Ronald Keith "Ronnie" Self (July 5, 1938 – August 28, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, and guitarist known for his 1957 rock and roll single, "Bop-A-Lena" and his energetic live performances, resulting in being billed with the moniker, Mr. Frantic. Released as a single on Columbia Records in January 1958, it appeared on Billboard charts in the United States and Australia. As a songwriter, Self's compositions spanned multiple genres in the 1960s and 1970s, and BMI credits him with more than 250 works.
Music historian Colin Escott, writing for Bear Family Records, noted a resemblance in intensity, vocal delivery, and fluence on garage rock and proto-punk, and historian Colin Escott described "Bop-A-Lena" as "the first punk record."
Early life, initial recording, ABC-Paramount
Ronald Keith Self was born on July 5, 1938 in Tin Town, Polk County, Missouri. The first child of Raymond Keith Self and Hazel (née Sprague) Self, who were farmers and natives of Polk County. They relocated to Springfield in the 1940s when Raymond found work in railroading, and Ronnie was raised in Springfield with one brother, Sammy Ray, and sisters Vicky, Dena, and Rita. the production base of Ozark Jubilee, nationally syndicated on ABC. He began writing songs when he was fourteen, and in 1953 fled to Nashville at fifteen to build a name in country music, returning to Springfield in 1954 due to lack of success. Talent manager Dub Allbritten was sufficiently impressed to arrange a recording session at ABC-Paramount Records.
On April 24, 1956, session logs document the recording of four tracks: "Sweet Love" and "Alone" are catalogued as ABC 9768, though no master recording or copy has been located. The other two tracks, "Pretty Bad Blues" and "Three Hearts Later" were issued as the A-side and B-side of Self's debut single in June 1956. Self promoted the release via an Ozark Jubilee appearance on May 26, 1956, followed by tour stops in Chicago and the Midwest and New Orleans, with strong sales and ample radio airplay on WBOK in greater New Orleans. In July 1956, Self was billed alongside Nat King Cole, Eddie Fontaine, and Bobby Darin at the Chicago gala operated by the Music Operators of America.
Philip Morris Caravan, Columbia Records (1957-1958)
Albritten secured Self a performing slot among the Philip Morris Caravan, a traveling troupe of musicians assembled by Philip Morris USA for the Philip Morris Country Music Show package tour. Self was the primary rock and roll performer among a predominantly country music cast including Carl Smith, Red Sovine, Goldie Hill, Gordon Terry, and Mimi Roman. The Caravan began performing in January 1957, emceed by Houston, Texas disc jockey Biff Collie, with one early stop serving as a benefit for polio research. Self's physically volatile stage performances attracted immediate attention, with contemporaneous press coverage describing him as "Mr. Flip-top" and "Mr. Frantic," the latter a moniker Allbritten actively promoted. At the time of the tour, Self had already won Billboard Magazine's triple crown award and Downbeat Magazine's best new Western band award for his recording of "Loose Talk." Within weeks, Albritten had parlayed the momentum of Self's touring success into a recording contract with Columbia Records, signed in February 1957.
Recording at Bradley's Barn in Nashville, Tennessee with the Nashville A-Team — session musicians Grady Martin and Hank Garland on guitars, Floyd Chance on bass, Buddy Harman on drums, and Floyd Cramer on piano — and produced by Don Law, the first session yielded "Big Fool" b/w "Flame of Love." Self appeared on American Bandstand on November 29, 1957, shortly before the "Bop-A-Lena" session.
A subsequent single, "Ain't I'm a Dog," actively promoted by Columbia in September 1957, achieved success in New Orleans, Chicago, and Canada. Bob Dylan later featured the recording on the "Dogs" episode of his XM Satellite Radio program Theme Time Radio Hour (Season 1, Episode 16, 2006), remarking it was a shame Self had not had more success as a singer, "because the few records that he did make rocked like nobody's business."
On December 16, 1957, Self recorded "You're So Right for Me" and "Bop-A-Lena" with a different lineup of session musicians from his earlier Columbia work, including guitarists John T. Hill and Ray Edenton. "Bop-A-Lena" became Self's only nationally charted recording, peaking at No. 63 on the Billboard Top 100 in March 1958 and No. 25 in Australia. Billboard's Top 100 Sides noted that for the week ending April 5, the single outsold Elvis Presley's "I Beg of You."
Later Columbia singles and departure
Columbia issued "Date Bait" b/w "Big Blon' Baby" — the latter covered by Jerry Lee Lewis in November 1958 — as Self's third single. "You're So Right for Me" b/w "Petrified" was released in September 1958, after which his contract was not renewed. Reader surveys published in The Cash Box placed Self among the "Most Promising New Country Male Vocalist" in both 1957 and 1958.
Decca Records and transition to songwriting (1959–1962)
Self contracted to Decca Records in 1959, recorded and produced by Decca's Regional Vice President, Owen Bradley. His 1960 single "So High" received positive reviews in The Cash Box. His greatest commercial success came as a songwriter, when fellow Decca artist Brenda Lee recorded multiple tracks credited to Self and Allbritten. In 1960, "I'm Sorry" and "Sweet Nothin's" reached No. 1 and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. "Anybody But Me" reached No. 31 the following year, and "Everybody Loves Me But You" reached No. 6 in 1962.
The co-writing arrangement between Self and Allbritten is explained in Lee's autobiography:
Ronnie was burning bridges left and right. But Dub kept loaning him money and arranging for song-publishing deals and recording sessions, eventually including some with Owen Bradley at Decca. Dub wasn't a songwriter, but his name is listed as the cowriter on a lot of Ronnie's songs. I don't think he was trying to be dishonest. That was the only way Dub could hope to recoup all the money he'd invested in that crazy guy.
In April 1960, Self was a headlining entertainer alongside Tommy Sosebee at the Cockatoo Club in Aurora, Missouri.
Later recording career (1963–1968)