About
Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 number-one hits: “Somebody Lied”, “Life Turned Her That Way”, ‘Don’t We All Have the Right”, “I’ll Leave This World Loving You”, “From a Jack to a King” (a cover of the Ned Miller hit), “Living Proof”, “I’ve Cried My Last Tear for You”, “Rockin’ Years” (a duet with Dolly Parton), “I Am a Simple Man”, and “Keep It Between the Lines”. Besides these, seven more of his singles landed in the top 10 on the same chart. He also released nine studio albums, of which his first four were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
He was born at Danville Regional Medical Center in Danville, Virginia, United States, to Jenks and Eloise Shelton in 1952, but was raised in Grit, Virginia, and went to high school in Gretna, Virginia. Although “Van” is a common portion of surnames derived from people of Dutch origin, “Van” in this case is Shelton’s middle name. He started using his middle name to avoid confusion with another Ricky Shelton in Grit…
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Bio and photo via Wikipedia, used under Creative Commons licensing.