Ronnie McDowell

Ronald Dean McDowell Sr. (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music artist. His first major hit occurred in 1977 with his self-penned Elvis Presley tribute "The King is Gone." McDowell charted more than 30 top-40 hits on the Billboard country music charts. Two of his singles – "Older Women" and "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation" — reached number one on the country charts, while 11 more reached top 10. He has also released more than 20 studio albums, and has been signed to Curb Records since 1986.

McDowell served in the US Navy from 1968-72. He served on board the USS Hancock and USS Kitty Hawk.

Following the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, McDowell, a devoted fan of Presley’s, recorded a song that became his first country and only pop hit with his self-penned tribute song "The King Is Gone", which he recorded on the independent Scorpion record label. The record took off immediately, gaining airplay on country and pop radio stations across the United States and around the world.

It peaked at number 13 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles, and became a gold record. In January 1978, McDowell performed the song on the NBC special, Nashville Remembers Elvis on His Birthday, in which he appeared alongside a number of Presley's contemporaries. To date, "The King Is Gone" has sold more than five million copies.

McDowell was commissioned to cover a number of Presley's songs for the soundtrack to 1979 made-for-TV Presley biography film Elvis, during which Kurt Russell, portraying Presley, lip-synched to McDowell's vocals. He actually recorded 36 songs, but not all of them were used in the film. McDowell also sang the Presley vocals for the 1981 TV movie Elvis and the Beauty Queen and for the 1988 TV miniseries Elvis and Me. All of the Presley's vocals for the 1990 TV series, Elvis, were performed by McDowell. McDowell also contributed to the 1997 Showtime special, Elvis Meets Nixon.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.