Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired

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 between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 Number One hits: " Somebody Lied", " Life Turned Her That Way", ' Don't We All Have the Right", " I'll Leave This World Loving You", " From a Jack to a King" (a cover of the Ned Miller hit), " Living Proof", " I've Cried My Last Tear for You", " Rockin' Years" (a duet with

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

), " I Am a Simple Man", and " Keep It Between the Lines". Besides these, seven more of his singles landed in the Top 10 on the same chart. He also released nine studio albums, of which his first four were certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Early life

He was born at Danville Regional Medical Center in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

, United States, to Jenks and Eloise Shelton in 1952, but was raised in Grit, Virginia, and went to High school in Gretna, Virginia. Although "Van" is a common portion of surnames derived from people of Dutch origin, "Van" in this case is Shelton's middle name. He started using his middle name to avoid confusion with another Ricky Shelton in Grit. Shelton's father sang gospel music while he was still a child, and from this Shelton also sang gospel, but he also liked pop music. He was soon in church, singing gospel. When he was a teenager, however, Shelton discovered country music. He soon started singing in his brother's band, singing country music, and performed at any local gathering he could.

Musical career

Move to Nashville

After he graduated from high school, Shelton started performing in area clubs and also worked a series of jobs. In 1984, Bettye Witt, his girlfriend at the time (and, since August 4, 1986, wife) found a job in

Nashville, Tennessee 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 ...

, and Shelton went along with her. In Nashville, Shelton tried to land a deal with a recording contract, and worked in area nightclubs. In 1986, Jerry Thompson, a newspaper columnist, heard one of Shelton's demos, and arranged an audition with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Soon thereafter, Shelton was offered a recording contract with CBS, with Jerry Thompson serving as his manager. In that same year, he recorded his first album, ''

Wild-Eyed Dream ''Wild-Eyed Dream'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Ricky Van Shelton. The first singles released from the album from 1986 to 1988 were "Wild-Eyed Dream" and "Crime of Passion", which charted at #24 and #7, respectivel ...

''. The title track was released as a single, and reached No. 24 on the Country charts.

1986–1988: ''Wild-Eyed Dream''

'' became successful for Shelton and his record label. The next song from the album, "Crime of Passion" gained him an even bigger hit on the Country charts, when it reached the Top 10 early that year. The follow-up was an even bigger success. This next song was called "Somebody Lied", and in December 1987 it became his first No. 1 on the

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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. ...

chart. Nine other songs would make it to No. 1 on the Country charts during his career. He had a pair of other No. 1 singles from his debut album: "Life Turned Her That Way" and "Don't We All Have the Right". His album reached the No. 1 spot on the Top Country Albums chart in 1987, was one of the biggest-selling Country albums of the year, and it made Shelton one of the most successful male vocalists of that year.

1988–1989: ''Loving Proof''

He achieved equal success the next year with a new album and a new single. The album was titled '' Loving Proof'', and it too was a No. 1 Billboard Country album. The album spawned three No. 1 hits for Shelton. These songs were, "I'll Leave This World Loving You" (for two weeks in November 1988), "From a Jack to a King" (in March 1989), and " Living Proof" (in October 1989). "From a Jack to a King" was a remake of the original by Ned Miller. By this time in country music,

Neo-Traditionalism Neo-traditionalism or neotraditionalism may refer to: * New Urbanism, a movement in architecture * Neotraditionalism (politics), a school of political thought ** Islamic neo-traditionalism ** Traditionalism (Spain) ("neotradicionalismo"), a poli ...

was in its peak, and because of this, so was Shelton's career, just like so many of his counterparts, like

Clint Black Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 1989, Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'' produced four straight number one singles ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

, and

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

1989–1991: ''RVS III'', Christmas album and children's books

His albums continued to win him praise and keep him high on the charts. His third album was no different. Titled '' RVS III'', this album spawned only one No. 1 single, called "I've Cried My Last Tear For You". Although this was his only No. 1 from the album, two singles came close, "Statue of a Fool" (originally recorded by

Jack Greene Jack Henry Greene (January 7, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American country musician. Nicknamed the "Jolly Greene Giant" due to his height and deep voice, Greene was a long time member of the Grand Ole Opry. A three-time Grammy Award nominee ...

) and "I Meant Every Word He Said", both of which reached number 2 on the Country charts. By now in his career, Shelton was one of Country music's most successful male vocalists. All his albums around this time had been certified by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

, and were also all No. 1 albums on the "Top Country Albums" chart. In 1990, he recorded a Christmas album titled '' Ricky Van Shelton Sings Christmas''. Around the same time, Shelton wrote a series of children's books. The first two titles of his books were, ''Tales From a Duck Named Quacker'' and ''Quacker Meets Mrs. Moo''. The series also contains "Quacker Meets Canadian Goose" and were all illustrated by Shan Williams Burklow.

1991–1992: ''Backroads''

Shelton continued his success as the decade began to progress. The next year, 1991, proved another successful year for Shelton. He duetted on the song, " Rockin' Years" with

(which also went to No. 1), as well as a new album, titled, '' Backroads''. The album featured his last No. 1 hits, along with a number 13 hit called "After the Lights Go Out". His hit streak continued up until this year, and his album was just as successful as his songs.

1992–1993: ''Greatest Hits Plus'', ''Don't Overlook Salvation'' and alcoholism

By 1992, Shelton's success on the country charts was tapering off and, like many others in the industry, he was swept out of popularity by the changes in country music that arrived in the early 1990s. He enjoyed one last Top 10 hit (which actually reached number 5) titled "Wild Man", which was put on his newest album, called ''Greatest Hits Plus''. Another single, " Just as I Am", was featured on his ''Greatest Hits'' album, but it only made the Top 30 that year. He also released a

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

album titled '' Don't Overlook Salvation''. In 1992, Shelton admitted that he suffered from alcoholism and sought help to recover his sobriety.

