Ronnie Milsap is best known for country music but the veteran singer made one of the most memorable doo-wop records with “Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night).”
Milsap, who plays The Sharon on Dec. 8, released the song in 1985 and it became a Top-20 hit and earned a Grammy Award. The record features Milsap adding a few new lyrics to the famed 1956 hit by the Five Satins, “In The Still of the Night.” It was written by Fred Paris of the Five Satins.
When Milsap first heard the idea to remake the song, he thought it would be better for a group rather than a solo artist.
“I thought it should be something for Alabama or the Oak Ridge Boys,” Milsap told country radio station WGNA-FM in Albany, N.Y. “But (then) I thought, ‘Why don’t I get in a studio and try that song.’
“Once we put that together, we realized that song was something special. That was a big hit. I got to do that song on the Grammy Awards show, along with Freddie Parris, Carl Perkins and Huey Lewis. That was wonderful.”
Milsap talked about his musical influences when he came to The Villages a few years ago. And he fondly recalled meeting his hero, Ray Charles, who, like Milsap, was blind.
“At school, I wanted to be a professional musician but they kept telling me I’d never make it,” Milsap said. “They wanted me to be a lawyer or something.
“So, one day, I went to Atlanta to see a Ray Charles’ concert. I went backstage in his dressing room and sat at his piano. I told him I wanted to be a musician. He said, ‘Play something for me,’ and I did. Then he said, ‘If you love music, be a musician.’ And I did.”
Milsap, 75, grew up with rock and roll and his idol was Elvis Presley. He played on recording sessions with Elvis, including one of the Presley’s later hits, “Kentucky Rain.”
“While we were recording it, Elvis kept saying, ‘More thunder on the piano, Milsap,’” he told Medium.com.
Milsap made 40 No. 1 singles during his career and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He’s still making music and early next year will release a duets album with such country acts as Luke Bryan, Dolly Parton, Jason Aldean, Willie Nelson, Little Big Town, George Strait and Montgomery Gentry.
Tony Violanti is a veteran journalist and writes for Villages-News.com.
