and left RCA for Liberty in 1993. Milsap still tours and records. His latest CD Summer Number Seventeen was released by Sony Legacy on Jan. 28, 2014. It is a CD of oldies covers including a new version of Lost In The Fifties Tonight. Here's the video for Lost In The Fifties Tonight by Ronnie Milsap.
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