Ronnie Dove

Ronnie Dove

Ronnie Dove in 1966
Background information
Born (1935-09-07) September 7, 1935
Herndon, Virginia, United States
Genres Pop, country
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Years active 1959-present
Labels Diamond Records, Decca Records, Certron Records, MCA Records, Hobby Records, Melodyland Records
Website http://www.ronniedove.com http://ronniedovemusic.com

Ronnie Dove (born September 7, 1935) is an American pop and country musician who had a string of hit pop records in the mid to late 1960's and several country records in the 1970s on.

Biography

Ronnie, the son of a police officer, was born in Herndon, Virginia. Ronnie began his singing career in the clubs of Baltimore. He formed a group, The Belltones, and they played Baltimore and the East Coast for four years. In 1959, they recorded their debut single "Lover Boy" as well as a cover of the Buddy Knox hit "Party Doll" before Ronnie went solo with Diamond Records. His first solo single, "Sweeter Than Sugar" appeared in 1964 to no fanfare. Later that year "Say You" was released and earned Ronnie his first chart record. The next single, a cover of Wanda Jackson's "Right Or Wrong," put him into the Top 20. In 1965 he had 5 chart singles and after just three albums Diamond Records released a "best of" collection. His name was featured many times in both Billboard and Cashbox awards in 1965.

More hits came in 1966 and 1967 including "My Babe", "Cry", "Happy Summer Days" and more. In 1966, he began hosting a local television show in Baltimore called "The Ronnie Dove Show". It lasted for 13 episodes. Today, only 2 episodes survive. When Diamond closed in 1970, he moved, briefly, to Aubrey Mayhew's Certron Records. Shortly thereafter, he went to the independent Wrayco Records and released a Bobby Hebb cover of "Sunny". He then signed a new deal with Decca Records in 1971 and pointed his career in a more country oriented direction. Then, he moved to the Motown country label Melodyland and had a top 40 country hit. Although he moved to some smaller, independent labels throughout the rest of the 1970s he still continued to record. He opened his own club in Baltimore and his fans were able to see him perform through the 1980s. He briefly revived the Diamond record label in 1987 to release a couple of singles and an album. Dove continues to perform in the Baltimore area (where he lives) and nationwide. There have been several compilations issued on CD. Collectables Records has even issued three 2-on-1 discs with his complete original Diamond albums plus a collection of rarities. Check out his website for news, concert listings and recordings including a recent Christmas album and a few albums of new material (including new recordings of previously recorded songs). Although not generally perceived as a Rhythm and Blues artist, his version of "Right Or Wrong" hit the top 5 of Cashbox's 1964 R&B listings (Billboard did not print national R&B lists in 1964). In 2013, Ronnie appeared on RFD-TV's "The Shotgun Red Variety Show".

Ronnie also maintains a music website (www.ronniedovemusic.com) where fans can select a number of his recordings and order a custom made CD compiled by Ronnie himself.

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Dove holds the distinction of logging the most Top 40 hits, without ever having a song break into the Top 10.

Planned Retirement

Having previously retired in 1988 to care for his ailing mother, Ronnie planned on retiring for good in 2014 due to declining health. However, his health began to improve, and he canceled his retirement. He further announced a retirement in 2016 due again to failing health.

