b. Lewis Ronald McNeir, 14th December 1951, Camden, Alabama, U.S.A.
Born In Camden, Alabama, Ronnie McNeir was raised in Pontiac, Michigan, where he first took a keen interest in the Motown Sound.
As a child, Ronnie was a gifted basketball player, however, this interest was soon brought to an abrupt end following a car accident.
Ronnie took up the piano, which he became proficient with by the age of fourteen.
He won a talent contest in 1966 which led to a deal and his first 45, a tune called 'Sitting In My Class'.
The song was later to become a huge Northern Soul hit.
He relocated to Los Angeles in 1971, where he struck up a relationship with Rene Moore and joined the local choir.
Here he met Kim Weston, who employed Ronnie as her Musical Director.
It was Kim Weston who helped Ronnie land his first record deal at RCA Records.
ronnie mcneir - 1972 / ronnie mcneir - 1975
He, initially, released one album on RCA in 1972 entitled 'Ronnie McNeir', followed by an album on Prodigal 1975, also entitled 'Ronnie McNeir', containing the much sought after 'I'm Your Lover'.
There were tracks recorded, after an initial release on Motown, for a second album for the label, but they were never released.
Around this time, McNeir recorded two tracks with The Four Tops for their 1977 ABC album, 'The Show Must Go On'.
He later became The Four Tops' musical director.
Ronnie appears on the Tops' 1995 Motown album, 'Christmas Here With You'.
love's comin down - 1976 / the ronnie mcneir experience - 1984
In 1984, a 4-song EP produced by Horizon Productions was released by Capitol.
'The Ronnie McNeir Experience' featured a Rene Moore & Angela Winbush penned song, 'Come On Be With Me', as its first single.
The popular single and album entered the Billboard's charts.
In 1985, Ronnie reached the upper half of Billboard's R & B charts as the producer, composer of 'I Couldn't Believe It' (remixed by Nick Martinelli), a hit for former Temptations David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, who recorded as Ruffin & Kendricks for RCA.
love suspect - 1986 / rare mcneir - 1986
1986 saw the release of the album 'Love Suspect', which contained the popular jazz swinger 'Lately'.
He is a prolific songwriter, session musician, vocalist and producer appearing on albums by Rance Allen (Fantasy), Dramatics vocalist L.J. Reynolds (Capitol), Carrie Lucas' version of 'Hello Stranger' from 'Horsing Around' (Solar / RCA), David Ruffin's 'Gentleman Ruffin' (Warner Bros), Bobby Womack's 'Caught Up In The Middle' from his 'Pieces' album among others.
Ronnie also recorded 'Good Side Of Your Love' on Tortoise International which is popular on the Northern Soul Scene.
The popularity of his albums, particularly his RCA debut and the Prodigal release has led to concerts dates in the U.K. for Ronnie.
life and love - 1989 / down in the neighbourhood - 1997
'Life and Love' followed in 1989, which featured the Soul stepper 'Hold On' and 'Simply Ridiculous'.
In 1996, a compilation, 'The Very Best of Ronnie McNeir' was released.
In 2002, Ronnie toured the U.K.,as part of the line-up of the Four Tops, covering for Levi Stubbs who was unwell at the time.
the best of ronnie mcneir - 2002 / ronnie mac and company - 2007
2007 saw a return to solo recording with the release of 'Ronnie Mac and Company'.
ronnie at the royal albert hall in 2007
He toured the U.K. with the Four Tops that year, performing at London's Royal Albert Hall, amongst other venues.
The current Four Tops line up includes, Ronnie, Theo Peoples (formerly of the Temptations), Roquel Payton (son of original member Lawrence Payton) who stepped in after the recent passing of Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, and original Four Top, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir.
In 2011, Ronnie released a new album entitled 'Living My Life' for his own label.
http://www.myspace.com/ronniemcneir
Albums:
Ronnie McNeir (RCA Records 1972)
Ronnie McNeir (Prodigal Records 1975)
Love's Comin' Down (Motown Records 1976)
Ronnie McNeir Experience (Capitol Records 1984)
Love Suspect (Setting Sun Records 1986)
Life & Love (Expansion Records 1989)
Rare McNeir (About Time Records 1996)
Down In The Neighbourhood (Expansion Records 1997)
The Best Of Ronnie McNeir (Expansion Records 2002)
Ronnie Mac and Company (Lewis R. McNeir Records 2007)
Living My Life (Lewis R. McNeir Records 2011)
