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In His Own Words: Joe Galante On Ronnie Milsap
Photo Courtesy Joe Gallante – Joe Galante (far right) with Ronnie Milsap (second from left) circa 1980 receiving double-platinum honors for Milsap’s Greatest Hits. Also pictured are RCA execs Bob Heatherly and Dave Wheeler.
Joe Galante spent his entire career alongside the soul singer from North Carolina who came up in the black clubs and theaters. Together, he and Ronnie Milsap notched 40 No. 1s, 35 on the Billboard Country Singles charts alone – from albums that have ultimately sold upwards of 40 million copies. A progressive in a company town, Galante sought ways to break ground, push the limits and create artists who would last long after the commercial run.
A champion of Dolly Parton, Alabama, Kenny Rogers, the Judds and Kenny Chesney, Galante found in Milsap a creative force to match his own commitment and risk-taking. Together the two men re-wrote what is possible in – and beyond – the traditional country marketplace. Here, in his own words, is Galante’s take on the country legend.
Ronnie’d been on the label about six months when I got shipped down to Nashville, and Jerry Bradley took me to the King of the Road to hear him. For a guy from New York City who didn’t like country music, it was wild. Ronnie was pop, country, soul all at once – and as a singer and entertainer, I’d never seen anything like it.
I did the first set up with him. Back then, we’d be in the conference room, dialing radio stations to ask for airplay. We’d say, “We’ve got Ronnie Milsap here for you …” after some pleasantries, then put him on. After the first time, he had it all done in Braille – all the stations and names and didn’t need any of us to do promotion. He’d just sit there and make his own calls.
When he got that first taste of crossover with “Almost Like A Song,” he pushed so many boundaries in Nashville at that time. That just fed him. He was willing to take chances. You kept reaching higher and higher, and he’d ask, “Where else could you take it? What else can we bring in?”
He was the first country artist to get on MTV! We did the video for “She Loves My Car,” and had John Doe and Exene from X, Mariska Hargitay. X is how we got on MTV. For someone who can’t see, he could somehow visualize things in his imagination – and when he trusted you, he would really go for it.
When the CMA did their “30th Anniversary Special” from the Kennedy Center, Ronnie did this duet with Ray Charles, who’d been a friend and mentor his whole career. Ray was screwed to the piano, but Ronnie got up, moved around. He was going to follow the sound and find you; in this case, he went over and hugged Ray. He was that kind of fearless.
When he came in with Lost in the Fifties Tonight, people expected certain things from him. This wasn’t it, but it brought all that R&B from his Carolina upbringing and gave it a focus. The doo-wop vocals, the groove. The song went on to win a Grammy and the album became his CMA Album of the Year.
That was the thing about Ronnie: Every time he got up on a stage, there were both the old and the new Nashville – and he endeared himself to them because of how much he gave and loved the music. People responded to that. I know I learned a lot from him. It was never work, but just a joy to be around Ronnie and Joyce, his wife.