Discography

Albums

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Singles

Year Titles (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated		 Label & Number Chart positions[2] Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. AC U.S. Country
1959 "Lover Boy"
b/w "I'll Be Around"		 Dove 1021 - - - Non-album tracks
1961 "Party Doll"
b/w "Yes Darling, I'll Be Around"		 Decca 31288 - - -
1962 "Saddest Song (Of The Year)"
b/w "No Greater Love" (from Right Or Wrong)		 Jalo 1406 - - -
1964 "Sweeter Than Sugar"
b/w "I Believed In You"		 Diamond 163 - - - Right Or Wrong
1964 "Say You"
b/w "Let Me Stay Today" (Non-album track)		 Diamond 167 40 - -
1964 "Right Or Wrong"
b/w "Baby, Put Your Arms Around Me"		 Diamond 173 14 - -
1965 "Hello Pretty Girl"
b/w "Keep It A Secret"		 Diamond 176 54 - -
1965 "One Kiss For Old Times' Sake"
b/w "No Greater Love" (first pressings)
"Bluebird" (later pressings)
(Both B-sides from Right Or Wrong)		 Diamond 179 14 - - One Kiss For Old Times' Sake
1965 "A Little Bit Of Heaven"
b/w "If I Live To Be A Hundred"		 Diamond 184 16 4 -
1965 "I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True"
b/w "I Had To Lose You (To Find That I Need You)" (from One Kiss For Old Times' Sake)		 Diamond 188 21 2 - I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True
1965 "Kiss Away"
b/w "Where In The World" (from One Kiss For Old Times' Sake)		 Diamond 191 25 5 -
1965 "When Liking Turns To Loving"
b/w "I'm Learning How To Smile Again" (from I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True)		 Diamond 195 18 6 - The Best Of Ronnie Dove
1966 "Let's Start All Over Again"
b/w "That Empty Feeling"		 Diamond 198 20 34 - Ronnie Dove Sings The Hits For You
1966 "Happy Summer Days"
b/w "Long After"		 Diamond 205 27 7 -
1966 "I Really Don't Want To Know"
b/w "Years Of Tears" (from Cry)		 Diamond 208 22 12 -
1966 "Cry (Churchill Kohlman song)"
b/w "Autumn Rhapsody"		 Diamond 214 18 16 - Cry
1967 "One More Mountain To Climb"
b/w "All" (from One Kiss For Old Times' Sake)		 Diamond 217 45 - -
1967 "My Babe"
b/w "Put My Mind At Ease" (from I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True)		 Diamond 221 50 - - The Best Of Ronnie Dove, Volume 2
1967 "I Want To Love You For What You Are"
b/w "I Thank You For Your Love" (Non-album track)		 Diamond 227 54 - -
1967 "Dancin' Out Of My Heart"
b/w "Back From Baltimore" (from The Best Of Ronnie Dove, Volume 2)		 Diamond 235 87 - - Non-album tracks
1968 "In Some Time"
b/w "Livin' For Your Lovin'"		 Diamond 240 99 37 -
1968 "Mountain Of Love"
b/w "Never Gonna Cry (The Way I'll Cry Tonight)" (Non-album track)		 Diamond 244 67 - - Ronnie Dove Sings The Hits For You
1968 "Tomboy"
b/w "Tell Me Tomorrow"		 Diamond 249 96 27 - Non-album tracks
1969 "What's Wrong With My World"
b/w "That Empty Feeling" (from Ronnie Dove Sings The Hits For You)		 Diamond 256 - - -
1969 "I Need You Now"
b/w "Bluebird" (from Right Or Wrong)		 Diamond 260 93 - -
1970 "Chains Of Love"
b/w "If I Live To Be A Hundred" (from One Kiss For Old Times' Sake)		 Diamond 271 - - -
1971 "Talking To My Children's Mama"
b/w "Sunny"		 Wrayco 201 - - -
1971 "If I Cried Everytime You Hurt"
b/w "Just The Other Side Of Nowhere"		 Decca 32853 - - - Ronnie Dove
1972 "Kiss The Hurt Away"
b/w "He Cries Like A Baby"		 Decca 32919 - - 61
1972 "My World Of Memories"
b/w "It's No Sin" (Non-album track)		 Decca 32997 - - -
1972 "Lilacs In Winter"
b/w "Is It Wrong (For Loving You)"		 Decca 33038 - - 69
1973 "So Long Dixie"
b/w "Take Me Back"		 MCA 40106 - - - Non-album tracks
1975 "Please Come To Nashville"
b/w "Pictures On Paper"		 Melodyland 6004 - - 75
1975 "Things"
b/w "Here We Go Again"		 Melodyland 6011 - - 25
1975 "Drina (Take Your Love Off For Me)"
b/w "Your Sweet Love"		 Melodyland 6021 - - -
1976 "Right Or Wrong"
b/w "Guns"		 Melodyland 6030 - - -
1976 "Tragedy"
b/w "Songs We Sang As Children"		 Hitsville 6038 - - -
1976 "Why Daddy"
b/w "The Morning After The Night Before"		 Hitsville 6045 - - -
1978 "The Angel In Your Eyes"
b/w "Songs We Sang As Children"		 M.C. 5013 - - -
1983 "She Feels So Right (I Feel So Wrong)"
b/w "Loving On Back Streets"		 Moon Shine 3018 - - -
1984 "Lucille Stubs"
b/w "Loving On Back Streets"		 Hobby 1001 - - -
1984 "Slowly"
b/w "Lucille Stubs"		 Hobby 1002 - - -
1984 "A Short Walk From Heaven"
b/w "Livin' For Your Lovin'"		 Hobby 1003 - - -
1985 "I Don't Hurt Anymore"
b/w "She Feels So Right"		 Hobby 1004 - - -
1985 "I'll Never Fall In Love Again"
b/w "Just Call My Name"		 Gallery II 2002 - - -
1986 "Just Call My Name"
b/w "She Feels So Right"		 NCA 133738 - - -
1987 "Heart"
b/w "Old Time Rock 'N Roll"		 Diamond 378 - - 77
1987 "Rise and Shine"
b/w "World Of Memories"		 Diamond 379 - - 73

DVDs

These two DVDs can be purchased from Ronnie's website (www.ronniedovemusic.com) [3]

References

  1. ↑ Billboard, Allmusic. Passim
  2. ↑ Billboard Singles. Allmusic.com.
  3. ↑ http://www.ronniedovemusic.com

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