Edge Rewrite
translate Source code View original
Jump to content

Ronna Reeves

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ronna Reeves
Born1966 (age 59–60)
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Labels

Ronna Reeves (born 1966)[1][2] is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. She released three albums for Mercury Records between 1991 and 1993, followed by two albums for River North Records in 1995 and 1998. Five of her singles entered the Billboard country chart; the highest, "The More I Learn (The Less I Understand About Love)", reached number 49 in 1992.[3]

Reeves was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist at the 1992 Academy of Country Music Awards.[4] She later became a regular featured singer on The Statler Brothers Show and recorded a duet with Peter Cetera. For her final album, Day 14, she performed under the mononym Ronna and shifted from country music to a pop-rock style.

Early life

[edit]

Reeves began performing as a child while living in Big Spring, Texas. She participated in dance recitals and pageants and studied country standards with local musician Don Tolle. Reeves became the lead vocalist of a group called Short Circuit, which was renamed Texas Gold after moving to San Angelo. By 1984, when she was 18, Reeves had performed for approximately nine years and had shared bills with George Strait, Steve Wariner, Jerry Jeff Walker, the Glaser Brothers, and John Wesley Ryles.[1]

Reeves made an initial attempt to enter the Nashville music industry as a teenager before returning to Texas. In her late teens, she obtained an opening engagement with Strait that lasted approximately 18 months; she subsequently opened shows for performers including Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, and Billy Ray Cyrus.[2][5] Reeves cited singers such as Linda Ronstadt, McEntire, Rosanne Cash, Tanya Tucker, and Emmylou Harris as influences.[2][6]

Career

[edit]

Mercury Records

[edit]

Mercury executive Paul Lucks and record producer Harold Shedd traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to see Reeves perform. Shedd's response to her handling of a troubled live show helped lead to a recording contract with Mercury.[6] The label released her debut album, Only the Heart, in 1991.[7] It received little commercial attention, and Reeves later said that she had restrained her natural vocal style while making it.[6]

Reeves described her second album, The More I Learn (1992), as a more accurate representation of her singing.[6] Produced by Shedd and Clyde Brooks, it included the title song and a duet with Sammy Kershaw, "There's Love on the Line".[6][2] Billboard praised Reeves's country phrasing and the title single's rhythm and hook.[8] "The More I Learn (The Less I Understand About Love)" reached number 49 on the country chart, and the album reached number 72 on Billboard's country albums chart.[3][9] Its follow-up singles, "What If You're Wrong" and "We Can Hold Our Own", peaked at numbers 70 and 71 respectively.[3] Reeves was one of three nominees, with Paulette Carlson and Trisha Yearwood, for Top New Female Vocalist at the 1992 Academy of Country Music Awards.[4] She also performed in the 1993 New Faces of Country Music show organized by Country Radio Seminar.[10]

Mercury released Reeves's third album, What Comes Naturally, in 1993. Shedd and Brooks again produced the album, which was recorded in Nashville and Memphis with musicians and singers including Kenny Greenberg, Jonell Mosser, Kennedy Rose, Bernie Leadon, and John Cowan.[5] A Cash Box review praised Reeves's ability to perform uptempo songs and ballads with equal intensity.[11] The album produced the chart singles "Never Let Him See Me Cry" and "He's My Weakness", which reached numbers 73 and 74.[3]

"He's My Weakness" was written by Gloria Sklerov and Robin Tapp for the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. After Tapp saw Reeves's video for "What If You're Wrong", she approached Reeves through Mercury about recording the song. The album had already been completed, but the label added it as an eleventh track. The song was used in two episodes of the program, and Mercury released it as a single with an accompanying video in August 1993.[12] Reeves also sang television commercials and appeared frequently on The Nashville Network.[13]

River North Records and pop crossover

[edit]

Reeves's relationship with Mercury ended after What Comes Naturally. She signed with the independent River North Records and said that the change allowed her to present an image and musical identity that were closer to her personality.[14] By 1995 she was a regular featured singer on The Statler Brothers Show, then the highest-rated program on The Nashville Network. An Associated Press profile of the series specifically praised the voices of Reeves and fellow regular Crystal Gayle.[15]

River North released After the Dance later in 1995. Produced by Joe Thomas, it was Reeves's first album for the label and followed her three Mercury releases.[16] Billboard gave it a spotlight review and described Reeves as a more confident and relaxed interpreter than on her earlier recordings.[16] The album included the singles "My Heart Wasn't in It" and "Rodeo Man". The promotional disc for "My Heart Wasn't in It" was heart-shaped and was described by Radio & Records as the first noncircular compact disc released in the United States.[17]

