Ronnie Milsap reveals personal journey in double CD set

|PIC1|For the first time in his illustrious career, country legend Ronnie Milsap tells his inspirational story through the two CD set Then Sings My Soul: 24 Favourite Hymns Gospel Songs.

This stunning collection includes gospel greats including "I'll Fly Away", "Amazing Grace", "Up To Zion" and secular treasures like "Stand By Me", and "People Get Ready".

Then Sings My Soul marks the first time Milsap delves into the spiritual music that has surrounded his personal life.

"This recording of inspirational songs is going to set a brand new mark for me, especially. My fans, they have indicated they've wanted this for so long," Milsap explains.

"And I was shy to do this for a long time because I didn't necessarily want to show the inside of my soul. It was easy to hide behind 'Daydreams About Night Things' or 'There's No Getting Over Me' or 'Stranger In My House'. It was easier to hide behind those big hits.

"Nobody ever asked me to dig deep inside of your spirit and expose that. That's why it took me a while to be able to do that."

Born in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, Milsap lived in extreme poverty. His family brought him to church revival after church revival in the hopes that a divine intervention would cure their child of his blindness. A young Milsap left those revivals defeated, as his family presumed his own lack of faith prevented the miracle cure from happening.

Throughout this, Milsap's faith was unwavering. At the age of six he moved to Raleigh to attend a state school for the blind and it was there he discovered his musical talents, which he then applied in church. Ironically it was an encounter with Ray Charles, another vision impaired musician who often performed gospel music, which inspired Milsap to focus on music as a career.

"Music has a way of making you feel something in your heart, in your soul. If it did 500 years ago, and it still does today, that's why Mozart and Beethoven are still popular," Milsap says of his goal for Then Sings My Soul.

"The old hymns still hold up, and they still make people feel something. They inspire everybody. They've been a part of my life throughout the years and I hope sharing them will inspire even more people."

Ronnie Milsap has had 40 number one hits and sold over 35 million records. He also received seven Grammy Awards. As a session musician earlier in his career the multi-instrumentalist played with JJ Cale and can be heard on Elvis Presley's "Kentucky Rain" (on piano) and "Don't Cry Daddy" (vocal harmony). In 1985, he established a foundation to assist the blind visually impaired and is an active board member for the American Federation For The Blind.

On the web: www.ronniemilsap.com