Ronnie Self

Ronnie Self
Self in 1956
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Keith Self
Born	(1938-07-05)July 5, 1938 Tin Town, Missouri, United States
Died	August 28, 1981(1981-08-28) (aged 43) Springfield, Missouri, United States
Genres	Rockabilly; rock 'n' roll; country gospel; pop (as a songwriter)
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1955–1964
Labels	ABC-Paramount (1956), Columbia (1956-59),

Ronnie Self (July 5, 1938 – August 28, 1981) was an American rock 'n' roll musician, vocalist best known for his original 1957 rockabilly original, "Bop-A-Lena," becoming a hit single in the United States and a critically-acclaimed chart-topping hit in Australia for two consecutive years. Self recorded 12-15 country and gospel songs between 1957–late 1959/early 1960 to underwhelming popular reception, generally limited to the regional southern United States, a few of which remained unrleased until the 21st century. Beginning in 1960, and performer(later covered by Gene Vincent), Self began writing music as a lyricist/songwriter, and through 1964, wrote a number of critically-acclaimed, highly-successful rock 'n' roll/pop rock (the early '60s was the transition period between both genres), pop, country, pop rock, easy listening, and jazz songs, most of which were performed by Brenda Lee and Carl Perkins to great success.

Ronald Keith Self was born in Tin Town, Missouri, in July 1938, and began singing in church choir and high school band around 1953. His raspy singing voice, ability to croon in falsetto, as well as aggressive snarls, growls, scat vocals, and sustain screaming were influenced by Cab Calloway, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, James Brown, and in 1956 he was discovered by a Paramount employee who referred to A&R, and when Self and a classmate (who played cello) were given a chance to showcase their talent in the recording studio with Self singing and playing acoustic, his classmate Jerry playing Cello as a bass, and a studio technician/session musician familiar with rockabilly percussion rhythms on the studio 3-piece drumkit. They compromised on all performing a rendition of Elvis Presley's "Baby, Let's Play House", and the A&R rep immediately signed him to the ABC-Paramount label, contracting Self to record 4-6 songs for a vinyl to be released by the end of 1957.

Upon release in 1956, only a few songs saw success in parts of the south and midwest – particularly his native Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas (where his duo opened for Buddy Holly twice), and once in Oklahoma, opening for Roy Clark and meeting The Collins Kids, learning precision and solos from Clark and Larry Collins.

A severe alcoholic, his erratic on-stage behavior and unpredictable energetic live performances; raspy, abrasive singing, and expanding rockabilly to include his uniquely abrasive and distorted guttural screams, particularly to 1957 audiences, catching the attention of Columbia Records, with him who signed a deal in 1956 to record his original single, "Bop-A-Lena" with a doo-wop group called The Kids and a band consisting of session musicians like Billy Mure and Ronnie Hawkins influencing Dion and the Belmonts.^[1]

Ronnie Self began performing at seventeen in 1955, signed with and recorded "Pretty Bad Blyes" and" You're So Good to Me". through ABC-Paramount before signing to Columbia Records in 1956, and recording "Pretty Bad Blues,"^[2] followed by an original song recorded un 1957 and released in '58, to become his only hit single successful internationally: nationwide successful hit single, "Bop-A-Lena," released in early 1958 whereupon it reached No. 68 on the U.S. Billboard charts and No. 25 in Australia.^[3] His boastful country anthem, "Ain't I'm a Dog", was a regional success in the Deep South United States, but failed to chart nationally, despite charting at No. 31 in Australia. Influenced by various traditional and upcoming country artists, including outlaw country acts and contemporary rockabilly artists–Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Elvis Presley, The Johnny Burnett Trio, and Dale Hawkins and Ronnie Hawkins, of The Hawks (whose drummer, Levon Helm, would eventually found The Band and achieve international success); with this array of inspiration and by virtue of being a talented performer, Self signed with Decca Records in 1959, but the next year elected to quit performing and fully commit to songwriting.^[3]

As a songwriter, Self successfully penned numerous song lyrics, of which Brenda Lee recorded several, including "I'm Sorry", "Sweet Nothin's", and "Everybody Loves Me But You," which all became major pop classics.^[3] His country gospel song "Ain't That Beautiful Singing" was recorded by Jake Hess and received a Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance in 1969.^[4] He also wrote Brenda Lee's 1963 No. 28 UK hit single "Sweet Impossible You"^[5] (the B-side to "The Grass is Greener" in the United States).

Self's career path was stunted due to severe alcoholism, and consequently, erratic behavior with occasional incidents of violence. Ronnie Self died in Springfield, Missouri in 1981 at the age of 43 from cirrhosis.^[3]

• Pretty Bad Blues (first major release with ABC Recording)^[6]
• Waiting for the Gin to Hit^[7]
• You're So Right for Me^[8]

Bop-A-Lena (Album Version) Ronnie Self 2 Pretty Bad Blues Ronnie Self 3 Big Fool (Album Version) Ronnie Self 4 Ain't I'm A Dog Ronnie Self 5 Big Blon' Baby (Remastered) Ronnie Self 6 Long Distance Kiss Ronnie Self 7 Petrified Ronnie Self 8 Grandma's Rockin´ Ronnie Self 9 Three Hearts Later Ronnie Self 10 Date Bait (Remastered) Ronnie Self 11 Too Many Lovers Ronnie Self 12 Big Town Ronnie Self 13 Do It Now (Remastered) Ronnie Self 14 You're So Right for Me (Remastered) Ronnie Self 15 Flame of Love (Remastered) Ronnie Self 16 Oh Me, Oh My (Remastered) Ronnie Self 17 Instant Man (Remastered) Ronnie Self 18 Black Night Blues (Remastered) Ronnie Self 19 Past, Present and Future (Remastered) Ronnie Self 20 Hair Of The Dog Ronnie Self

I´ve Been Brought Down Ronnie Self

When He Flies Away

Waitin´ For The Gin To Hit Me Ronnie Self Ronnie Sel Bop A Lena (Alternate Take) Long Train To Memph Wild And Wooly Li I Want You To Bop A Lena (Live) Ronnie Self Sweet Little Sixteen