Sunday will almost certainly be a white day, if snowfall estimates hold true. And inside the Walton Arts Center, it will be Christmas, courtesy of vocalist Ronnie Milsap.
So, an early start at a White Christmas?
“That wouldn’t bother me,” Milsap says by phone while preparing for the tour that will bring him to Arkansas.
Milsap has always loved Christmas tunes. He recorded an album of them in 1986, and it included the hit “It’s Christmas,” which he first heard as a demo in Nashville before begging to record it. He also recorded some traditional tunes, such as “O Holy Night,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and “Silver Bells.” He’ll revisit some of those selections, plus a few other Christmas classics, when he performs Sunday evening.
“It’s easy to sing them every year,” he says.
The set will also include classic country songs from throughout Milsap’s career. He has 40 No. 1 hits to choose from, with titles such as “Daydreams About Night Things,” “(I’m a) Stand By My Woman Man” and “Smoky Mountain Rain.”
The set might also include a song from his most recent project, a mostly covers album called “Summer Number 17.” It started when Milsap ran into a young Nashville, Tenn., songwriter named Sam Hunter. The 21-year-old told Milsap about a song he’d penned called “Summer Number 17,” which was about his youth and heavily influenced by Milsap’s hit “Lost in the Fifties Tonight.” Milsap started thinking about the songs he loved during the summer of his 17th year - which would have been 1960; he’s currently 70 years old - and got to work. He recorded several songs for the project, including “Mustang Sally,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “Tears on My Pillow.” For good measure, he added the songs“Summer Number 17” and “Lost in the Fifties Tonight” as bookends. He’s been singing many of the songs for years, he says.
“If I could hear it on the radio, I could mimic it,” he says. “I’ve always been that way.”
Milsap, of course, would take those songs he loved from his youth as an influence and create a long-running, oft-awarded career. Blind since a very young age, Milsap learned to play piano and sing. He spent time as a studio musician in Memphis, Tenn., appearing on several recordings during the late 1960s, including two Elvis Presley songs. Country singer Charley Pride convinced Milsap to move to Nashville in the early 1970s, and it was there his career flourished. During the course of Milsap’s career, he’s earned six Grammy Awards in addition to all his chart success. Milsap received praise and notoriety as a crossover artist, but he says his heart was always in country music. It fit his personality and voice.
“Being so believable as a singer was so important,” he says. “It (country music) was more believable than disco. Although I did make a couple disco records.”
And he’ll continue making music - likely country - until he can no longer do so.
Like he and his friend Charley Pride always tell each other, “Neither of us have the sense to quit,” Milsap says.
Whats Up, Pages 12 on 12/06/2013