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Name: Ronnie Norton
City: Dublin
Region: 5
Country: IE
Email: ronnie@worldwidebluegrass.com
Website: www.lonesomehighway.com
Show: Lonesome Highway
Monday 5pm-7pm EDT
Biography:
Born in Dublin Ireland in 1946 and raised in a home where the radio was always switched on, introducing Ronnie to a daily diet of US popular music from the European based American Forces Network AFN, so his earliest musical memories are of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry followed later by Patsy Cline, Patti Page and Skeeter Davis,
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The next musical phase was Elvis, Jerry Lee, Bill Haley and the Everly Brothers so the pattern was being set, with Country and Rockabilly peppered with Louvin style harmonies. Radio Luxemburg introduced the Beatles so quality “Rock” was added to the mix. Hank Williams, Jim Reeves and Marty Robbins kept him grounded in Country while he entered the next phase, The Irish Folk Boom of the sixties.
For twenty plus years Dublin’s folk clubs were the breeding ground for some of today’s great Celtic Music talents including the likes of Donal Lunny, Christy Moore, Paul Brady and Maura O’Connell. The Chietains, Planxty, Moving Hearts and later Altan and Clannad all emerged to international stardom from this hotbed of musical comraderie. During this period Ronnie got to rub shoulders, swap licks with and photograph all the folk greats like Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, all time heroes Peter Paul and Mary. If you add the UK influence of the Watersons, Martin Carthy, Pentangle and Bert Jansch then you can see how the move to Bluegrass was a logical later step.
Marriage, three children and a career change from Engineering to Commercial / Advertising Photography kept Ronnie occupied for a while but the draw of Emmy Lou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss and the constant influx of musical visitors to Dublin dragged him back to what has become a vocation rather than a hobby. A chance meeting with U2’s graphic designer Steve Averill has led to a deep friendship and the formation of Lonesome Highway, a combination of Radio programmes, Roots Americana magazines and website and access to most of the fine Country Artists that grace this Green and Mystic Isle.
U2, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Earl Scruggs are just some the many international musical greats that Ronnie provided photographic coverage for album covers, tour programmes or PR during the last few years. Ronnie, Steve Averill and Lonesome Highway have gained a position of trust and respect with all of the artists that they have interviewed during the years and maintain a “little black phonebook” and a Christmas Card list that is the envy of many a Roots Americana fan.
Lonesome Highway on World Wide Bluegrass promises to be Bluegrass show with a difference. The Bluegrass and Beyond format will combine the best of today’s superb talent with a healthy mix of traditional, old timey and mountain music. Add to this plenty of Bluegrass history and influences in Celtic, European and Singer Songwriter styles and you have a programme that will get Monday evening listening off to a great start. |
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