RONNIE MCNEIR OF THE FOUR TOPS
MAC'S NEIGHBORHOOD
THE TEMPTIN' TEMPTATIONS
RON TYSON
G C CAMERON
JOE HERNDON TERRY WEEKS
OTIS WILLIAMS
Founding Member
and only surviving member
of the Legendary Temptations
RONNIE MAC and SPYDER TURNER
RONNIE
We bleed "Mellow Mood" purple, "Wish It Would Rain" white and "Song for You" black in this house. I can walk into my girls room at 3 in the morning and yell out "Temptations sing".... they will both jump up in their beds and go, "wooo wooo wooo wooo".
Between the Tempts and the Tops they can identify by face and voice three members from both groups most of the time, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, and RONNIE MCNEIR….or as PrincessD describes him, the tall cutie with the wavy hair. JeQwan at 7, gives a more well thought out answer. "He’s a famous singer who sang in
One of their fave music activities is critiquing songs. We sit in the kitchen with our paper and permanent markers, listen to tunes, and then hold up scores like Olympic judges, then give commentary. Ronnie McNeir is one of only a few artists whose music has gotten 10's not only from them, but my 19 year old son and me.
I've had the opportunity to preview a few tunes from his upcoming solo project. There's a bluesy number titled something like, Just Don't Feel That Way… my personal fave, which has a bluesy, gospel, country, sparse, rich feel to it. I know. I know, but it does; I especially like the guitar and piano fills throughout. It's a really tough tune to pigeonhole, much like the Nelly/McGraw hit from last year. Sadly, the girls weren't feeling it like me; they saved their love for "Life is Too Short", a bouncy, catchy, smooth number featuring Ronnie and a taste of Theo Peoples (who, btw, they think sounds like Teddy Pendergrass but better) and then there is an earworm of a chorus. I remember the first time we played it, my son even bounced into the kitchen and said, "Now I like that, but I'd add a different rap". Everybody's a rap critic these days…geeesch!.
JeQwan's reference to
Ronnie McNeir fits in with the Tops like (insert your fave clichés here). Like the other Tops he's a consummate professional and genuine class act. (Ever wonder why the Tops never make the gossip page…Comportment) And like the other members, he’s his own person. A few things I came away with after a conversation with Ronnie are: He's shy in a social situation, Theo, Duke and Roq, would be all up in the mix at a gathering, laughing, talking, etc. Ronnie's more like the guy that's checking out the whole scene and interjecting himself where needed . … "how are you", "everything cool", "glad to hear", "how did you enjoy the show" or "thx for coming out"… He's a true leader in the traditional sense of the word. He has no problem taking command of a situation but not in a showy, front-man sort of way.
Ronnie is also a studio rat. You want to get him going, mention studio equipment, especially mixing boards and keyboards and he’s off and yakking. I’ll never forget the look on his face when we were talking about each other's passions. After going on and on about his music, I asked, Okay, what else… for 30 seconds you could see him searching, "hmmm that's a good question" he said, before talking about golf and other personal pursuits.
Speaking of conversation, and I know he’s going to kill me when he sees this, but one of the coolest things I found out about him is that, when Ronnie sings and talks publicly, there’s almost no trace of an accent, at least none that I can discern but when he leans to share a private thought, there’s the unmistakable drawl of someone who spent more than 6 months living in Alabama or maybe it’s a Nevada thing, but it’s there and there is something uniquely special about the Northern raised but Southern boy charm that endears you to this highly talented yet underrated artist…underrated by some; but my girls, my son and I, will continue to give him 10’s.
Michael, PrincessD, JeQwan and Tyrone Crawley
Hey Ronnie !!
I am an absolutely huge fan of your work, I am sure that Ms. M will show you the discography that I did ...
My holy grail would be to hear your 4 unreleased albums which you recorded for Motown around 1977-78.
I think that u are an underrated genius and your use of the synthesizer back in the early 70s was second only to Stevie Wonder!!!
I thank Mickey Stevenson, Kim Weston and Barney Ales for bringing you to our attention :-)
Paul
ps. 4 classic tracks from the top of my head
Ronnie McNeir - My Baby [1981 Setting Sun]
Ronnie McNeir - Love Proposition [1976 Motown B-Side Only]
Rance Allen - Believe In Yourself [1980 Stax]
4 Tops - You'll Never Find Another Man [1977 ABC]
The TOPS came on first this time and they wore soft beige, gold, yellow (take your pick) suits and shoes. The shirts of the same color had sparkling buttons. This outfit was of the same TOPS tradition. Theo was on fire as usual and the TOPS had an outstanding show. During "Always and Forever", women were calling out to Theo and he had to laugh...LOL. Again Theo Lawrence Jr., RONNIE and Duke performed like the first class group that they are. The audience LOVED them.
G Elaine – Tempt Maniac, Rontyson.com
Marin Center, San Rafael, California, July 15, 2006
Fans in Westport, Ct. Levitt Pavillion - August 2006
Shout Out To Myrtle Beach Fans August 2006
Alabama Theatre's Finest: Thanks for having our backs!
The Four Tops and I meet a lot of wonderful people who work behind
the scenes to make our gigs and stay a great experience. I can't always
remember names but I do remember hard work and kindness. This young
lady from Columbia, S.C. exhibited both. Thanks for all your help. Good
luck in your new home..You're Moving On Up
