Top 10 Ronnie Milsap Songs

Photo: MCA Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 Ronnie Milsap Songs list takes a listen to one of the most loved country music and crossover pop singers of the past five years. There are singers that just have such distinctive voices that you know them the second you hear the first note hey sing. From Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley, from Elton John to Bruce Springsteen, those artists just had their own distinctive sound. Ronnie Milsap is another one of those voices that you just fell in love with the first time you heard him sing. It’s not always just about the song in pop culture, it’s the voice. It doesn’t matter if it’s just country music, pop music, jazz or rock and roll, a special voice is distinctive across all genres and those with distinctive voices usually have commercial success in multiple music genres. That’s the story of Ronnie Milsap. Although he is considered by many to be a country music artist, his voice and songs have reached fans of all styles of music.

Ronnie Milsap hails from the State of North Carolina and the very small town of Robbinsville. Born in the early 1940s, Ronnie Milsap would obviously be inspired by the success of Elvis Presley as a teenager. Elvis Presley’s body of work which celebrated the styles of rock and roll, country and rockabilly would obviously serve as an inspiration to Ronnie Milsap’s penchant for becoming a crossover musical artist.

Like many legendary rock and roll artists, Ronnie Milsap got his start in the club’s just like the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and many others did. Learning to work a room and win over an audience who doesn’t know who you are, and doesn’t care who you are, serves as a lesson that you better be pretty good right away or you going home. Eventually Ronnie Milsap released his first single in 1963 entitled “Total Disaster/It Went to Your Head.” While the single sold very modestly, it did lead to Ronnie Milsap signing a record deal with Scepter Records in 1965. Throughout the 1960s, Ronnie Milsap would release a handful of singles. He did not release his first studio album to 1971 when he released his self-titled album called Ronnie Milsap on Warner Brothers records.

Everything changed for Ronnie Milsap in 1973 when he signed with RCA records. His management and record company changed the direction of his music focusing on country music. Throughout the 1970s, Ronnie Milsap would become a huge country music star becoming one of the biggest of the genre. Yet he was still really getting started as his fame had not yet peaked.

It was in the 1980s when Ronnie Milsap became the huge crossover star that would cement his legacy as one of the most successful male artists of all time. Still signed to RCA records, Ronnie Milsap released a handful of albums in the early to mid 1980s that celebrated huge commercial success crossing over from the country charts to the US pop charts with two magnificently recorded gold albums.

Composing a top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list is no easy feat when you think about the astonishing amount of material this amazing talent released throughout his career. The man had forty one number one hit singles. Yes, you heard me right, forty one number ones. Throughout his long and glorious career, Ronnie Milsap released sixty nine singles, twenty eight studio albums and thirteen compilation records. However, it’s the number one singles that really stand out. Our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list is just a small sampling of some of his work throughout the years. We hope presenting these Ronnie Milsap songs well entice you to check out his catalog for your own musical enjoyment and experience how brilliant of an artist this man was.

Unlike most of our top 10 lists we put this one in chronological order to present a more historic picture of the career of Ronnie Milsap.

# 10 – Total Disaster – 1963

Since we are presenting in chronological order we thought it would be best to open up our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list with his debut single released in 1963 entitled “Total Disaster.” One can easily hear the influences of Stax Records and the popularity of soul and R&B music artists such as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett when Ronnie Milsap recorded the song. This is such a great song featuring horns blaring, smoking backup vocals, an outstanding R&B groove and of course the killer vocals by Ronnie Milsap.

# 9 – Pure Love – 1974

Continuing with our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list we take a listen to the great Eddie Rabbitt penned song entitled “Pure Love.” This is a very important song in the Ronnie Milsap catalog as it became his first number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts. The song was released on the album entitled Pure Love. The album was released in 1974. It was the first single released from the album.

The song was a hit on the Canadian Music Charts peaking at number two. On the Australian Music Charts the song hit number seventy one proving that his music was being heard around the world and not just in North America. Ronnie Milsap had become an international star.”Pure Love,” was not just Ronnie Milsap’s first number one single, it was also Eddie Rabbitt’s first number one single as the composer of the song.

# 8 – It Was Almost Like a Song – 1977

Now just take a second and sit back and listen to the beauty of this song. Wow! Ronnie Milsap’s voice just cuts right through you leaving you almost breathless. In the number eight spot on our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list we present the song entitled “It Was Almost Like a Song.” The song was released on the album also entitled It Was Almost Like a Song. The album was released in 1977.

