Ronnie Dove
Age: 89
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.
Planned Retirement
Ronnie planned on retiring in 2014 due to declining health. However, his health began to improve, and he canceled his retirement.
Discography
Albums
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- The Swinging Teen Sounds of Ronnie Dove (Design Records, 1962)
- Right Or Wrong (Ronnie Dove album) (Diamond Records No. 5002, 1964)
- One Kiss for Old Times' Sake (Diamond Records No. 5003, 1965) U.S. No. 119
- I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True (Diamond Records No. 5004, 1965)
- The Best Of Ronnie Dove (Diamond Records No. 5005, 1966) U.S. No. 35
- Ronnie Dove Sings the Hits for You (Diamond Records No. 5006, 1966) U.S. No. 122
- Cry (Diamond Records No. 5007, 1967) U.S. No. 121
- The Best of Ronnie Dove Volume 2 (Diamond Records No. 5008, 1967)
- Ronnie Dove Greatest All-Time Hits (Certron Corporation #CS-7011, Stereo, 1970)
- Ronnie Dove (MCA Records No. 309 Stereo, 1973)
- Ronnie Dove Sings His Greatest Hits (Gusto Records (Power Pak) #PO-286, 1975)
- The Bird is Back (D.R.D. Records MS-4114, 1985)
- From the Heart (Diamond Records No. D-380-LP, 1988)
- The Complete Original Chart Hits: 1964-1969 (Real Gone Music, 2014)
Singles
Year | Titles (A-side, B-side) |
Label & Number | Chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | "Lover Boy" |
Dove 1021 | - | - | - | Non-album tracks |
1961 | "Party Doll" |
Decca 31288 | - | - | - | |
1962 | "Saddest Song (Of The Year)" |
Jalo 1406 | - | - | - | |
1964 | "Sweeter Than Sugar" |
Diamond 163 | - | - | - | Right Or Wrong |
1964 | "Say You" |
Diamond 167 | 40 | - | - | |
1964 | "Right Or Wrong" |
Diamond 173 | 14 | - | - | |
1965 | "Hello Pretty Girl" |
Diamond 176 | 54 | - | - | |
1965 | "One Kiss For Old Times' Sake" |
Diamond 179 | 14 | - | - | One Kiss For Old Times' Sake |
1965 | "A Little Bit Of Heaven" |
Diamond 184 | 16 | 4 | - | |
1965 | "I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True" |
Diamond 188 | 21 | 2 | - | I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True |
1965 | "Kiss Away" |
Diamond 191 | 25 | 5 | - | |
1965 | "When Liking Turns To Loving" |
Diamond 195 | 18 | 6 | - | The Best Of Ronnie Dove |
1966 | "Let's Start All Over Again" |
Diamond 198 | 20 | 34 | - | Ronnie Dove Sings The Hits For You |
1966 | "Happy Summer Days" |
Diamond 205 | 27 | 7 | - | |
1966 | "I Really Don't Want To Know" |
Diamond 208 | 22 | 12 | - | |
1966 | "Cry (Churchill Kohlman song)" |
Diamond 214 | 18 | 16 | - | Cry |
1967 | "One More Mountain To Climb" |
Diamond 217 | 45 | - | - | |
1967 | "My Babe" |
Diamond 221 | 50 | - | - | The Best Of Ronnie Dove, Volume 2 |
1967 | "I Want To Love You For What You Are" |
Diamond 227 | 54 | - | - | |
1967 | "Dancin' Out Of My Heart" |
Diamond 235 | 87 | - | - | Non-album tracks |
1968 | "In Some Time" |
Diamond 240 | 99 | 37 | - | |
1968 | "Mountain Of Love" |
Diamond 244 | 67 | - | - | Ronnie Dove Sings The Hits For You |
1968 | "Tomboy" |
Diamond 249 | 96 | 27 | - | Non-album tracks |
1969 | "What's Wrong With My World" |
Diamond 256 | - | - | - | |
1969 | "I Need You Now" |
Diamond 260 | 93 | - | - | |
1970 | "Chains Of Love" |
Diamond 271 | - | - | - | |
1971 | "Talking To My Children's Mama" |
Wrayco 201 | - | - | - | |
1971 | "If I Cried Everytime You Hurt" |
Decca 32853 | - | - | - | Ronnie Dove |
1972 | "Kiss The Hurt Away" |
Decca 32919 | - | - | 61 | |
1972 | "My World Of Memories" |
Decca 32997 | - | - | - | |
1972 | "Lilacs In Winter" |
Decca 33038 | - | - | 69 | |
1973 | "So Long Dixie" |
MCA 40106 | - | - | - | Non-album tracks |
1975 | "Please Come To Nashville" |
Melodyland 6004 | - | - | 75 | |
1975 | "Things" |
Melodyland 6011 | - | - | 25 | |
1975 | "Drina (Take Your Love Off For Me)" |
Melodyland 6021 | - | - | - | |
1976 | "Right Or Wrong" |
Melodyland 6030 | - | - | - | |
1976 | "Tragedy" |
Hitsville 6038 | - | - | - | |
1976 | "Why Daddy" |
Hitsville 6045 | - | - | - | |
1978 | "The Angel In Your Eyes" |
M.C. 5013 | - | - | - | |
1983 | "She Feels So Right (I Feel So Wrong)" |
Moon Shine 3018 | - | - | - | |
1984 | "Lucille Stubs" |
Hobby 1001 | - | - | - | |
1984 | "Slowly" |
Hobby 1002 | - | - | - | |
1984 | "A Short Walk From Heaven" |
Hobby 1003 | - | - | - | |
1985 | "I Don't Hurt Anymore" |
Hobby 1004 | - | - | - | |
1985 | "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" |
Gallery II 2002 | - | - | - | |
1986 | "Just Call My Name" |
NCA 133738 | - | - | - | |
1987 | "Heart" |
Diamond 378 | - | - | 77 | |
1987 | "Rise and Shine" |
Diamond 379 | - | - | 73 |
DVDs
- "Time Capsule" (features his American Bandstand and Nashville Now performances among others.)
- "The Ronnie Dove Show" (features the only two surviving episodes of his television show from 1966.)
These two DVDs can be purchased from Ronnie's website (www.ronniedovemusic.com)