Still keepin’ the fires burning — The wit and wisdom of singing sensation Ronnie McDowell

Eighties country balladeer and Elvis soundalike Ronnie McDowell, best known for “The King Is Gone,” “Older Women,” and “You’re Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation,” leaves no stone unturned in a comprehensive interview examining Rick Nelson, Conway Twitty, George Jones, Buddy Killen, drummer D.J. Fontana, and eons more. The handsome hunk confidently poses in the accompanying still for the “Lost In Dirty Dancing” album, ultimately released on August 25, 2009, via Curb Records. Photography by Jay Farrell

“I was barely six years old when I first heard him sing, but somehow I knew from that moment on that it would be a lifetime thing.” Driving down a Tennessee highway in a ’77 Camaro on a sweltering August afternoon, Ronnie McDowell was floored with the awful news of Elvis Presley’s demise.

Pulling over to the side of the road to collect his thoughts, inspiration fortuitously struck, and the handsome, struggling singer-songwriter composed his debt of gratitude to the King of Rock ’N’ Roll in the form of “The King Is Gone,” a tribute dropped in the immediate aftermath of his musical idol’s death on a minuscule independent record label that went on to sell a staggering six million copies.

Realizing the potential of being saddled as an Elvis imitator was on the imminent horizon if he didn’t instigate a career overhaul, McDowell refused management’s questionable advice to don a tacky jumpsuit and forged a path based on his own merits as a songwriter, releasing the Top 5 “I Love You, I Love You, I Love You” four scant months later. McDowell did agree to provide Presley’s singing voice on a slew of TV and film soundtracks in the ensuing years.

Between 1977 and 1990, the melodic song interpreter scored 27 Top 40 singles on Billboard’s country chart…