| Ragsdale |
|
179
|
Ragsdale
|
Members: |
Joshua Ragsdale Shi-Anne Ragsdale |
|
Born: |
|
|
Origin: |
|
|
Years active: |
|
|
Labels: |
|
179
Phoots comi...
Siblings Joshua and Shi-Anne Ragsdale -- the duo known simply as Ragsdale -- grew up in Mississippi with distinct musical tastes. Joshua was drawn to country, particularly to Lyle Lovett's witty, nuanced work, while Shi-Anne leaned toward a mix of pop and black gospel. They were the second and third children of a loving and strict Pentecostal preacher and his free-spirited wife.
Home ranged from singlewide trailers to a rambling century-old showplace they both still miss. In Mississippi, they lived in the towns of Natchez, Vicksburg, Moss Point and Brookhaven. Their grandmother, who helped decorate antebellum homes on the tours in Natchez, decorated their Brookhaven house with a style that was part Hollywood, part Gothic.
The first music they loved was church music, black and Southern gospel, and the first secular music was the oldies station their mother favored. Joshua was attracted to the country music he heard where he worked part-time at a horse barn, and Shi-Anne was drawn more and more to pop stylists like Sting and Sade. They came together in seemingly disconnected musical places -- Ronnie Milsap and Fred Eaglesmith, among others. Joshua remains a fan of Don Williams, Del McCoury, Russ Taff and Tim Miner; Shi-Anne of Anita Baker, Roberta Flack and BeBe and CeCe Winans.
They played in their father's church, Joshua playing drums and Shi-Anne leading the singing. Their older brother John often led the worship, and he and Shi-Anne sometimes sang duets. Joshua sang until his voice began changing at 11, then stuck with drums.
The family moved to Atlanta in 1995. Shi-Anne became a personal shopper's assistant at Neiman-Marcus. But after honing her talent for poetry and songwriting, she moved to Nashville. She sang demos for songwriter Tom Kimmel and worked odd jobs. In 1997, she found she had a uterine tumor which was thought to be cancerous, so she returned home for surgery.
Meanwhile, Joshua worked as a caddy at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club and was offered a golf scholarship to Georgia Tech. But the day Shi-Anne came home from the hospital, he fell from a truck bed and broke his neck, jaw and wrist and tore both rotator cuffs. They found themselves immobile on two sofas with their parents waiting on them.
Within a month, their mother became extremely sick with asthma, their father was robbed, their basement flooded and they were forced, for insurance reasons, to move back to their house in Mississippi. But they found strength and healing by writing music, although they hadn't yet found a way to bring their styles together.
Shi-Anne went back to Nashville and had begun working with music executive Norbert Nix, who wanted to do some demos of her as an artist. "Not until you hear my brother," she told him. When he did, Nix made a suggestion they initially laughed off. But after collaborating on music, Nix introduced them to Brooks & Dunn's manager, Bob Titley. He agreed to guide their career.
They signed a publishing deal and cut tracks with seven or eight producers, unable to find one that fit both of their styles. However, they found a kindred spirit in Jeff Balding. With a demo ready, they auditioned for several labels and signed with Lyric Street in 2001. They expect to release their debut album in 2005.
Outside of music, Shi-Anne has worked with prisoners and delinquent teens and at an AIDS benefit in Houston. Joshua serves as a spiritual advisor in Nashville's maximum security Riverbend Prison.
Home ranged from singlewide trailers to a rambling century-old showplace they both still miss. In Mississippi, they lived in the towns of Natchez, Vicksburg, Moss Point and Brookhaven. Their grandmother, who helped decorate antebellum homes on the tours in Natchez, decorated their Brookhaven house with a style that was part Hollywood, part Gothic.
The first music they loved was church music, black and Southern gospel, and the first secular music was the oldies station their mother favored. Joshua was attracted to the country music he heard where he worked part-time at a horse barn, and Shi-Anne was drawn more and more to pop stylists like Sting and Sade. They came together in seemingly disconnected musical places -- Ronnie Milsap and Fred Eaglesmith, among others. Joshua remains a fan of Don Williams, Del McCoury, Russ Taff and Tim Miner; Shi-Anne of Anita Baker, Roberta Flack and BeBe and CeCe Winans.
They played in their father's church, Joshua playing drums and Shi-Anne leading the singing. Their older brother John often led the worship, and he and Shi-Anne sometimes sang duets. Joshua sang until his voice began changing at 11, then stuck with drums.
The family moved to Atlanta in 1995. Shi-Anne became a personal shopper's assistant at Neiman-Marcus. But after honing her talent for poetry and songwriting, she moved to Nashville. She sang demos for songwriter Tom Kimmel and worked odd jobs. In 1997, she found she had a uterine tumor which was thought to be cancerous, so she returned home for surgery.
Meanwhile, Joshua worked as a caddy at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club and was offered a golf scholarship to Georgia Tech. But the day Shi-Anne came home from the hospital, he fell from a truck bed and broke his neck, jaw and wrist and tore both rotator cuffs. They found themselves immobile on two sofas with their parents waiting on them.
Within a month, their mother became extremely sick with asthma, their father was robbed, their basement flooded and they were forced, for insurance reasons, to move back to their house in Mississippi. But they found strength and healing by writing music, although they hadn't yet found a way to bring their styles together.
Shi-Anne went back to Nashville and had begun working with music executive Norbert Nix, who wanted to do some demos of her as an artist. "Not until you hear my brother," she told him. When he did, Nix made a suggestion they initially laughed off. But after collaborating on music, Nix introduced them to Brooks & Dunn's manager, Bob Titley. He agreed to guide their career.
They signed a publishing deal and cut tracks with seven or eight producers, unable to find one that fit both of their styles. However, they found a kindred spirit in Jeff Balding. With a demo ready, they auditioned for several labels and signed with Lyric Street in 2001. They expect to release their debut album in 2005.
Outside of music, Shi-Anne has worked with prisoners and delinquent teens and at an AIDS benefit in Houston. Joshua serves as a spiritual advisor in Nashville's maximum security Riverbend Prison.