Top 10 Charlie Rich Songs

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This Top 10 Charlie Rich Songs list presents the best Charlie Rich songs, including “Behind Closed Doors,” “The Most Beautiful Girl,” and so many more. Born in Arkansas on December 14, 1932, Charles Rich was raised by parents who worked as cotton farmers. They also influenced his musical development: his father sang at the Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Forrest City, and his mother served as its pianist. Rich learned how to play blues piano as a child and was a saxophonist for his high school’s band. After he graduated, he used his earned football scholarship to attend Arkansas State College. After a football injury, he transferred to the University of Arkansas to major in music.

After just one semester, he left college and joined the United States Air Force in 1953. Charlie Rich is best known for the music styles of blues, country, gospel, jazz, rockabilly, and soul. Early in his career, he was often regarded as too jazzy to pass as a country recording artist. However, his eclectic style eventually paid off, which rose him to the height of his fame in 1975.

At the start of his career, Charlie Rich moved between four different recording labels after the first four saw, at best, moderately successful starts that were followed by chart failures. It wasn’t until he signed with Epic Records in 1967 that he finally found a niche that turned his career from mediocrity to star quality. Epic Records producer Billy Sherrill helped Rich become a countrypolitan, a Nashville Sound balladeer during an era when rock and roll stars like Jerry Lee Lewis and Conway Twitty shifted their styles into a western and country format.

Rise and Fall

Starting in 1972, the formula Charlie Rich needed to kick his career as a first-class entertainer finally put him on a path to becoming a chart-topping, award-winning star. The 1973 album Behind Closed Doors became his most successful recording, earning him a string of hits, awards, and critical recognition. However, at the height of his popularity, Charlie Rich began drinking heavily, which soured the success formula that made him a star. This destructive behavior caught up with him during the 1975 Country Music Association awards ceremony.

While he was presenting the Entertainer of the Year award to its winner, John Denver, it was a disaster. Clearly intoxicated, Rich fumbled with the names of the nominees, clumsily opened up the winner’s envelope, and used a cigarette lighter to burn the paper that was inside. Intentional or not, witnesses wondered if this was an act of rebellion, as he made it no secret that he felt John Denver’s music wasn’t country enough to earn a place in its category. Regardless of Rich’s intentions, his actions outraged industry insiders, and his career took a sharp nosedive.

After this scandalous event took place, it was later revealed that Charlie Rich had been contending with a foot injury due to a freak accident that occurred shortly before the CMA awards ceremony. It was revealed he made a bad judgment call by mixing pain medication with alcohol right before he made the presentation, which caused him to make a spectacle of himself that sent the entire entertainment industry reeling. According to Charlie Rich and his family, his public display was not meant to disrespect John Denver or the music industry, despite the personal opinions he had shared.

It wouldn’t be until 1977 that Charlie Rich would experience a rebound when he recorded and released the single, “Rollin’ With the Flow.” From there, the hits continued into 1978 before his career slowed down again in 1979. By 1981, he opted to move himself away from the spotlight, living off his investments in semi-retirement. He continued to play occasional concerts, as well as played a small role in the 1981 film, Take This Job and Shove It. His single for the film, “You Made It Beautiful,” was his final single to make an appearance on the music charts.

Journey’s End

On July 25, 1995, while en route to Florida for vacation, Charlie Rich passed away in his sleep in a Louisiana motel room. While he was driving the car after he and his wife watched his son’s stage show in Natchez, Mississippi, he experienced a severe coughing bout that gave him cause to visit a medical facility in St. Francisville, Louisiana. He was given antibiotics after briefly seeing a doctor and then moved on. When he and his wife pulled over to call it a night at a motel in Hammond, he went to sleep and never woke up. He was survived by his wife of forty-three years, four children, and three grandchildren.

His discographic portfolio proudly has twelve studio albums, eleven compilation albums, and forty-one singles to his. Of those singles, ten of them became number one hits. While the man himself is no more, his music lives on as a legacy that still shines today.

Top 10 Charlie Rich Songs

#10 – She Called Me Baby

This 1961 original, “She Called Me Baby,” was first recorded by Harlan Howard on his album Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard. It was released in January 1962 and became a breakout hit for him. For Charlie Rich, his 1964 recording didn’t appear on any music charts until 1974, long after he left RCA Victor for Epic Records. It was one of a handful of songs from his former label that finally saw the light of day as he apparently managed to prove that his jazzy style was country enough to find a place in its categorized genre.

At the time of his original recording of “She Called Me Baby,” it wasn’t. It was a number one hit on the US Billboard Country Songs chart and on the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart, seeming to prove it was country enough after all. It also charted as high as number forty-seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was a number forty-one hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. For Charlie Rich, his vocal talent was eerily similar to Elvis Presley at times, which was noted many times, mostly in a favorable way.

#9 – I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore

“I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore” was an original from 1949, first made popular by Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra. It has since been covered by Gordon Jenkins and Perry Como, both times in the same year. In 1974, Charlie Rich released a version, renewing its popularity as an R&B Single while signed to Groove Records.

