Ronnie Self

Early life and initial recording at ABC-Paramount

Ronald Keith Self was born on July 5, 1938, in Tin Town, Greene County, Missouri, the eldest of five children of Raymond and Hazel (née Sprague) Self.^[2] From an early age he displayed symptoms of instability, with documented incidents including felling a tree across a road to block school bus access and attacking a teacher with a baseball bat.^[2] He was raised in Springfield, Missouri, then the production base of ABC's nationally broadcast country music program Ozark Jubilee, hosted by Red Foley. Self frequently submitted demo tapes to local radio station KWTO, the station central to the Jubilee's operation, resulting in Foley's manager Dub Albritten arranging for Self to record four songs at ABC-Paramount Records on April 24, 1956.^[2] "Pretty Bad Blues" and "Three Hearts Later" comprised the A-side and B-side of Self's debut single, released in June 1956, which was commercially unsuccessful.^[2] A second release, catalogued as ABC 9768 and composed of "Sweet Love" and "Alone," is known only from catalogue records; no copy or master recording has been located.^[2]

Columbia Records (1957–1958)

Albritten secured Self a slot in the Philip Morris Country Music Show, a touring package whose cast included Carl Smith, Red Sovine, Goldie Hill, Gordon Terry, and Mimi Roman.^[4][5] Self was the sole rockabilly artist on a predominantly country bill, and his physically volatile stage performances quickly attracted attention.^[6] His performances earned him the nickname "Mr. Frantic," promoted by Albritten.^[2][7] In February 1957, Albritten secured Self a record contract with Columbia Records. Recording at Bradley's Barn in Nashville, Tennessee, with session musicians Grady Martin and Hank Garland on guitars, Floyd Chance on bass, Buddy Harman on drums, and Floyd Cramer on piano, produced by Don Law.^[2] The first session produced "Big Fool" b/w "Flame of Love."

A subsequent single, "Ain't I'm a Dog," written by Troy Martin and Wayne Walker,^[8] achieved regional success across the southern United States and was identified by Self's sister Dorothy as his best-selling record.^[9] Critic Bruce Eder described its delivery as carrying "a proto-punk snarl," with its central lyric — "Forget about the danger and think of the fun" — anticipating the posture of garage rock by nearly a decade.^[2] Bob Dylan later featured the recording on the "Dogs" episode of his XM Satellite Radio program Theme Time Radio Hour (Season 1, Episode 16, 2006), remarking: "It's a shame he didn't have more success as a singer, because the few records that he did make rocked like nobody's business."^[10]

On December 16, 1957, Self recorded two tracks with drummer Buddy Harman and a new lineup of session musicians including guitarists John T. Hill and Ray Edenton, bassist Roy Huskey Jr., and pianist Marvin Hughes.^[2] This session produced "Bop-A-Lena," written by Webb Pierce and Mel Tillis, and "You're So Right for Me."^[11] "Bop-A-Lena" became Self's only nationally charted recording, peaking at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1958 and reaching No. 25 in Australia.^[2] Billboard noted in its April 14, 1958 issue that the single appeared at No. 86 among the Top 100 Sides for the week ending April 5, ahead of Elvis Presley's "I Beg of You."^[12]

"Big Blon' Baby," from this period, was subsequently covered by Jerry Lee Lewis in November 1958.^[2] Columbia issued "Date Bait" b/w "Big Blon' Baby" as Self's third single, and while "You're So Right for Me" b/w "Petrified" was released in September 1958, after which his contract was not renewed.^[2] A survey of readers published in The Cash Box in 1958 placed Ronnie Self as one of the "Most Promising New Country Male Vocalist of 1958" alongside Wayne Walker, Conway Twitty, ^[13]

Decca Records and songwriting success (1959–1962)

From 1959 to 1962, Self was contracted to Decca Records, where he recorded under producer Owen Bradley. None of his singles achieved significant chart success, though "So High" received positive reviews in Cash Box^[14][2] His greatest commercial successes during this period came as a songwriter. Brenda Lee, who shared Albritten as a manager, recorded several of Self's compositions with major results: "Sweet Nothin's" reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1960;^[2] "I'm Sorry," considered repetitive by Bradley and initially released as the B-side to "That's All You Gotta Do," overtook its A-side and reached No. 1 in mid-1960, with the writer's credit shared between Self and Albritten;^[15] "Anybody But Me" reached No. 31 in 1961; and "Everybody Loves Me But You" reached No. 6 in 1962.^[2]

