Lubbock inducts SPC ex McDonald into Walk of Fame
Rachel Henyan, feature editor

The highest honor that the city of Lubbock can award, a plaque on the Buddy Holly Walk of Fame, recently was bestowed upon two Lubbockites.

Songwriter Clif Magness and singer Ritchie McDonald, a former South Plains College student, received plaques September 2, 2004 from Civic Lubbock, Inc.

Marci Whitley, McDonald’s mother, recounted anecdotes about how, her son begged her for guitar lessons at 10 years old. He completed just three lessons before quitting. Just one year later, McDonald taught himself to play the guitar and piano.

McDonald sang in the choir while attending Mackenzie Junior High School, and went on to attend Coronado High School in Lubbock. Whitley, wanting McDonald to get used to performing in front of audiences, used to “drag [him] to talent shows, kicking and screaming,” McDonald recalled.

The first song that McDonald ever learned to sing was John Denver’s “Country Roads.”

“It used to take him 10 minutes to sing a 3-minute song,” said Don Caldwell, owner of the Cactus Theater in Lubbock.

Magness’ songs have appeared in 18 movies, and he has written music for Donny Osmond, Lee Greenwood, Avril Levigne, The Calling, Clay Aiken, Hanson and Celine Dion.

Whitley took the stage to introduce her son. She recalled how he had pounded on the piano that was in his bedroom, playing every song that he knew.

“He had song lyrics on every piece of paper; they were under the bed, the dresser, and the piano,” Whitley said.

She ended by tearfully saying how proud she was of her son. McDonald hugged his mother tightly before accepting his plaque, eliciting a standing ovation for the two.

After high school, the McDonald family moved to Dallas, where Ritchie worked singing commercials for Pizza Express. McDonald then returned to his hometown and attended SPC in the spring of 1983.

“It was definitely a stepping stone for me,” McDonald said. “Music engineering applies in everything that I do today.”

McDonald then moved to Nashville where he became lead singer of the band Lonestar. The band’s first debut single, “Tequila Talkin’”, reached number four. The second song released, “No News,” stayed at number one for four weeks. The band has sold more than 8 million records. They have received two gold albums, two platinum albums and one triple platinum album. The band had the most played country song in 2003 with “My Front Porch Looking In.”

After the presentation, McDonald sat down at a keyboard and performed three songs. The first song, “I’m Already There,” which was written for his son, brought his wife, Lorie to tears. Next, he sang a new song, “Gunnersville Gazette” which he dedicated to Lubbock Avalanche-Journal entertainment editor Bill Kerns, because “though he was brutal in reviews, he never said anything bad about Lonestar,” McDonald said.

McDonald and Magness are now in the company of such names as: Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Dean, Roy Orbison, and the Maines Brothers Band (Lloyd, Steve, Kenny, and Donnie Maines, Cary Banks, Richard Bowde, and Jerry and Randy Brownlow.