MUSIC

Anderson Fair presents Ronny Cox.

In Hollywood, they say it takes smart actors to play stupid characters, and nice guys to play nasty villains. Cox is the poster-boy for the latter point. He played slithery corporate snakes in "RoboCop" and "Total Recall;" but as a singer-songwriter, he is a study in easygoing amiability and unforced charisma. He charms crowds with self-teasing humor, tart progressive insight, and a lulling Southwestern folk sound. His repertoire is a smart mix of witty ditties, bluesy swing tunes, heart-on-sleeve romances, and real-life anthems ("It's a cry in the night/ It's a whispered prayer/ That gets you from here to there"). Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe

In his latest album "Songs With Repercussions", as well as "How I Love Them Old Songs", "At The Sebastiani", "Ronny Cox Live", "Cowboy Savant" and "Acoustic Eclectricity", Ronny Cox showcases a wonderful acoustic mix of folk, western, jazzy-bluesy and just plain corn ball stuff.

"I have always had pretty eclectic tastes in the music I like to listen to and to play. I have tried to approach each of my seven albums from a different perspective. My first album: “Ronny Cox” … was for Mercury Records in Nashville, and was pretty much a “country record”… at least it seemed so to me.

I wanted a more “folkie” approach, so my next CD was a small personal album that my son, John, produced for me. We pretty much played all the tunes in my little 2-car studio here in my house and he and I played most of the instruments. “Cowboy Savant” was a studio album produced by Wendy Waldman and we got some great studio players and immersed ourselves in the great Southwest where I was born and raised.

My next two albums: “Ronny Cox Live” and “Ronny Cox at the Sebastiani Theater” were recordings of live concerts… with almost no over-dubs or corrections of any kind. There’s something about the immediacy of a live performance that is very compelling to me.

My friend Jack Williams encouraged me do a tribute album to the great Mickey Newbury, who in my opinion, was the great Texas songwriter, and Jack produced, and played and sang harmony and did all of the string arrangements for “How I Love Them Old Songs”.

My new CD… “Ronny Cox - Songs…. With Repercussions” is, more than anything else, about the absence of Mary. It is also a “studio” album, with tight and precise arrangements and vocal harmonies. I found a wonderful group of players in South Carolina: Danny Harlow, Susan Taylor and Cary Taylor, and have allowed them great latitude and encouragement in our approach to the tunes. My “Southwestern” sensibilities are always present, but there is also a distinct “Southern” feel to many of the tunes and that comes directly from them. I am extremely proud of this album." Ronny

With a small, dazzling array of multi-instrumentalists, the music is eclectic... funny.. touching and always compelling. They showcase an original, sophisticated lyric-driven folky sound... and the stories that accompany these songs are something else entirely.

Have you ever wondered how a story of "questionable veracity" gets started? Well... some small grain of truth gets twisted and turned and then told and retold. Eventually that small grain has grown ito a boulder of "undeniable truth" that you would bet your house on! Well ok... maybe not your house, but someone's house.

He has appeared as a singer-songwriter on:

* The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
* The Bottom Line in New York with Leon Redbone
* National Public Radio, Mountain Stage, with Guy Clark
* National Public Radio E-town with the Roches
* The Berklee College of Music, Boston, with Richard Thompson
* Bluebird Cafe in Nashville with Jellyroll Johnson
* The Great American Music Hall in San Fransisco with the Rankins
* Chautauqua in Boulder, Colo, with Karla Bonoff
* The Crook and Chase Show
* Nashville Now

and many more!