Ricky Van Shelton

Biography

Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 number-one hits: "Somebody Lied", "Life Turned Her That Way", 'Don't We All Have the Right", "I'll Leave This World Loving You", "From a Jack to a King" (a cover of the Ned Miller hit), "Living Proof", "I've Cried My Last Tear for You", "Rockin' Years" (a duet with Dolly Parton), "I Am a Simple Man", and "Keep It Between the Lines". Besides these, seven more of his singles landed in the top 10 on the same chart. He also released nine studio albums, of which his first four were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Early life

He was born at Danville Regional Medical Center in Danville, Virginia, United States, to Jenks and Eloise Shelton in 1952, but was raised in Grit, Virginia, and went to high school in Gretna, Virginia. Although "Van" (meaning "of" or "from") is a common portion of surnames derived from people of Dutch origin, "Van" in this case is Shelton's middle name. He started using his middle name to avoid confusion with another Ricky Shelton in Grit.
Shelton's father sang gospel music while he was still a child, and from this, Shelton also sang gospel, but he liked pop music as well. He was soon in church, singing gospel. When he was a teenager, however, Shelton discovered country music. He soon started singing country music in his brother's band and performed at any local gathering he could.

Move to Nashville

After he graduated from high school, Shelton started performing in area clubs and also worked a series of jobs. In 1984, Bettye Witt, his girlfriend at the time (and since August 4, 1986, wife) found a job in Nashville, Tennessee, and Shelton went along with her. In Nashville, Shelton tried to land a deal with a recording contract, and worked in area nightclubs. In 1986, Jerry Thompson, a newspaper columnist, heard one of Shelton's demonstration tapes, and arranged an audition with Columbia Records. Soon thereafter, Shelton was offered a recording contract with CBS, with Jerry Thompson serving as his manager. In that same year, he recorded his first album, Wild-Eyed Dream. The title track was released as a single, and reached number 24 on the country charts.

1986–1988: Wild-Eyed Dream

Wild-Eyed Dream became successful for Shelton and his record label. The next song from the album, "Crime of Passion", gained him an even bigger hit on the country charts, when it reached the top 10 early that year. The follow-up was an even larger success. This next song was called "Somebody Lied", and in December 1987, it became his first number one on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Nine other songs made it to number one on the country charts during his career. He had a pair of other number-one singles from his debut album: "Life Turned Her That Way" and "Don't We All Have the Right". His album reached the highest spot on the Top Country Albums chart in 1987, was one of the largest-selling country albums of the year, and it made Shelton one of the most successful male vocalists of that year.

1988–1989: Loving Proof

He achieved equal success the next year with a new album and a new single. The album was titled Loving Proof×Loving Proof1988 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Swimming Upstream3:022I'll Leave This World Loving You3:073From a Jack to a King2:224Let Me Live With Love (And Die With You)2:595Living Proof3:236Hole in My Pocket2:327The Picture2:578Somebody's Back in Town2:359Don't Send Me No Angels3:0210He's Got You3:14, and it was also a number-one Billboard country album. The album spawned three number-one hits for Shelton. These songs were "I'll Leave This World Loving You" (for two weeks in November 1988), "From a Jack to a King" (in March 1989), and "Living Proof" (in October 1989). "From a Jack to a King" was a remake of the original by Ned Miller. By this time in country music, neotraditionalism was in its peak, and because of this, so was Shelton's career, just like many of his counterparts, including Clint Black, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Skaggs, The Judds, Patty Loveless and Garth Brooks.

1989–1991: RVS III, Christmas album and children's books

His albums continued to win him praise and keep him high on the charts; his third album was no different. Titled RVS III, this album spawned only a number-one single, called "I've Cried My Last Tear For You". Although this was his only number one from the album, two singles came close, "Statue of a Fool" (originally recorded by Jack Greene) and "I Meant Every Word He Said", both of which reached number two on the country charts. By now in his career, Shelton was one of country music's most successful male vocalists. Each of his albums around this time had been certified by the RIAA as platinum, and were also all number-one albums on the Top Country Albums chart. In 1990, he recorded a Christmas album titled Ricky Van Shelton Sings Christmas×Ricky Van Shelton Sings Christmas19 September 1989 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1I'll Be Home for Christmas3:072White Christmas3:203Santa Claus Is Coming to Town1:524Silver Bells3:095Silent Night2:216Christmas2:497Please Come Home for Christmas2:348Pretty Paper2:499Country Christmas2:3510Christmas Long Ago3:0911What Child Is This3:07.
Around the same time, Shelton wrote a series of children's books. The first two titles of his books were Tales From a Duck Named Quacker and Quacker Meets Mrs. Moo. The series also contains "Quacker Meets Canadian Goose" and were all illustrated by Shan Williams Burklow.

