Ronnie Dove

First single:
Dove RINC 1021

Ronnie Dove (born September 7, 1935 in Herndon, Virginia ) is an American singer who was successful in pop music and country in the 1960s.

biography

At first, Dove planned to become a cop like his father, but even as a high school graduate sang in a rock group. He later appeared in clubs in Baltimore and, after serving for some time with the Coast Guard, founded the vocal group The Bell Tones (later Beltones). The band became particularly popular on the east coast and released two singles in 1959 and 1961 . The first was launched in-house with the titles Lover Boy / I Will be Around under Dove RINC 1021, the second, Party Doll / Yes Darling, I'll be Around , was released by Decca under 31288.

In 1964, after leaving the Beltones and settling in Nashville , Dove signed a recording deal with the New York record company Diamond . In the spring of 1964 Diamond brought the first Dove single with the title Sweeter Than Sugar / I Believed in You (No. 193) on the market. This was unsuccessful at first, but it came with the second record. The title Say You (No. 167) was listed on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in July 1964 and was ranked 40th as the best ranking. Dove thus opened a series of successful titles that extended to 1967. His most successful songs were Right or Wrong (1964) and One Kiss for Old Times' Sake (1965), both of which advanced to number 14. In 1966 alone, Dove was able to place itself in the top 40 with five titles. It was last listed on the Hot 100 in May 1969 with I Need You Now (93rd).

After a short interlude at Certron Records, New York, where the long-playing record Greatest All-Time Hits was released in 1970 , Dove got a recording contract with Decca / MCA in 1971 and now began to concentrate mainly on country music. With Kiss the Hurt Away (61st) and Lilacs in Winter (69th), two singles made it into the country charts. In 1975 Dove changed the label again and signed with Melodyland / Hitsville, the country label of Motown , Detroit. There there were six single productions by 1976, of which the 1975 title Things developed into Dove's most successful country song. It came to number 25 on the country charts. In 1987 Dove reactivated Diamond Records, acquired all rights to his Diamond productions and brought out two more country singles, both of which returned to the country charts.

Then Dove retired from the record business. In addition to appearing on radio and television shows, he was committed to helping mentally handicapped people. He ran a night club and turned to golf. Between 1989 and 1991 he took care of his seriously ill mother. Only after her death did he set off again on a major tour through the States and Canada.

Pop charts top 50

Successful single 1965:
A Little Bit of Heaven
(Diamond # 184)

year	title	rank
1964	Say you	40.
1964	Right or Wrong	14th
1965	One Kiss for Old Times' Sake	14th
1965	A Little Bit of Heaven	16.
1965	I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True	21st
1965	Kiss Away	25th
1966	When Liking Turns to Loving	18th
1966	Let's start all over again	20th
1966	Happy Summer Days	27.
1966	I really don't want to know	22nd
1966	Cry	18th
1967	One More Mountain to Climb	45.
1967	My babe	50.

Country charts

year	title	rank
1972	Kiss the hurt away	61.
1973	Lilacs in winter	69.
1975	Please come to Nashville	75.
1975	Things	25th
1987	Heart	77.
1987	Rise and Shine	73.

Vinyl long-playing records

title	Catalog no.	year
Right or Wrong	Diamond 5002	1964
One Kiss for Old Times' Sake	Diamond 5003	1965
I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True	Diamond 5004	1966
The best of Ronnie Dove	Diamond 5005	1966
Ronnie Dove Sings the Hits for You	Diamond 5006	1966
Cry	Diamond 5007	1967
The Best of Ronnie Dove, Vol. 2	Diamond 5008	1967
Greatest All Time Hits	Certron CS7011	1970
Ronnie Dove	MCA 309	1973
New Old Fashioned Love	MotownMC 509S1	1977
Livin 'in the country	MotownMC 510S1	1977

Web links

• Biography at www.ronniedove.com
• Discography at www.rocky-52.net