Born on September 15, 1947, in Detroit, Michigan, Ronn Matlock was a singer and songwriter who began his career as a songwriter for Motown Records in the early 1970s and released one solo album in 1979 before reverting back to writing songs. His early songwriting career began with songs he had composed with Eddie Kendricks and Mike Stokes, first for the Janus label and then for Motown. “Feel Like Giving Up”, a track co-written with Eddie Kendricks, was recorded by the Temptations’ Paul Williams, and scheduled as his first solo single but was cancelled when Williams committed suicide on August 17, 1973. Ronn Matlock continued to compose songs with Mike Stokes, including tracks that ended up on albums by Keith Barrow and Enchantment. Three songs written or co-written by Ronn Matlock were featured on Shirley Caesar’s album From the Heart (1978). A year later, Ronn Matlock released his debut – and only – album, Love City on the Cotillion label. The album featured the minor hit single “Let Me Dance”, but without proper promotion, the album was commercially unsuccessful. He continued his songwriting career with songs appearing on albums by Eddie Kendricks, Millie Scott, and Merry Clayton. Ronn Matlock died on April 1, 2020.
