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 musi ...

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, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

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 advertis ...

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. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

's recordings of his songs " I'm Sorry", " Sweet Nothin's", and " Everybody Loves Me But You" 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 wa ...

, was awarded a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

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 starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons. It was directed by Stanley Donen, with a screenplay adapted by Hugh Williams and Margaret Vyner from t ...

" in the United States). He died in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, 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