Ronnie Self (July 5, 1938 – August 28, 1981) was an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

singer and songwriter. His solo career was unsuccessful, despite being signed to contracts with Columbia and then

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. His only charted single was "Bop-A-Lena"; recorded in 1957 and released in 1958, it reached No. 68 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

charts. His boastful country anthem "Ain't I'm a Dog" was a regional hit in the South, but failed to score nationally. It reached #31 in Australia and Bop-A-Lena #25. A talented performer and songwriter, Self's career was blighted by his severe alcoholism and erratic behavior, including incidents of violence. However,

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

's recordings of his songs " I'm Sorry", "

Sweet Nothin's Sweet Nothin's is a 1959 song by Brenda Lee written by Ronnie Self. It peaked at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 12 on the Hot R&B Sides chart, in 1960. The song (as Sweet Nuthin's) also charted on the UK Singles Chart in 1960, peakin ...

", and "

Everybody Loves Me But You "Everybody Loves Me But You" is a song written by Ronnie Self and performed by Brenda Lee. The song reached #2 on the adult contemporary chart and #6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1962. The song was ranked #73 on '' Billboard'' magazine's Top ...

" became major pop classics. His country gospel song "Ain't That Beautiful Singing", recorded by

Jake Hess Jake Hess (December 24, 1927 – January 4, 2004) was an American Grammy Award-winning southern gospel singer.McNeil, W.K., Ed. (2010). ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music''. Routledge. . Pp. 201-202. Life The son of "a sharecropper who was ...

, was awarded a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Sacred Performance in 1969. He also wrote Brenda Lee's 1963 No. 28 UK hit single "Sweet Impossible You" (the B-side to "

The Grass is Greener ''The Grass Is Greener'' is a 1960 British romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons. The screenplay was adapted by Hugh Williams and Margaret Vyner from the play of ...

" in the United States). He died in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, in 1981 aged 43.

References

American rock singers American rockabilly musicians Norton Records artists 1938 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American singers {{US-rock-singer-stub