Sunday night will bring the induction of three country music stars at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville.
The late Hank Cochran will be honored, as well as Ronnie Milsap and Mac Wiseman. MusicTimes featured an exclusive story on Wiseman's career arc and eventual call for induction, but we haven't touched on Milsap much in the months leading up to his big day.
The 71-year-old is known for hits such as "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" and "(I'm A) Stand by My Woman Man." But he almost didn't break into the music scene at all thanks to serious eye issues that prompted counselors to try and steer him away from performing.
"I discovered when I was like three or four years old, I could mock anything I heard on radio," Milsap told CMT. "I found out I could remember words, I could remember the melodies. I started studying music at school, and Braille at six, violin at seven, piano at eight. By the time I'd graduated from high school, I'd had 12 years of classical training.
"I remember when I graduated from high school, I wanted to be a professional musician, and all my counselours said, 'No, I don't think you'll be able to do that.'"
To hell with that. Tell 'em, Ronnie.
"I discovered by playing in a band on the weekends: I love to sing and play, and it made people happy," Milsap continued. "And it made me happy. I decided that's really what I wanted to do. I explained to my counselors at North Carolina I wanted to do that, and they said, 'You'll fail.' And there were a few times maybe I did, but I was right enough."
The radio was Milsap's guiding light as a youngster, and he still uses modern technology to tune into Nashville's most storied AM station.
"It's always been the radio with me," he said. "Because that's like a personal friend I can carry anywhere. With the things you can do on an iPhone, I'm out in the middle of Nebraska or somewhere out on the road, and I can tune in to WSM AM-650 and hear my favorite disc jockeys. It's just amazing."