1991–1992: Backroads

Shelton continued his success as the decade began to progress. 1991 proved to be another successful year for Shelton. He duetted on the song, "Rockin' Years" with Dolly Parton (which also went to number one), and a new album, titled, Backroads×Backroads21 May 1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1I Am a Simple Man3:272Rockin' Years3:263Oh Heart of Mine3:194Some Things Are Better Left Alone3:085After the Lights Go Out3:196Call Me Up2:487If Your Ever in My Arms3:308Who'll Turn Out the Lights2:429Backroads3:4210Keep It Between the Lines3:48. The album featured his last number-one hits, along with a number-13 hit called "After the Lights Go Out". His hit streak continued until this year, and his album was just as successful as his songs.

1992–1993: Greatest Hits Plus, Don't Overlook Salvation, and alcoholism

By 1992, Shelton's success on the country charts was tapering off, and like many others in the industry, he was swept out of popularity by the changes in country music that arrived in the early 1990s. He enjoyed one last top-10 hit (which actually reached number five) titled "Wild Man", that was put on his newest album, called Greatest Hits Plus×Greatest Hits Plus11 August 1992 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Just as I Am3:112Wild Man3:193Somebody Lied3:214I’ve Cried My Last Tear for You2:295I’ll Leave This World Loving You3:076Statue of a Fool3:047I Am a Simple Man3:268Life Turned Her That Way3:239Keep It Between the Lines3:4910Rockin’ Years3:2711From a Jack to a King2:2212Living Proof3:2113Don’t We All Have the Right2:3414Wear My Ring Around Your Neck2:11. Another single, "Just as I Am", was featured on his Greatest Hits album, but it only made the top 30 that year. He also released a gospel music album titled Don't Overlook Salvation.
In 1992, Shelton admitted that he suffered from alcoholism and sought help to recover his sobriety.

1993–1994: Love and Honor and departure from Columbia

By 1993, Shelton clearly was moving further and further away from the top 10 on the country charts. In 1994, he had his last top-40 hit with "Where Was I". After 1994's Love and Honor album, Shelton decided to leave Columbia Records.
After being under Columbia Records, Shelton was absent from the country chart for a long time. However, Columbia continued to release greatest-hits collections to the public. Shelton continued to work on other projects during this time, which did not mean giving up performing.

1997–1999: Making Plans and label formation

In 1997, Shelton formed his own label, RVS Records. That same year, he released his first album in three years, Making Plans×Making Plans27 November 1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Just Say Goodbye2:122When the Feeling Goes Away2:593She Needs Me3:154Borrowed Angel3:125I Wish You Were More Like Your Memory3:016Tic Toc2:537It Wouldn't Kill Me3:068Making Plans2:159He's Not the Man I Used to Be3:3610Our Love2:5911The Best Thing Goin'3:1612The Best Is Yet to Come3:06. Shelton financed the project himself, however, and worked out to release his album only to Walmart stores.

2000–2001: Fried Green Tomatoes

In 2000, Shelton signed with the Audium label, where he made another album called Fried Green Tomatoes×Fried Green Tomatoes2000 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Call Me Crazy3:212Foolish Pride3:393I'm the One3:564Somebody's Gonna Lose3:535I Think I Like It Here3:206You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Crazy)3:437Who's Laughin' Now3:028All I Have to Offer You Is Me3:239From the Fryin' Pan3:1010I Was Losing You3:2411Your One and Only3:0112The Decision4:46, which spawned his first single in over five years called "The Decision", but it failed to make a substantial impact on the country chart.

2006–present: Retirement

In May 2006, Shelton announced that he would be retiring from touring to spend more time with his family. Since then, Shelton has effectively disappeared from public life, focusing, instead, on painting and writing children's books.