“It Was Almost Like a Song,” was the first single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts peaking at number one. It was also Ronnie Milsap’s first top 20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 proving that this was an artist that was ready to cross back over into the pop world where his career started in the 1960s. The song also was a top hit on both the Canadian country and pop music charts.

# 7 – Nobody Likes Sad Songs – 1979

Starting out with just a fabulous electric piano and a heartwarming vocal by Ronnie Milsap is this amazing song “Nobody Like Sad Songs.” And sorry Ronnie, we do like this song. The song “Nobody Like Sad Songs.”was released on the album entitled Images. The album was released in 1979. It was the first and only single released from the album. The song was just another number one a hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts for Ronnie Milsap. “Nobody Like Sad Songs,” was composed by Bob McDill and Wayland Holyfield.

# 6 – Smoky Mountain Rain – 1980

Landing in the number six spot on our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list we present the song “Smokey Mountain Rain.”This one is simply killer. It hits you hard immediately on the first verse. It reminds me a bit of some of Glen Campbell’s best songs. The song was released as a single from his Greatest Hits album. The album was released in 1980. This was a multiple number one hit single. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts peaking at number one. The song also was a hit on the US Adult Contemporary Charts reaching also all the way up to number one. The song broke into the US Billboard top 100 peaking at number twenty four. This was a big one. The song was composed by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan.

# 5 – (There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me – 1981

At the halfway point on our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list we continue to present some of Ronnie Milsap’s biggest hits of the early 1980s was when Ronnie Milsap hit his commercial peak. In the number five spot is the legendary song “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me.” The song was issued on the album also entitled (There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me. The album was released in 1981. It was the first single released from the album. The song was a massive hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts peaking at number one. It hit number two on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Music Charts. The song also was a top 10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 reaching all the way up to number five. In Canada, the song hit number one on both the Canadian Country Music Charts and the Canadian Adult Contemporary Music Charts.

# 4 – I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World -1981

Following up Ronnie Milsap’s huge hit single “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me,” was the spectacular song “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World.” This would become Ronnie Milsap’s seventh straight number one single on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts. “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World,” also hit the number twenty spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World.” and (There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me.” were shining examples of the meaning of the term “crossover hit.” The song was released on the album entitled (There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me. It was the second single released from the album as we stated above. This amazing song was written by Charles Quillen, Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan.

# 3 – Any Day Now – 1982

Everyone remembers this one. In the number three spot on our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list we present the song entitled “Any Day Now.” The song was released on the album entitled Inside. The album was released in 1982. This is actually a very old song that was written by one of our favorite songwriters of all time we call Mr.Burt Bacharach along with Bob Hilliard. The two men originally composed the song in 1962. It was first recorded by Chuck Jackson in 1962. Elvis Presley recorded a version of the song in 1969. However, the ultimate version of the song will always be this great recording done by Ronnie Milsap.

Ronnie Milsap’s recording of “Any Day Now,” would become a huge hit as well as one of his signature songs. It would always be a massive crowd pleaser in concerts. The song was a mega hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts peaking of course at number one. The song also was a hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts also reaching all the way up to number one. Additionally, the song broke into the US Billboard Hot 100 hitting number fourteen guaranteeing Ronnie Milsap yet another crossover hit in the U.S.

# 2 – Stranger In My House – 1983

Just of the number one spot on our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list we celebrate the song “Stranger In My House.” This was a dark grooving song that resonated deeply with so many people. The song was released on the album entitled Keyed Up. The album was released in 1983. It was the first single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts peaking at number five. However, the song did hit number one in Canada on the Canadian Country Music Charts. In the US, it crossed over once again into the mainstream as it also broke onto the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number twenty three.

# 1 – Since I Don’t Have You – 1991

We close out our top 10 Ronnie Milsap songs list with Ronnie Milsap’s beautiful remakes of the classic song “Since I Don’t Have You.” The song was released on the album entitled Back to the Grindstone. The album was released in 1991. It was the first single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Charts peaking at number six. This would be one of the last top 10 singles that Ronnie Milsap celebrated through his career. However, you never know as the man could come back with another number one any day now…..