Graham County native gets highway dedication
Grammy award-winning country music artist Ronnie Milsap, who grew up in Graham County, will soon have a portion of U.S. 129 renamed in his honor.
Yellow Creek – Forty No. 1 hits. Six Grammy awards. A member of the
Country Music Hall of Fame.
And 77-year-old Ronnie Milsap is about to get another feather in his cap, and in the very area where he plied his craft.
The N.C. Department of Transportation announced in a Dec. 9 release that it will designate a portion of U.S. 129 in Graham County as “Ronnie Milsap Highway,” ending a 14-month process that began with a resolution passed by the Graham County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 17, 2019.
“I am truly humbled by the honor of having a road named for me in my hometown of Robbinsville, N.C.,” Milsap said in a statement to the Board of Commissioners. “It was there that I learned at a young age to be a proud son of Graham County and the state of North Carolina.”
The designation will stretch from Yellow Creek Road to the Cheoah River. A dedication ceremony will be held at a later date.
“Milsap has made a significant contribution to the national music industry,” a portion of the county commissioners’ resolution read. “(Milsap) is widely known by residents and visitors of Graham County as a national music entertainer.
“(Milsap) embodies the values and and heritage that make Graham County strong in its cultural heritage.”
The Graham Revitalization Economic Action Team, Graham County Travel & Tourism Authority and Graham County Historical Association followed the filing of the resolution with each penning letters of support for the dedication.
Born blind, Milsap was raised by his grandparents in Graham County. He looks back fondly on his time spent in western North Carolina.
“No matter how many miles and years since I have left there, I will always remember the lessons I learned at Meadow Branch Primitive Baptist Church, or going down to Faset Jenkins Store – where as a boy, almost all my clothes were purchase,” Milsap recalled.
“Every time I sing or hear one of my earlier recordings of a song called ‘Streets of Gold,’ it takes me back home to western North Carolina: ‘I’m a Western North Carolinaian, made of stone and red clay soil.’”
Milsap later discovered his musical talent while attending the N.C. School for the Blind. Working alongside the likes of Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton in the early stages of his career, Milsap would become a mainstay on music charts in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.
He was named the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year in 1977 and also won the association’s Album of the Year on four separate occasions. Additionally, Milsap holds the distinction of being the first country music artist to have a video played on MTV, for his song “She Loves My Car.”
He recorded arguably his most-distinctive hit in 1980, as “Smoky Mountain Rain” reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.