Ronnie McNeir - Love Suspect '1987/2018

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Love Suspect
02. Lately
03. Medley (Summertime Medley)
04. Sexy Mama
05. Everybodys in a Hurry
06. Ill Be Loving You
07. Follow Your Heart
08. Trying to Keep My Head Above Water
09. Please Come Be with Me
10. Im so in Love with You Baby
11. Serve It Up
12. My Baby


One of the most underrated synth pioneers in soul/pop music is Ronnie McNeir.
McNeir conceived a highly individualistic approach to music synthesis over the
course of three albums and one EP. Hyperkentic (broken chord) jazzy synth-bass
lines, churchy organ, multi-note piano chords, and sinewy high and mid-range ARP
solo lines weave in and out of the mix while McNeir supplied all the vocals and
acoustic drums. McNeirs tools for this aural wizardry were acoustic piano,
melodica, the ARP 2000 and ARP Rhapsody synthesizers, and an organ rhythm box he
dubbed Mister Ed. Besides soul music fans and steppers, many albums in McNeirs
catalog are favorites among Northern soul and beach music enthusiasts.
The Camden, AL, native moved to Detroit, MI, at an early age. He taught himself
piano by listening to the records of the day, including the sounds of Motown and
jazz artists. As a teen, he won a talent contest and was rewarded with a single
release, Sitting in My Class, on the Deto label. In 1972, he made a trip out to
California, where while playing in church he met Motown alumni Kim Weston and
Mickey Stevenson. Using her private recording studio, he recorded his first
album, Ronnie McNeir, for RCA that same year that included the singles
Summertime (not the Porgy and Bess standard) and Young Girl. Summertime was
basis for the McNeir favorite Im Your Lover. The Ronnie McNeir LP was reissued
around 1978 and became a perennial favorite in the U.K.
Returning to Michigan, he began playing in churches and doing studio work,
primarily at United Sound Studio in Detroit. To make ends meet, he also took a
sales position with Mattel. In 1976, McNeir recorded a nice mid-tempo groover,
Wendy Is Gone, for Barney Ales Prodigal label. Prodigal was Motowns minor league
label; meaning that if a Prodigal release did real well, the act was then
transferred to Motown. Wendy Is Gone took off in Detroit and other key markets
and landed on the lower half of Billboards soul singles chart. The album Ronnie
McNeir (the same title as his RCA debut) was released by Prodigal. The Billboard
charting singles, Saggitarian Affair and Im Your Lover, proved popular enough
for McNeir to have a guest spot on Soul Train. Wendy Is Gone, Im Your Lover, and
Nothing but a Heartache became steppers favorites. Motown signed McNeir that
same year.
His Motown debut, Loves Comin Down, was released in August 1976. He was assigned
Motown veteran Clarence Paul to co-produce the album with and a pre-Raydio Ray
Parker Jr. supplied sporadic guitar. McNeir got to work with Smokey Robinson on
the movie soundtrack for Big Time (the title track is a great showcase for
McNeirs astounding skills) and the Love Breeze album. Despite favorable reviews
in Billboard U.K.s Black Music and other publications, numerous singles releases
(Selling My Heart to the Junkman, It Wont Be Long (Before Were All Gone, Have
You Ever Seen Them Shake, and Loves Comin Down), the album didnt chart. There
were tracks recorded for a second Motown album, but they were never released.
Around this time, McNeir recorded two tracks with the Four Tops for their 1977
ABC album, The Show Must Go On. He later became the groups musical director and
he appears on their 1995 Motown album, Christmas Here With You. Also during the
late 70s, McNeir began working for Detroit-based producer Don Davis (Johnnie
Taylor, the Dramatics) Groovesville Productions, appearing on sides by David
Ruffin and Dramatics vocalist L.J. Reynolds solo Capitol LP, among others.
McNeir also recorded as a solo artist with Groovesville, releasing a duet single
with Rena Scott, A Different Kind of Love, on Davis RCA-distributed label,
Tortoise International. In 1984, a four-song EP produced by Horizon Productions
was released by Capitol. The Ronnie McNeir Experience featured a Rene Moore and
Angela Winbush-penned song, Come on Be With Me, as its sole charting single.
In 1985, McNeir made it to the upper half of Billboards R&B charts as the
producer/composer of I Couldnt Believe It (remixed by Nick Martinelli), a hit
for former Temptations members David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, who recorded as
Ruffin & Kendricks for RCA. The prolific songwriter, session musician, vocalist,
and producer appeared on albums by Little Milton (Age Aint Nothing but a
Number), Rance Allen (Stax/Fantasy), Carrie Lucas cover of Barbara Lewis Hello
Stranger from Horsing Around (Solar/RCA), and Bobby Womacks Caught Up in the
Middle from his Pieces album, among others.
The popularity of his albums, particularly his RCA debut, the Prodigal release,
led to concert and recording dates in the U.K. for McNeir during the 80s and
90s.

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