He, along with producer Chet Atkins, produced a prominent style that defined Charlie Rich as an artist at the time. This version became a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Songs chart and was a number nine hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Charlie Rich recorded this single in the mid-1960s, but it wasn’t released until he became a bigger name in the industry, thanks to the successful releases of “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl.”

#8 – Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)

The title track from the 1975 album Every Time You Touch Me was a number one hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart and the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it peaked at number three and was a number nineteen hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. “Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)” also made an impression on the Kent Music Report in Australia, as it charted at number eighty-six. During this time, Charlie Rich’s sound leaned closer to contemporary styles, drifting slightly away from the sound that had dominated country music for two years. Recorded and performed as a playful love song, the hint of Rich’s jazz background helped make “Every Time You Touch Me” an easy-listening favorite.

#7 – I Love My Friend

“I Love My Friend” served as Charlie Rich’s fifth number one hit single in a row on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, as well as on the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart. It was also his third number-one hit overall on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and made a number forty-six appearance on the Kent Music Report of Australia.

It was the first of two singles from his album, The Silver Fox, which was released in 1974, straight off the heels of its award-winning predecessor, Very Special Love Songs. As a pianist, Charlie Rich had unmistakable talent. As a vocalist, this was also the case, as his ballads were full of soul, to the point where he was sometimes referred to as a white man’s answer to the R&B genre.

#6 – On My Knees (featuring Janie Fricke)

“On My Knees” was Charlie Rich’s final number one hit, which he performed with Janie Fricke in 1978. While this remarkable love song was Rich’s final number-one single, it marked the first of eight for Fricke. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, “On My Knees” was number one, and it peaked at number two on the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart. On New Zealand’s official singles chart, it climbed as high as number eight.

This fantastic lyrical plea from Rich to the love interest in this tale, performed by Fricke, is a heartwarming song about a man seeing the error of his ways and wanting to reunite with his love interest, hoping their second round of romance will bring back the magic they once shared.

#5 – Rollin’ With the Flow

In 1977, “Rollin’ With the Flow” was the comeback song Charlie Rich needed to bounce himself back to star-quality level among his peers in the country music industry. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it peaked at number one, and it was a number thirty-two hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

This mid-tempo crossover hit tells a lyrical story from a man’s perspective: he sees his peers raising families of their own while he continues to live a partying lifestyle. It references his faith as a Christian, knowing this sort of behavior isn’t welcome in the eyes of a heavenly host. This was the first single from Charlie Rich to reach the top of a music chart after a 1975 fiasco that seemed to hint at what made “Rollin’ With the Flow” become a song.

#4 – There Won’t Be Anymore

The 1973 hit single, “There Won’t Be Anymore,” became the third number one hit in a row for Charlie Rich. The saxophone solo served as a jazzy introduction and mid-song bridge, illustrating the original musical roots that followed Rich into his transition as a country music star. Not only did this song peak at the top of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, but it also topped the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart and climbed as high as number eighteen on the US Billboard Hot 100.

On the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, “There Won’t Be Anymore” peaked at number fifteen, and it was a number thirty-two hit on Australia’s Kent Music Report. This breakup song has Rich telling his former love interest she won’t be hearing from him anymore, and the message comes across that whatever they shared is now over.

#3 – A Very Special Love Song

On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, “A Very Special Love Song” peaked at number one, as well as on the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart. It was a number eleven hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was the fourth single to make an appearance on Australia’s Kent Music Report as it peaked as high as number twenty-three there. It won a 1975 Grammy Award for Best Country Song. The inspiration for this song came from “The Summer Knows,” a romantic piano piece featured in the 1971 film Summer of ’42.

#2 – The Most Beautiful Girl

The RIAA-certified gold single, “The Most Beautiful Girl,” became one of Charlie Rich’s signature songs, as well as a Favorite Country Single winner at the 1975 American Music Awards ceremony. It was also instrumental in his 1974 win as Entertainer of the Year with the Country Music Association. Of all his hit singles, “The Most Beautiful Girl” earned the most number-one spots on the music charts.

It topped the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the US Billboard Hot 100, the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart, the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart, the RPM Canadian Singles chart, and the RPM Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. On the UK Singles Chart, “The Most Beautiful Girl” peaked at number two, and it was a number three hit in the Netherlands. The Kent Music Report in Australia also charted this single, peaking it as high as number seven.

#1 – Behind Closed Doors

The title track from the 1973 album Behind Closed Doors became one of Charlie Rich’s signature songs, topping the US Billboard Hot Country Songs and RPM Canadian Country Tracks charts and earning him the most music awards of his career. As a single and as an album, “Behind Closed Doors” earned Rich Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and Top Male Vocalist with the Academy of Country Music.

It also earned him a 1974 American Music Awards recognition as Favorite Single. At the Country Music Association awards, he won Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year. “Behind Closed Doors” also earned a 1974 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, and a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has also since been certified platinum by the RIAA and remains the best-selling single he’s ever produced.

Not only did “Behind Closed Doors” make an impressive chart run on the country charts, it also peaked at number fifteen on the US Billboard Hot 100, at number eight on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart, and at number sixteen on the official singles chart belonging to the UK. This first-time international hit for Charlie Rich also charted as high as number eighteen in Australia and at number twenty-five in the Netherlands.