'' Ronnie Milsap'' is the debut studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist Ronnie Milsap. It was released in 1971 on Warner Bros. Records. Among the tracks on the album is "

Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and first recorded by Bobby Bare, who included it on his ''Where Have All the Seasons Gone'' album in January 1971. Kristofferson recorded the song with Rita Cooli ...

", which he re-recorded in 1974 after he signed a contract with

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Current artists *Kane Brown *Andrew Jannakos *Miranda Lambert * Niko Moon (RCA/River Ho ...

and established himself as a hitmaker in country music. The remake went on to be a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart.

Track listing

#"Dedicate the Blues to Me" ( Huey P. Meaux) – 3:20 #"Sunday Rain" ( Mark James) – 3:09 #"

" (

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

) – 3:00 #"Sweet Little Rock & Roller" (

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

) – 3:17 #"Blue Skies of Montana" (

Spooner Oldham Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham (born June 14, 1943) is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy S ...

Dan Penn Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including " The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" w ...

) – 5:29 #"Sanctified" (

Jim Dickinson James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Biography Dickinson was born in Li ...

, Bob McDill) – 3:33 #"Keep on Smiling (1980)" (Karen Oldham, Spooner Oldham) – 3:21 #"The Cat Was a Junkie" (

Bobby Weinstein Robert Weinstein (July 16, 1939 – March 16, 2022) was an American songwriter, singer, and music industry executive, whose hit songs, mostly co-written with Teddy Randazzo, include "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and " I ...

, Jon Stroll) #"

Crying Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secr ...

" (

Joe Melson Joe Melson (born May 1935) is an American singer and a BMI Award-winning songwriter. Life and career Joe Melson was born in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas, United States. He was reared on a farm until he was sixteen. He attended high school in ...

, Roy Orbison) – 2:30 #"Not for the Love of a Woman" (Nat Foster) – 3:08 #"Why" (Swain Schaefer) – 3:04

Personnel

*Ronnie Milsap – vocals, keyboards *

Eddie Hinton Eddie Hinton (15 June 1944 – 28 July 1995) was an American songwriter and session musician, best known for his work with soul music and R&B singers. He played lead guitar for Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section from 1969 to 1971 and after leaving th ...

, Gimmer Nicholson,

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

Johnny Christopher John (“Johnny”) Lee Christopher Jr. (born 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American singer, guitarist, session musician and songwriter. Music career Christopher's singles included "(She's A) Girl Of Many Colors / The Teacher And The Pet" (19 ...

, Reggie Young, Tippy Armstrong,

Wayne Perkins David Wayne Perkins (born 1951) is an American rock and R&B guitarist, singer, songwriter and session musician. According to a 2017 feature about him on the Alabama website AL.com, he is "arguably the greatest guitarist Alabama ever produced. ...

– guitar *

Chris Ethridge John Christopher Ethridge (February 10, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band (ISB) and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Pars ...

, Mike Leech,

Norbert Putnam Norbert Auvin Putnam (born August 10, 1942) is an American musician, studio owner and record producer who was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019.Robert McFarland, Jr"Norbert Putnam."'' Delta Business Journal''. November 2004. Acce ...

– bass * Bobby Emmons, Bobby Wood, David Briggs, Glen Spreen,

, Swain Schaefer – Hammond B-3 *Gene Chrisman, Kenny Buttrey, Roger Hawkins – drums *Hayward Bishop – percussion * Andrew Love, Wayne Jackson, Ed Logan – horns * The Black Berries – backing vocals *Glen Spreen - string arrangements ;Technical *Dan Penn, Gene Eichelberger, Jim Johnson, Marlin Greene, Ralph Rhodes,

Terry Manning Terry Manning is an American photographer, composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, audio engineer, and visual artist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ...

– engineers *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of numerous Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Album ...

– art director * Jim Marshall – photography

References

{{Authority control 1971 debut albums Warner Records albums Ronnie Milsap albums