The co-writing arrangement between Self and Albritten is explained in Lee's autobiography:

Ronnie was burning bridges left and right. But Dub kept loaning him money and arranging for song-publishing deals and recording sessions, eventually including some with Owen Bradley at Decca. Dub wasn't a songwriter, but his name is listed as the cowriter on a lot of Ronnie's songs. I don't think he was trying to be dishonest. That was the only way Dub could hope to recoup all the money he'd invested in that crazy guy.^[15]

Among other artists who recorded Self's compositions during this period were Carl Perkins ("Mama of My Song") and Jerry Lee Lewis ("Love on Broadway," recorded at Lewis's final Sun Records session but unreleased until 1971).^[2]

Later recording career, personal deterioration, and death (1963–1981)

Following the conclusion of his Decca contract, Self recorded isolated singles for Kapp Records (1963), Scratch Records (1967), and Amy Records (1968). Self issued no full-length album in his lifetime.^[2] In the 1960s, he began using amphetamines, smoking cannabis in addition to alcohol dependency.^[2] Following the death of Dub Albritten in 1971, his behavior became increasingly erratic. Upon discovering that his gold record of "I'm Sorry" would not play on his stereo, he burned his songwriter awards in front of his publisher's office on Music Row.^[16][2]

Despite his deteriorating condition, Self retained a following in Europe, where he was regarded as a significant figure in rockabilly history.^[2] He suffered from cirrhosis in later years, was living in an extended stay motel in Springfield, Missouri when he combined ethanol and pills and had a fatal heart attack on August 28, 1981, at the age of 43.^[16] His son, Roman Self (born 1963), is an independent rockabilly artist who recorded a tribute album entitled A Tribute to Ronnie Self in 2005.^[17]

As a performer

Self's recorded output as a performer spans four labels across twelve years and was never collected in a full-length album during his lifetime. At Columbia, the body of work he produced retrospectively occupies an unusual position at the intersection of rockabilly, garage rock, and what would later be identified as proto-punk. The Decca recordings from 1959–1962 were all produced by Owen Bradley, and include several sides that remained unissued until the 1990 Bear Family retrospective Bop-A-Lena and the subsequent 2023 compilation Rocks. Among these, "Some Other World" has attracted attention for its lyric: "Down with your theories / Down with your conventions / This cat lives in another dimension." "Go Go the Cannibal," recorded November 15, 1960,^[8] and shelved by Bradley, presents surrealist and transgressive imagery with no clear precedent in mainstream country or rockabilly of its era; "Ugly Stick" and "Houdini".

Norton Records later released the EP Mr. Frantic (Norton EP-024), documenting his 1958 stage performances of "Rocky Road Blues," "Flame of Love," and "Bop-A-Lena" alongside a contemporaneous radio interview — the primary audio document of his live performance style outside of the studio, and advertised releases and reissues after Self's death.^[18]

Songs written for others

Self's most commercially significant work as a songwriter came through his partnership with Albritten, whose management roster provided access to artists and labels that Self's own performing career never reached. As such, his songwriting credits span pop, country music, folk music, garage and swamp rock. Years after "Mama of My Song," Carl Perkins recorded a swamp rock track composed by Self, "A Lion in the Jungle," in 1969.

"Ain't That Beautiful Singing" was recorded by Southern gospel vocalist Jake Hess in 1970, receiving the Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance^[19] at the 1970 Grammy Awards.^[20] Music writer Jeff Burger described the achievement as "a 180-degree turn from delinquent teenager to inspirational songwriter."^[10]

His country originals include "Wake Up and Worry," recorded and released by Dusty Cook on Delta Records, as well as I Started World War I, recorded ^[21] and "The Only Way I Laugh" by Burl Ives in 1977. Self also composed "Somebody's Son" and "Little Miss Lovelight" for The Tikis, a garage rock band based in Dothan, Alabama, of which his brother was a member, released on Dial Records in October 1966 and produced by Finley Duncan.^[22] Both songs were later included on the compilation Psychedelic States: Alabama in the 60s, Vol. 2.^[22]