peoplepill id: ronnie-dyson
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The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
American singer and actor
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, USA
Place of death
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA
Age
40 years
Education
Boys and Girls High School
Brooklyn, New York City, USA
Genre(s):
Instruments:
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Ronald "Ronnie" Dyson (June 5, 1950 — November 10, 1990) was an American singer and actor.

Early career

Born in Washington, D.C., Dyson grew up in Brooklyn, New Yorkwhere he sang in church choirs.At just 18 years of age, he won a lead role in the Broadway production of Hair, debuting in New York in 1968. Dyson became an iconic voice of the 1960s with the lead vocal in the show's anthem of the hippie era, "Aquarius". It is Dyson's voice leading off the song and opening the show with the famous lyric "When the Moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars..."He made a cameo appearance in the 1979 motion picture version of "Hair", singing "3-5-0-0" with another "Hair" alumnus, Melba Moore.

Later career

Dyson also appeared in the 1969 film Putney Swope.

After Hair, Dyson pursued his stage career with a role in Salvation in 1970. His recording of a song from the Salvation score, "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?", successfully launched his record career, breaking into the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 record chart, peaking at number eight in 1970. The follow-up, "I Don't Wanna Cry", was a strong US R&B seller, climbing to number nine.

In 1971, "When You Get Right Down To It", of which his was a more dramatic cover version of a song that had been a hit the previous year for the Delfonics, made the US charts, and reached number 34 on the UK Singles Chart in December that year.

His record company, Columbia Records, sent him to Philadelphia in 1973 to be produced by Thom Bell, one of the premier producers of the day, for several tracks. Bell's highly orchestrated style suited Dyson with hits including "One Man Band (Plays All Alone)", which reached number 28 on the Hot 100 and number 15 on the R&B chart, and "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" peaking at number 60 on the Hot 100 and number 29 on the R&B chart. These appeared on an album which was also made up of re-mixes of some earlier recordings, including "When You Get Right Down To It".

Dyson remained with Columbia working with top-line producers for another three albums, The More You Do It (1976), Love in All Flavors (1977) and If The Shoe Fits (1979). The title track of the first of the three resulted in one of the singer's biggest-selling records, reaching number six on the R&B chart. It was produced by Charles "Chuck" Jackson (half brother of Jesse Jackson and no relation to the more famous singer of the same name who recorded for the same company in the 1960s) and Marvin Yancy, who had been responsible for successfully launching the career of Natalie Cole with a series of hits. (Jackson and Yancy had also produced hits for a Chicago soul group, The Independents, with whom Jackson was also lead singer.)

In 1986, Dyson also provided the vocals for the song "Nola" on the She's Gotta Have It soundtrack.

Dyson then moved to an Atlantic Records subsidiary label, the Cotillion Records label, in 1981 for two albums and several singles which were only moderately successful. His acting and singing career had begun to stall in the late 1970s due to ill health, and it was in 1983 that Dyson appeared on the R&B chart for the last time on Cotillion with "All Over Your Face". His final solo recording was "See The Clown" in 1990.

Death

Dyson died at the age of 40 from heart failure on November 10, 1990, in Brooklyn, New York.

Legacy

A posthumous release on Society Hill Records appeared in 1991, when a duet with Vicki Austin, "Are We So Far Apart (We Can't Talk Anymore)", dented the US R&B chart, reaching number 79 during a five-week run.

Discography

Chart singles

YearSingleChart positions
US PopUSR&BUSACUK
1970"(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?"89
"I Don't Wanna Cry"509
1971"When You Get Right Down To It"943734
1973"One Man Band (Plays All Alone)"281516
"Just Don't Want to Be Lonely"602930
1974"We Can Make It Last Forever"62
1976"The More You Do It (The More I Like It Done To Me)"626
"(I Like Being) Close To You"75
1977"Don't Be Afraid"30
1978"Ain't Nothing Wrong"77
1982"Heart To Heart" /
"Bring It On Home"
57 / 66
1983"All Over Your Face"23
1991"Are We So Far Apart (We Can't Talk Anymore)"79

Studio albums

YearAlbumChart positionsRecord label
USUSR&B
1970(If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?5512Columbia Records
1973One Man Band13234
1976The More You Do It30
1977Love In All Flavors45
1979If The Shoe Fits
1982Phase 2Cotillion Records
1983Brand New Day53
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
Who is Ronnie Dyson?
Ronnie Dyson was an American singer and actor. He was best known for his hit song "When You Get Right Down to It" and for his role as Tony in the original Broadway production of the musical Hair.
What was Ronnie Dyson's most popular song?
Ronnie Dyson's most popular song was "When You Get Right Down to It". It reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970 and spent a total of 15 weeks on the chart.
Did Ronnie Dyson have a successful acting career?
Yes, Ronnie Dyson had a successful acting career. In addition to his role in the original Broadway production of Hair, he appeared in other musicals such as The Wiz and The Tap Dance Kid. He also had a recurring role on the soap opera All My Children.
When did Ronnie Dyson pass away?
Ronnie Dyson passed away on November 10, 1990, at the age of 40. He suffered a heart attack while performing on stage at the Prince George's Community College.
Did Ronnie Dyson receive any awards for his music?
Ronnie Dyson did not receive any major awards for his music. However, his song "When You Get Right Down to It" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male in 1971.
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