Ramon Daniel Pennington (December 22, 1933October 7, 2020) was an 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, o ...

singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for writing the song " I'm a Ramblin' Man", and for founding the independent

Step One Records Step One Records was an independent American record label established in February 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded by singer-songwriter and producer Ray Pennington with Curtis Potter, the former of whom had produced for Way ...

label.

Career

Pennington first performed in a

western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

band called the Western Rhythm Boys, which performed in

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. In 1958, he signed with King Records and released "

Three Hearts in a Tangle "Three Hearts in a Tangle" is a song written by Ray Pennington and Sonny Thompson. It was first recorded by Pennington under the pseudonym "Ray Starr" for King Records in 1958. Pennington was unsatisfied with the quality of the recording and had ...

" under the name Ray Starr. However, Pennington was dissatisfied with the recording, so he asked that it be withdrawn as a single. Pennington then took up record producer and

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

jobs at the label, including a production credit on

Hawkshaw Hawkins Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky ...

' final album, ''Lonesome 7-7203'', one of the first country albums to feature both black and white

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s. He also produced for

The Stanley Brothers The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and Ralph Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016). Ralph and Carter perform ...

and

Reno and Smiley Reno and Smiley were an American musical duo that was composed of Don Reno (May 17, 1925 – October 16, 1984) and Red Smiley (February 21, 1925 – January 2, 1972). They were one of the most acclaimed duos in country and bluegrass music in th ...

, also playing drums for the latter.

Roy Drusky Roy Frank Drusky, Jr. (June 22, 1930 – September 23, 2004) was an American country music singer, songwriter, producer, actor and disc jockey popular from the 1960s through the early 1970s. Known for his baritone voice, he was known for incor ...

covered "Three Hearts in a Tangle", taking his rendition to number 2 on the country charts in 1961. Pennington continued to perform in both the Western Rhythm Boys and another band called the Starliners. He also worked at a record store and released a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

single called "I Have to Laugh to Keep from Crying", also under the name Ray Starr. Pennington moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, in 1964, where he worked at Pamper Music, producing for

Tex Williams Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, " Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held t ...

and Kenny Price, who recorded two of Pennington's songs: "Walking on New Grass" and "Happy Tracks". Pennington signed to

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

in 1966 as a recording artist, charting three songs (including the number 29 " I'm a Ramblin' Man") before leaving. He moved to

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

in 1969, where he charted five more times, but soon left that label to work at

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. While at RCA,

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

covered "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and took it to number 1, as Pennington continued to work as a producer for RCA artists such as Billy Walker and Norma Jean. Pennington charted his last solo single, "She Wanted a Little Bit More", on MRC Records in 1978. He later founded the duo Bluestone with Jerry McBee, and charted "Haven't I Loved You Somewhere Before".Whitburn, p. 53 In 1984, Pennington co-founded

with Mel Holt. Ray Price was the first act signed to the label, and fiddler Clinton Gregory charted three Top 30 hits while on Step One. Western Flyer,

Celinda Pink Celinda Cosby (born 1957), known professionally as Celinda Pink, is a female country music singer. Between 1993 and 1995, she released two studio albums on Step One Records and three singles, including her 1993 single "Pack Your Lies and Go", w ...

and The Geezinslaws were also among the label's roster. While on Step One, Pennington recorded multiple albums with the Swing Shift Band, co-founded with steel guitarist

Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by ...

. This band charted with "Turn Me Loose and Let Me Swing" in 1988.Whitburn, p. 413 Step One closed in 1998.

Death

Pennington died on October 7, 2020, at his home in

Hendersonville, Tennessee Hendersonville is the largest city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 61,753 at the 2020 census. Hendersonville is the fourth-largest city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nashville, Murfreesboro, ...

. He was 86, and died after entering a garage that had caught fire. His wife, Mama Charlotte, was able to escape unharmed.

Discography

Albums

Source: AllMusic

In the Swing Shift Band

Source: AllMusic

Singles

Source: AllMusic

References

External links

*
Entries at 45cat.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, Ray 1933 births 2020 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Capitol Records artists Monument Records artists Country musicians from Kentucky People from Clay County, Kentucky Step One Records artists American country record producers Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Record producers from Kentucky 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers Accidental deaths in Tennessee Deaths from fire in the United States