During his stint in the Coast Guard, Dove began his singing career in the clubs of Baltimore, where he was stationed. He formed a group, the Belltones, and they played Baltimore and the East Coast for four years.

In 1959, they recorded their debut single “Lover Boy” on their own label. In 1961, they released a cover of the Buddy Knox hit “Party Doll” on Decca Records, but it failed to chart. They issued one more single on Jalo Records before the group broke up and Dove went solo.[1]

Career

Dove went solo and signed with Diamond Records in 1964. His debut solo single, “Sweeter Than Sugar”, appeared in April 1964 to no national fanfare, though it did appear in some local hit parades. Later that year, Diamond released “Say You“, which peaked at position #40 by means of the Billboard hit parade, and became his first national hit parade success. The next single, a cover of Wanda Jackson‘s “Right Or Wrong,” put him into the Top 20. In 1965, he had five chart singles, and after just three albums, Diamond Records released a “best of” collection. Dove’s name was featured many times in the Billboard and Cashbox awards in 1965.

More hits came in 1966 and 1967, including “My Babe”, “Cry“, “Happy Summer Days“, and several others.

After releasing his cover of Johnnie Ray‘s “Cry”, Dove appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show to promote the song.[2]

He continued to record for Diamond until it was sold in 1970 to Aubrey Mayhew‘s Certron Records. There, he recorded a live album and several singles that went unreleased. However, Certron did issue a “Greatest Hits” compilation of his Diamond songs, as well as one unreleased song. The label had money issues from the start, and went bankrupt in 1971.[3]

Shortly thereafter, Dove went to the independent Wrayco Records and released a cover of the Bobby Hebb song “Sunny“. The single received no promotion from the label, and subsequently failed to chart.

Country music

After his stints with Certron and Wrayco, Dove signed a new deal with Decca Records in 1971 and pointed his career in a more country-oriented direction, scoring two minor country chart hits and an album.

Later, he moved to the Motown country label Melodyland and had a top 40 country hit with a cover of Bobby Darin‘s “Things“, which became his highest charting country hit, reaching #25. During this period, he recorded two albums of country music, but neither ended up being released.[4]

Although Dove moved to some smaller, independent labels throughout the rest of the 1970s and 1980s, he still continued to record. He opened his own club in Baltimore, and his fans were able to see him perform through the 1980s. He briefly revived the Diamond record label in 1987 to release a couple of singles and an album. These two singles managed to reach the lower rungs of Billboard‘s country charts.

Later career and death

Dove quit show business in 1989 to care for his ailing mother. She died in 1991, and he resumed performing, mostly on the East Coast and nationwide.[5]

Several compilations have been issued on CD, including The Complete Original Chart Hits: 1964-69, available from Real Gone Music.[6] Dove owned the rights to his music catalog.[7]

In 2018, Dove reissued his 1967 album Cry digitally, sourced from newly available tapes. As of 2021, all his Diamond Records albums (including 1988’s From the Heart) have been reissued digitally.[8]

In 2019, Dove’s song “Happy Summer Days” was featured in an Amazon commercial.[9]

He retired from performing in 2023, performing his final show on May 14.[10]

Dove died on September 15, 2026, at his home under hospice care, at the age of 91.[11]

Television

Dove appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, The Bob Braun Show, That Nashville Music, Nashville Now, and several other local and national television shows. He appeared on RFD-TV‘s Shotgun Red Variety Show in 2013.[12] [13]

Dove also hosted his own television show. The Ronnie Dove Show aired on several stations on the East Coast in 1966. Only two episodes of the show survive (one featuring The Drifters, the other featuring Bobbi Martin).

Dove sold DVDs of the shows on his website as well as at some personal appearances.[14]