1993–1994: ''Love and Honor'' and departure from Columbia

By 1993, it was clear that Shelton was winding farther and farther away from the top ten on the Country charts. In 1994, he had his last top 40 hit with "Where Was I". After 1994's '' Love and Honor'' album, Shelton decided to leave Columbia Records. After being under Columbia Records, Shelton was absent from the Country chart for a long period of time. However, Columbia continued to release Greatest Hits collections to the public. Shelton continued to work on other projects during this time, which did not mean giving up performing.

1997–1999: ''Making Plans'' and label formation

In 1997, Shelton formed his own label, titled RVS Records. That same year, he released his first album in three years, titled '' Making Plans''. Shelton financed the project himself however, and worked out to release his album only to

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

stores.

2000–2001: ''Fried Green Tomatoes''

In 2000, Shelton signed with the Audium label, where he made another album called ''

Fried Green Tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel '' Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, J ...

'', which spawned his first single in over five years called "The Decision", but it failed to make a substantial impact on the Country chart.

2006–present: Retirement

In May 2006, Shelton announced that he would be retiring from touring to spend more time with his family. Since then, Shelton has effectively disappeared from public life, focusing instead on painting and writing children's books.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (1987) * '' Loving Proof'' (1988) * '' RVS III'' (1990) * '' Backroads'' (1991) * '' Don't Overlook Salvation'' (1992) * '' A Bridge I Didn't Burn'' (1993) * '' Love and Honor'' (1994) * '' Making Plans'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

, - ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, " Rockin' Years" ,

Best Country Collaboration with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do ...

American Music Awards

, - ,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, ''

'' , Favorite Country Album , , - ,

, Ricky Van Shelton , Favorite Country Male Artist ,

Music City News Country Awards & TNN/Music City News Country Awards

, - , rowspan=3, 1988 , " Somebody Lied" , Single of the Year , , - , rowspan=3, Ricky Van Shelton , Star of Tomorrow , , - , rowspan=2, Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan=5,

, , - , rowspan=2, " I'll Leave This World Loving You" , Single of the Year , , - , Video of the Year , , - , '' Loving Proof'' , Album of the Year , , - , Ricky Van Shelton , Entertainer of the Year , , - , rowspan=3,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, " Living Proof" , Single of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Ricky Van Shelton , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Entertainer of the Year , , - , rowspan=5,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, rowspan=2, " I Meant Every Word He Said" , Single of the Year , , - , Video of the Year , , - , '' RVS III'' , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Ricky Van Shelton , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Entertainer of the Year , , - , rowspan=6,

, " Keep It Between the Lines" , Single of the Year , , - , " Rockin' Years" , Video of the Year , , - ,

and Ricky Van Shelton , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , - , '' Backroads'' , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=4, Ricky Van Shelton , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Entertainer of the Year , , - ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, rowspan=2, Male Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan=3,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, , - , "A Couple of Good Years Left" , Video of the Year , , - , '' A Bridge I Didn't Burn'' , rowspan=2, Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=4,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, '' Love and Honor'' , , - , rowspan=6, Ricky Van Shelton , Christian Country Artist of the Year , , - , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Entertainer of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Christian Country Artist of the Year , , - , Male Artist of the Year , , - ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, Christian Country Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, '' Making Plans'' , Album of the Year , , - , Ricky Van Shelton , Male Artist of the Year ,

TNN Viewers' Choice Awards

, - , rowspan=2, 1988 , Ricky Van Shelton , Favorite Newcomer of the Year , , - , " Somebody Lied" , Favorite Song of the Year , , - , rowspan=5,

, rowspan=2, Ricky Van Shelton , Favorite Entertainer of the Year , , - , Favorite Male Vocalist of the Year , , - , '' Loving Proof'' , Favorite Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, " I'll Leave This World Loving You" , Favorite Song of the Year , , - , Favorite Video of the Year ,

Academy of Country Music Awards

, - , rowspan=3, 1988 , Ricky Van Shelton , Top New Male Vocalist , , - , rowspan=2, " Somebody Lied" , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Single Record of the Year , , - , rowspan=3,

, " I'll Leave This World Loving You" , , - , '' Loving Proof'' , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=3, Ricky Van Shelton , rowspan=3, Top Male Vocalist of the Year , , - ,

, , - , rowspan=2,

, , - , '' RVS III'' , rowspan=2, Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

, '' Backroads'' , , - ,

and Ricky Van Shelton , Top Vocal Duo of the Year ,

Country Music Association Awards

, - , rowspan=3, 1988 , " Somebody Lied" , Single of the Year , , - , rowspan=3, Ricky Van Shelton , Horizon Award , , - , rowspan=2, Male Vocalist of the Year , , - , rowspan=4,

, , - , " I'll Leave This World Loving You" , Single of the Year , , - , '' Loving Proof'' , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Ricky Van Shelton , Entertainer of the Year , , - , rowspan=3,

, Male Vocalist of the Year , , - , '' RVS III'' , Album of the Year , , - , Ricky Van Shelton , Entertainer of the Year , , - ,

, " Rockin' Years" , Vocal Event of the Year , Nominated alongside

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Ricky Van 1952 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Grand Ole Opry members People from Danville, Virginia Columbia Records artists Singer-songwriters from Virginia Country musicians from Virginia