Reeves also joined Peter Cetera on a cover of ABBA's "SOS" for his 1995 album One Clear Voice and toured with him.[18] The collaboration led to Cetera producing Reeves's fifth studio album, Day 14 (1998). By then River North had moved away from country albums, and the label promoted the project as pop and rock. Reeves performed under the single name Ronna.[19] She co-wrote seven of its eleven songs, including the single "Sweet Pretender".[20] Oermann described the single as an aggressive move from Reeves's country work toward alternative-influenced rock.[20]

Later music-industry work

[edit]

By 2010, Reeves and Liz Morin were operating Showbiz-Ro, a Nashville company that pitches songs and manages writers. The partners worked with songwriters and presented their compositions to artists, producers, record labels, and managers.[21] In 2017, Reeves and Morin were appointed joint creative directors of Shoebox Music Publishing's Nashville operation.[22]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak positions
US Country
[9]
Only the Heart[7] —
The More I Learn[2]
  • Release year: 1992
  • Label: Mercury
 72
What Comes Naturally[11]
  • Release year: 1993
  • Label: Mercury
 —
After the Dance[16] —
Day 14 (as Ronna)[20]
  • Release year: 1998
  • Label: River North
 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak positions Album
US Country
[3]		 CAN Country
[23]
1990 "Sadly Mistaken"[24] — — Only the Heart
"The Letter"[25] — —
1991 "That's More About Love (Than I Wanted to Know)"[26] — —
1992 "The More I Learn (The Less I Understand About Love)" 49 89 The More I Learn
"What If You're Wrong" 70 75
"We Can Hold Our Own" 71 86
1993 "Never Let Him See Me Cry" 73 85 What Comes Naturally
"He's My Weakness" 74 —
1996 "My Heart Wasn't in It"[27] — — After the Dance
"Rodeo Man"[28] — —
1998 "Sweet Pretender" (as Ronna)[20] — — Day 14
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Organization Category Result
1992 Academy of Country Music Awards Top New Female Vocalist Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "Former resident in concert here". Big Spring Herald. October 3, 1984. p. 8-B.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Krewen, Nick (April 29, 1992). "Ronna Reeves is almost getting used to the big breaks". The Hamilton Spectator. Hamilton, Ontario. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  4. 1 2 "Country Music Awards". The Washington Post. April 26, 1992.
  5. 1 2 Perry, Claudia (September 30, 1993). "Country artist Ronna Reeves waits for big break". The Houston Post. p. D-8 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Cheshire, Cory (March 7, 1992). "Country Spotlight: Ronna Reeves" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 14.
  7. 1 2 "Album Releases" (PDF). Billboard. July 20, 1991. p. 64.
  8. ↑ "Single Reviews: Country" (PDF). Billboard. February 15, 1992.
  9. 1 2 "Top Country Albums" (PDF). Billboard. May 16, 1992.
  10. ↑ "New Faces of Country Music". Country Radio Seminar. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Hogue, Brad (August 14, 1993). "Country Album Reviews: Ronna Reeves, What Comes Naturally" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 22.
  12. ↑ "Ronna Reeves sings ballad on 'One Life'". The Indianapolis Star. August 18, 1993. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Oermann, Robert K. (June 10, 1994). "Ronna Reeves: Act I". The Tennessean. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Caviness, Crystal (April 7, 1995). "The queen of starting over". United Press International.
  15. ↑ Williams, Scott (June 25, 1995). "The Statler Brothers: Tried, True and No. 1 on TNN". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press.
  16. 1 2 3 "Reviews and Previews: Ronna Reeves, After the Dance" (PDF). Billboard. December 2, 1995.
  17. ↑ "River North CD a Heart Act to Follow" (PDF). Radio & Records. April 5, 1996. p. 50.
  18. ↑ "Cetera's the inspiration for S.L. audience". Deseret News. November 6, 1995.
  19. ↑ Gilbert, Calvin (April 3, 1998). "New Nashville Labels Change Directions" (PDF). Radio & Records. pp. 64, 66.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Oermann, Robert K. (June 8, 1998). "Single Reviews: Ronna, Sweet Pretender" (PDF). MusicRow. p. 18.
  21. ↑ Benton, Linda. "The Road to Music Row". CityScope Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  22. ↑ Nicholson, Jessica (June 2, 2017). "Industry Ink: Shoebox Music Publishing Opens in Berry Hill". MusicRow.
  23. ↑ RPM Collection search for "Ronna Reeves" and "Country Singles"
  24. ↑ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. April 21, 1990.
  25. ↑ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. October 13, 1990.
  26. ↑ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. January 26, 1991.
  27. ↑ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Cashbox. March 23, 1996.
  28. ↑ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. August 10, 1996.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ronna_Reeves&oldid=1366398213"