Why Ronnie Self never made it as a performer is one of the great mysteries and injustices of pop music history. Ronnie Self had the look and the sound -- a mix of country, rockabilly, and R&B that sometimes made him sound like a white Little Richard, but mostly like the young Elvis or Carl Perkins - and he wasn't lacking for good songs, which he mostly wrote himself. Ronnie Self should have been there, thought of in the same breath as Perkins or Jerry Lee Lewis; instead, he's a footnote in rock'n'roll history outside of Europe, where he's treated as a legend.
1.Introduction by Biff Collie 2.Bop a lena 3.Short fat Fannie 4.Flame of love 5.Roll over Beethoven 6.Grandma's rockin' 7.Money honey 8.Boppin' the blues 9.About cured? 10.Hair of the dog 11.Rocky road blues 12.I want you to know 13.Sweet little sixteen 14.Keep a knockin' 15.Long train to Memphis 16.High on life 17.The road keeps winding 18.When he flies away 19.I'm gonna try you 20.Boppin' the blues 21.Bop a lena 22.The hurt is free 23.How careless of me 24.Long distace kiss 25.Ain't I a dandy 26.Here comes authority 27.I started world war 1 28.I've been brought down 29.My own kick going 30.Wild and wooly life 31.Waitin' for the gin to hit me
Many of these are 'live' recordings
Ronnie Self
Although Ronnie Self found only limited success as a recording artist in the 1950s and '60s, he wrote hit songs for other vocalists and became the epitome of rockabilly: wild, untamed, erratic. Ronnie Self was born in 1938 in Tin Town, Missouri, and lived a rural life with his family until his parents decided to move to Springfield when he was still a boy. Ronnie Self was a respectful child who learned to appreciate music at an early age. He took up the guitar, and discovered the joys of country music while still living on the farm. He listened to the recordings of such country artists as Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers, but when Elvis got popular in the mid 50s, Ronnie Self found a new kind of music with which to identify. Like many of the early rockabilly performers, he successfully merged the two musical styles and fashioned his own music. According to legend, he got into a rockin' band while still in high school. Seems that Ronnie got a little upset with one of his teachers at school one day, and went after the teacher with a baseball bat. So much for the three Rs! Ronnie Self went into rock'n'roll. He was always a little wild. Not bad, though. His music was a bit wild, too. When he tried out for a radio talent contest once, the station rejected him because his act was too strange. Later, he set out for Nashville, where he recorded for a number of major labels, including ABC-Paramount, Columbia, Decca, and Kapp. He also wrote for Cedarville Music, a big Nashville publisher. His manager billed him as 'Mr. Frantic', presumably for his restless energy on stage. In the late 50s, he recorded a number of strong rockabilly sides, including 'Big Fool', 'Date Bait', 'Ain't I'm A Dog' and 'Bop-A-Lena'. It seemed that Ronnie Self was eighteen, cocky, and a little crazy, and headed for the top. But his one hit - and it reached only number 63 in 1958 - was 'Bop-A-Lena', a song by Mel Tillis and Webb Pierce. Ronnie Self did go on to write 'Sweet Nothin's' and 'I'm Sorry' for Brenda Lee in late 1959 and early 1960, but he sank into personal troubles and frustration with Nashville. He even burned his gold records in front of the BMI office there. He was a perfectionist. He could not tolerate those who were not. Ronnie Self died in August, 1981. He was 43 years old. Source: We Wanna Boogie, Randy McNutt
This compilation features live recordings and demo sessions from the 50s through the 70s. Nine songs are from live Phillip Morris Country Radio Shows from 1957 & 1958 with Sonny Curtis on guitar - most of them previously available on two Cottontown Jubilee CDs. Four tracks are from a 1958 demo session with just Ronnie on guitar and someone hand clapping and includes two original songs and versions of Money Honey and Keep A Knockin' - these were on a long out of print Redita LP. The rest are mostly from 60s and 70s demo sessions plus an obscure 45 on the Scratch label. These are mostly original country songs.
Why Ronnie Self never made it as a performer is one of the great mysteries and injustices of pop music history. Ronnie Self had the look and the sound -- a mix of country, rockabilly, and R&B that sometimes made him sound like a white Little Richard, but mostly like the young Elvis or Carl Perkins - and he wasn't lacking for good songs, which he mostly wrote himself. Ronnie Self should have been there, thought of in the same breath as Perkins or Jerry Lee Lewis; instead, he's a footnote in rock'n'roll history outside of Europe, where he's treated as a legend.