That's a really good interview.

Jo

----- Original Message -----
From: Jack Lowe
To: Milsap Cyber Fans Group
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 6:56 AM
Subject: [milsapcyberfans] Ronnie Milsap Takes Pleasure in New Gospel Album





Link to story.

http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1609021/ronnie-milsap-takes-pleasure-in-ne\
w-gospel-album.jhtml

Ronnie Milsap Takes Pleasure in New Gospel Album

He Talks About His Music, Career and Spiritual Journey

Maybe it's easy to record an entire album in just three days if you've spent
your entire life subconsciously preparing for it. That's the case with
Ronnie Milsap
and his new release, Then Sings My Soul: 24 Favorite Hymns and Gospel
Songs.

Actually, laying down tracks for 24 songs on a two-CD set is more like
recording two albums in three days, but Milsap is quick to give credit to
Carol
Tornquist, who wrote the musical arrangements for the project he co-produced
with longtime collaborator Rob Galbraith.

"Everybody knew what we were doing," Milsap said during a recent interview
with CMT.com. "Everybody had already looked over the arrangements before
they
came to the studio. I knew the lyrics, so we basically just started rolling
through these."

The songs lean heavily toward traditional fare such as "How Great Thou Art,"
"Just a Closer Walk With Thee" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," but it
also features three new songs and an updated version of Milsap's hit, "What
a Difference You've Made in My Life."

In a phenomenal career that includes no less than 35 singles that topped the
Billboard country chart during the '70s and '80s, Milsap had never been
asked
to record a gospel album.

"When I was doing mainstream country, there was no way that an executive was
going to ask you to do a gospel album," he said. The opportunity ultimately
stemmed from his involvement in How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites From
the Grand Ole Opry, a multi-artist collection that also features
Carrie Underwood,
Dierks Bentley,
Brad Paisley,
Alan Jackson,
Trace Adkins
and
Vince Gill,
among others. For his contribution, Milsap chose to record a Thomas A.
Dorsey song, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." The project is nominated for
special
event album of the year at the Gospel Music Association's 40th annual Dove
Awards taking place April 23 in Nashville.

"They put the album out, and it's done real well," Milsap said. "Then all of
a sudden, my manager, Burt Stein, calls me and says, 'Would you be
interested
in doing a gospel album?'"

Executives at the EMI Christian Music Group, which released the album,
specifically asked him to record a new version of "What a Difference You've
Made
in My Life." When he got to the studio, Milsap found himself approaching the
song from a much different perspective.

"My spirit is in a totally different place than it was in 1977 when I
recorded the original," he said. "It was great to sing it. It's more or less
where
I am right now -- which is much farther along. I don't know, my spirit is a
lot freer and a lot more mature now."

Born into poverty in rural North Carolina, Milsap's early experiences with
church would be enough to leave permanent emotional scars on many people.
Raised
by his grandparents, he was just a child when he was taken to revivals as
his family sought a miracle cure for his blindness. Some at the revivals
claimed
that his lack of faith prevented him from being cured.

"I had to really learn about that as I grew older -- what their intentions
were," he explained. "It wasn't so much my grandparents. It was other people
with the church where we were. They wanted that to happen so much."

At age 6, he was sent to the State School for the Blind in Raleigh, N.C.,
where his education and faith truly began.

"My faith got started slowly," he said. "By the time I got 400 miles away in
Raleigh and was around other blind children going through an educational
process
-- academically, musically and all kinds of other ways -- I discovered in
Bible studies what I think the truth really was for me. I started developing
my own faith, knowing that a lot of folks meant well. Maybe miracles do
happen today. I've never seen any. But actually, talking to you right now
and being
alive today, that's a miracle in itself. I eventually learned to find my way
and basically forgive anybody. They didn't mean any harm.

"Back in the rural Smoky Mountains, my mother didn't want me because [she
thought] I was a curse from God from some sin that she had done. She didn't
want
a blind child, and I grew up with my grandparents. But, you know, you've got
to get past all that. I passed all of that many, many, many years ago. ...
I think you have to in order to have peace of mind and for your spirit to
develop."

Milsap appears to have few serious regrets in his life or career, although
he has some interesting things to say about the days "before crossovers
started
affecting my life" and the pressures that followed.

"I was signed to RCA to be a country singer," he explained. "The first six
albums, I was really true to that. We kept selling more records and doing
well,
and then all of a sudden you hit a big song like 'Almost Like a Song' -- a
million-seller single -- and your sales skyrocket. There was a big tradeoff
in having the crossover. Then you're really not just a country singer
anymore. At that time, they came up with this strategy that you become a
multi-format
artist. Today, you can sell multi-platinum and still stay within the country
format. At that time, the only way to sell big numbers was to become a
multi-format
artist, so you're big on the AC charts, you're big on the CHR ... and you're
No. 1 in country and real high -- Top 5 or so -- on the pop charts. That was
the way to sell multi-platinum then.

"When I came to town, I was managed by Jack Johnson, who was
Charley Pride
's manager. His idea for me to be a country singer fulfilled a dream I had
always had. I wanted to live in Nashville. I wanted to sing country. There
have
been many diversions that have kind of happened along the way, but I think
in this gospel album, I got to do all the elements of who I am. I had 12
years
of classical music as a child, playing piano competitions as a teenager,
playing in blues bands and rock 'n' roll bands, country and jazz bands. I
played
in about any situation. With this gospel album, I just got to be me. We did
it so quickly, I didn't really have much time to do anything else but just
follow my instincts."

As for those early days in Nashville, he says, "I was delusional enough to
think, 'Hey, if I can get a hit record, I can get some good-paying jobs on
the
road. Does anybody really make money on these royalties?'"

Milsap notes that Tom Collins, who produced his early hits on RCA, had a
vision of him sticking to his country roots.

"I just loved that time," Milsap said. "Of course, that's more traditional
country, and we know that doesn't sell anything anymore."

He pauses for a moment before adding, "That song, 'Murder on Music Row.'
That's for real, man."

My country CD reviews:
http://countrymusic.about.com/library/blcdreview-jack.htm

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