вЂњI was introduced to Ray Charles and I said, вЂњMr. вЂњI went to a Ray Charles show while I was in college and somehow they let us backstage,вЂќ he recalls.

MusicвЂ™s lure proved powerful for the young Milsap, and while heвЂ™d pursued his studies diligently in order to make the grade at law school, a chance meeting with Ray Charles prompted him to take another path that was about to open to him. Ronnie Milsap spent the first six years of his life in a small rural town in the Great Smoky Mountains hamlet of Robbinsville, North Carolina before moving to Raleigh to attend a school for the blind - where he began studying violin and piano, studies heвЂ™d continue for the next 12 years. I know thatвЂ™s going to translate to my fans.вЂќ

I know thatвЂ™s going to translate to the listener. I became very moved by what we were doing. But when I finally got into the studio, it turned out to be such an incredibly, spiritual experience. When we first started just choosing the songs, working through the arrangements, we knew we were on the right track. вЂњItвЂ™s amazing, the deeper I got into the project, the more I felt about it. On вЂњUp to Zion,вЂќ he immerses himself in the electrifying immediacy of traditional gospel, while вЂњWhen Jesus Was All I HadвЂќ - penned by Muscle Shoals-based Donnie Fritts - brings a bluesy-yet- introspective tone to the proceedings. In addition to the old favorites, Milsap found inspiration in a group of newer songs that round out Then Sings My Soul. You know when something is so good and has been written so well that the idea canвЂ™t be said any better? The old hymns are just like that they still hold up, and they still make people feel something- they inspire everybody.вЂќ вЂњIt did it centuries ago, and it still does today, thatвЂ™s why Mozart and Beethoven are still popular. вЂњMusic has a way of making you feel something in your heart, in your soul,вЂќ says the singer. Sonically, the repertoire runs the gamut from the storefront-church rollick of вЂњSwing Down ChariotвЂќ (which finds Milsap taking the lead role in a joyous four-part harmony fest) to the stately elegance of вЂњRock of AgesвЂќ (a showcase for his ever-pristine piano stylings). To illuminate that side, Milsap went back to the deep, rich, gospel tradition of hymns like вЂњHoly Holy HolyвЂќ and вЂњAmazing GraceвЂќ- both presented here in breathlessly ethereal fashion - and transported himself to more modern times for a sweetly soulful вЂњPeople Get ReadyвЂќ that would surely elicit a smile from author Curtis Mayfield. For a long time, I was shy about recording gospel music because I didnвЂ™t necessarily want to show the inside of my soul but now, the spiritual side of me is really shining through.вЂќ вЂњMy belief system is what it is, and this kind of music has always been a big part of my life, and to finally have the chance to get to actually put the spotlight on this side of me as a person is unusual. вЂњYou know, weвЂ™ve all made this journey through life, and IвЂ™ve always been more of a spiritual person than to say that IвЂ™m one in an organized religion,вЂќ says Milsap. The unflaggingly uplifting double-disc finds Milsap revisiting his North Carolina childhood for a collection of songs that capture a remarkable spirit - one sure to resonate with listeners regardless of their musical and cultural backgrounds. ItвЂ™s rare that an artist with more than four decades of accolades to his credit would continue to seek out new challenges, but thatвЂ™s precisely what country soul legend Ronnie Milsap has done with Then Sings My Soul: 24 Favorite Hymns and Gospel Favorites, his first foray into gospel music.

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