Early life Ronald Keith Self was born on July 5, 1938, in
Tin Town, the eldest of five children born to Raymond and Hazel Self, who operated a
family farm. Following
World War II, the family sold their farm and relocated to
Springfield, where his father began working on the railroad. His brother, Billy, was a member of the
Dothan, Alabama garage rock group The Tikis, and Ronnie wrote their song Somebody's Son, released in 1966.
Music career Self grew up in Springfield, home of the
Ozark Jubilee. Although his own commercial recording output declined, Self found significant success as a songwriter.
Brenda Lee recorded several of his compositions, including "
I'm Sorry," "
Sweet Nothin's," and "
Everybody Loves Me But You," all of which became major pop hits. His
country gospel composition "Ain't That Beautiful Singing" was recorded by
Jake Hess and received a
Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance in 1969. He also wrote Brenda Lee's 1963 UK hit "Sweet Impossible You," "
Bop-A-Lena," released in early 1958 whereupon it reached No. 68 on the U.S.
Billboard charts and No. 25 in
Australia. Ronnie Self died in
Springfield,
Missouri on August 28, 1981 from
cirrhosis, aged 43.Roman released a tribute album to his father titled
A Tribute to Ronnie Self in 2003. ==Track listing ==