At 80 years old, blind piano player andCountry Music Hall of FamerRonnie Milsap is gearing up for his final Nashville, Tennessee, concert following about six decades of music making.
The Tuesday concert is a tribute event featuring guest singers taking turns singing Milsap’s hits.
Artists on the bill includeKelly Clarkson,Little Big Town, Parker McCollum,Justin Moore,Scotty McCreery, Tracy Lawrence, Randy Houser,Sara Evans, Lorrie Morgan, Trace Adkins, Ricky Skaggs, Steven Curtis Chapman and more.
For many of the artists, the concert is personal. Milsap knew Morgan’s father, George Morgan; Milsap and Skaggs are longtime friends, and McCreery’s earliest memories include Milsap’s music. He said his mother is a huge Milsap fan, and he remembers the whole family riding around in the car singing “Smoky Mountain Rain.”
McCreery remembers Milsap performed a show near his hometown in North Carolina and that he sat down at the piano and played his hits. McCreery also recalls a video screen behind Milsap that showed the singer’s life story and the stories behind the songs.
“It was really an intimate kind of show,” McCreery, 29, told PEOPLE. “That concert was a highlight for young Scotty, for sure.”
McCreery believes Milsap has “a song for every moment in life” and loves the storytelling and expression the pianist uses in his music.
“You can just tell how much fun he’s having singing the songs and how happy it makes him, and how happy it makes the fans listen to his music,” McCreery said. “I just always find my way back to his music, even if it’s been a while.”
Milsap has accumulated more than 40 No. 1 songs throughout his career and bridged multiple genres, including country, rock, pop, funk and rhythm and blues. He was part of the country-pop movement in the late 1970s and early ’80s with hits including “It Was Almost Like a Song,” “Stranger in My House,” “No Gettin' over Me” and “Smoky Mountain Rain.”
Ricky Skaggs; Scotty McCreery; Lorrie Morgan.Jason Davis/Getty Images for CMT; Dave Pedley/Getty Images for iHeartRadio; Taylor Hill/Getty
Jason Davis/Getty Images for CMT; Dave Pedley/Getty Images for iHeartRadio; Taylor Hill/Getty
Morgan’s Milsap memories go back to her childhood, too, when she sat on the roof and listened to his music with her sister. He didn’t play country then but reeled her in with his smooth voice and infectious melodies.
“Oh my God, I love him so much,” Morgan, 64, told PEOPLE.
When she launched her country music career, she shared a stage with Milsap. She remembers concert organizers once asked her to close the show for Milsap instead of open it. She got mad and swore that out of respect, she’d never close a show for Milsap. Then, he came to talk to her.
Skaggs, 69, played shows with Milsap in the early ’80s, and their relationship is different than the one Milsap shares with Morgan. Skaggs remembers joking with him, telling him he “really loved the red shirt” Milsap was wearing, knowing he couldn’t see it.
“He said, ‘Ha, ha, ha. No, you ain’t going to fool me,'” Skaggs recalled, explaining that Milsap was always very independent and enjoyed doing things himself, like wiring electronics or even driving his tour bus.
Skaggs wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it himself. Milsap and Skaggs were playing shows together and on a particularly long drive. They weren’t playing that night but trying to reach a city particularly far away. Their buses traveled together, and Skaggs took a driving shift to give his bus driver a break.
“I’m going down the road, and I see Milsap’s bus coming up beside us,” Skaggs said. “I didn’t slow down, but I looked past Ronnie’s bus driver, and there is Ronnie driving his bus. I almost ran off the road when I saw that. I’m just saying how the guy was fearless.”
Milsap said, “it’s a thrill” to have “these incredibly gifted folks honor my music and me.”
The Final Nashville Show: A Tribute to Ronnie Milsap will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Tickets start at $46.50 and areon sale now at Ticketmaster.com.
source: people.com
