Ronnie Milsap goes the gospel route

The 2-CD "'Then Sings My Soul: 24 Favorite Hymns & Gospel Songs" will be out March 10 on EMI CMG. The set includes I'll Fly Away, Amazing Grace and Up To Zion along with Stand By Me and People Get Ready.

"This recording of inspirational songs is going to set a brand new mark for me, especially. My fans, they have indicated they've wanted this for so long," Milsap said. "And I was shy to do this for a long time because I didn't necessarily want to show the inside of my soul. It was easy to hide behind 'Daydreams About Night Things' or 'There's No Getting Over Me' or 'Stranger In My House.' It was easier to hide behind those big hits. Nobody ever asked me to dig deep inside of your spirit and expose that. That's why it took me a while to be able to do that." Born in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, Milsap lived in extreme poverty. His family brought him to church revival after church revival in the hopes that a divine intervention would cure their child of his blindness. A young Milsap left those revivals defeated because his family presumed his own lack of faith prevented the miracle cure from happening. At six, he moved to Raleigh to attend a state school for the blind and it was there he discovered his musical talents, which he then applied in church. An encounter with Ray Charles inspired Milsap to focus on music as a career.

"Music has a way of making you feel something in your heart, in your soul. If it did 500 years ago, and it still does today, that's why Mozart and Beethoven are still popular," Milsap said. "The old hymns still hold up, and they still make people feel something. They inspire everybody. They've been a part of my life throughout the years and I hope sharing them will inspire even more people."

Songs on the release are:
Disc one
1. I'll Fly Away
2. How Great Thou Art
3. Soon and Very Soon
4. Farther Along
5. Amazing Grace
6. Stand By Me
7. Up To Zion
8. World of Wonder
9. In The Garden
10. Just A Closer Walk
11. Peace in the Valley
12. Have Thine Own Way

Disc two
1. Swing Down
2. Precious Memories
3. Rock of Ages
4. People Get Ready
5. Softly and Tenderly
6. What a Friend
7. What a Difference
8. When Jesus Was All I Had
9. It Is No Secret
10. The Old Rugged Cross
11. Holy Holy Holy
12. The Lord's Prayer