R. C. Bannon (born Daniel Shipley; May 2, 1945) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer. Active since 1977, Bannon has recorded for the Columbia and

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

labels. He was also married to singer

Louise Mandrell Thelma Louise Mandrell (born July 13, 1954) is an American country music music artist (occupation), singer. She is the younger sister of fellow country singer Barbara Mandrell, and older sister of musician Irlene Mandrell. Louise had a successfu ...

from 1979 to 1991, and charted six duets with her in addition to 12 singles of his own. His highest-charting single was his 1979 cover of the

Peaches & Herb Peaches & Herb is an American vocal duo. Herb Fame (born October 1, 1941) has remained a constant as "Herb" since the duo was created in 1966; seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches", most notably Francine Edna "Peaches" Hurd B ...

hit " Reunited," recorded as a duet with Mandrell, that reached number 13 on the country music charts in 1979; his most successful solo single is "Winners and Losers" at number 26. In addition to recording as a solo artist and with Mandrell, Bannon co-wrote songs for

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, h ...

, Bobby G. Rice,

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American retired country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful mus ...

and

Steve Azar Stephen Thomas Azar (born April 11, 1964) is an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and philanthropist. Active since 1996, he has released a total of seven studio albums: one on the former River North Records, one on Mercury N ...

Biography

Bannon was born in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. There, he sang in his family's church choir as a child, later taking interest in rock music as well as

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

. He also played guitar in several rock bands during the late 1950s and into the 1960s. In the mid-1960s, Bannnon's family moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, where he performed in nightclubs and sang on a local television program every morning, in addition to working as a disc jockey, for KUUU, an oldies format station. It was during his tenure as a disc jockey that he took the professional name R.C. Bannon. After opening for

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

, Robbins encouraged him to move to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

; Bannon declined at first, and attempted to sign to various labels near California. He briefly signed a contract with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, but did not release anything for that label.

Musical career

Finally, in 1976, Bannon moved to Nashville. There, he worked at a

discotheque A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and ...

, and later began meeting other singers and songwriters, including one named Harlan Sanders. After signing to a songwriting contract, he had his songs recorded by Robbins, as well as singles released by Bobby G. Rice ("The Softest Touch in Town") and

(the Number One "

Only One Love in My Life ''Only One Love in My Life'' is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country mus ...

"). In 1977, he signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, who released his debut album, ''R.C. Bannon Arrives''. Three of the album's cuts made the

Hot Country Songs 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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts, including the No. 33 "It Doesn't Matter Anymore." The album included several songs that Bannon co-wrote, most in collaboration with

John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist and songwriter whose songs have sold more than 250 million records worldwide, recorded by some of the most prominent artists of the late twentieth century. His work crosses man ...

. By 1979, he married

, with whom he would chart six duets, including the No. 13 "Reunited," his highest-charting single. This led to

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

nominations in 1980 for Vocal Group of the Year, Louise also was nominated for Best New Female Vocalist, and R.C. won the Best New Male Vocalist Award. The two released five duets albums between 1979 and 1982. He and Bettis also co-wrote "

One of a Kind Pair of Fools "One of a Kind Pair of Fools" is a song written by R.C. Bannon and John Bettis, and recorded by American country music artist Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American retired country music singer and music ...

" for Louise's sister,

. Bannon continued to perform as a musician in Mandrell's show, even after divorcing her in 1991. In the 2000s, Bannon co-wrote

's " I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)." He subsequently married Natalie McGill.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Duets with Louise Mandrell

Other charted songs

;Notes

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bannon, R.C. 1945 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Musicians from Dallas RCA Records artists Singer-songwriters from Texas Country musicians from Texas