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…..
Top 10 Ronnie Milsap Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2021
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![Rob De Luca of Spread Eagle, Sebastian Bach & UFO: 10 Albums That Changed My Life From humble East Coast origins to grandest stages worldwide, veteran bassist Rob De Luca has seen and done it all. De Luca first hit the local Boston rock and metal scene in the late 80s after meeting guitarist Paul DiBartolo, bonding over Van Halen before forming Bang. Regional success came quickly, but eventually, the members of Bang went their separate ways, with De Luca and drummer Tommi Gallo heading to NYC and hooking up with Ray West and, later, DiBartolo to form Spread Eagle. By 1990, Spread Eagle was on the fast track, with a contract through MCA Records and a self-titled debut album poised to crush skulls. But poor timing and MCA's sad indifference left Spead Eagle out in the cold despite being a hard-boiled answer to Guns N' Roses's West Coast sleaze. Spread Eagle's first chapter came to an end in '95. As for Rob De Luca, his nimble fingers and gift for melody and songwriting kept him moving forward. Soon, he found a gig with former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach and the legendary outfit UFO. And in 2010, after coupling up with Ray West and his cousin Rik De Luca, Spread Eagle retook flight. During a break from Spread Eagle's increasingly busy touring schedule, Rob De Luca dialed in with ClassicRockHistory.com to run through the ten albums that changed his life. But only after adding, "I made a playlist of these songs, including some I've written or co-written. Do you hear any of these albums' influence on me?" Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LWJuhDrE8JmzhsmTeIDUq 10) Gentlemen by Afghan Whigs (1993) Here's an entry that was so important to me. This may be the darkest break-up album of all time. Greg Dulli has been in many projects, but I feel Gentlemen is his zenith. Somewhat undefinable at times but always profound and honest. Listen to "Gentlemen," "Fountain and Fairfax," and "What Jail Is Like." 9) In on the Kill Taker by Fugazi (1993) By this time, I had been sucked in and spit out by the major-label record industry. Glam came and went; grunge was history, too. I was searching for new sounds. When I heard Fugazi's twin guitar approach, I knew this was what was missing. Fugazi may be considered a less polished sound than the albums above; however, once you "get it," it hits you like a ton of bricks, and there's no going back. From the moment I heard Fugazi, I went to every NYC show after. It's easily some of the best concerts of my life, and possibly my favorite bassist in Joe Lally. And their DIY ethics refused to charge us more than $5 a show! In on the Kill Taker is a powerful album demonstrated in songs such as "Smallpox Champion," "Great Cop," and "Public Witness Program." 8) Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses (1987) I discovered many of these albums (sometimes long) after they were released. However, I was at the right place at the right time for this one. Steve Ostromogilsky had a Berklee College of Music lunch card and used to sneak out sandwiches for me. One day, he invited me to hang out at his place and listen to music. As we got off the train, he put Sony Walkman headphones on my ears and said, "Hey, check out this brand-new group." A song like "It's So Easy" was so different from the popular Sunset Strip sound at that time. Me and about 499 other informed rockers were lucky enough to see them on their first East Coast tour at the sold-out Paradise on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston (the same street Aerosmith started on). I saw Gn'R every tour after until I took a break when Buckethead joined. Gn'R is the band I've been lucky enough to see the most times live, almost 100! Everyone on this album is just stellar. Axl [Rose] had the tones, power, melodic sensibilities, and foresight to do what no other singer did then. Slash's playing was beyond memorable. Duff [McKagan] is one of the most underrated bassists in rock history, and learning his Appetite basslines is a masterclass. Steven [Adler] had the natural swing, and Izzy [Stradlin] was the secret weapon songwriter. Everything that's been heralded about this gem is deserved and true. Check out "It's So Easy," "Out Ta Get Me," and "Mr. Brownstone.' 7) Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd (1975) Another contender for my favorite album and band of all time. Using The Beatles machine (same recording studio, engineer, record label), Pink Floyd made what I feel is their strongest, most cohesive album (my second favorite of theirs would be Animals). This list mainly consists of bands with an instantly recognizable sound. Floyd is certainly no exception to that! This album included a solid handful of undeniable rock radio classics, bookended by two halves of the mind-blowing song "Shine on You Crazy Diamond.' That song was written about former band member and founder Syd Barrett. It would be hard to live in a world without this album. Check out "Welcome to The Machine," "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (parts 6-9),' or even better yet, listen to the whole thing in one sitting! 6) Decade by Neil Young (1977) About this time, I started playing guitar. As a beginner, it was comfortable jamming to this album because the chord changes were simple—a great "first ten years" retrospective of Neil's stunning, unique songwriting. Neil is a treasure who always writes from the heart and stands up for what's right. Check out "Southern Man," "A Man Needs a Maid," "Down by The River," and "After the Goldrush." 5) Highway to Hell by AC/DC (1979) When I heard this album, I was firmly "me." My life would be 100% focused on hard rock music forever. AC/DC are like air; they're ubiquitous. Everyone knows them and their incredible songs. However, as a young teen in Wilmington, Delaware, I only had WMMR 93.3 FM Philadelphia and a few friends to inform me about the world of Rock outside my bedroom. AC/DC had not gone mainstream, and their albums were available primarily in the USA as imports. To put things more in perspective, I only knew two people in the world who had heard of AC/DC. A friend had an import that we played in Steve Buckley's basement, which sounded ripping. When Highway to Hell was released, WMMR started spinning the title track, and I immediately bought the album, listening to it every single day after school. Then WMMR announced AC/DC was coming to the Spectrum in Philly, supporting Ted Nugent! I liked Ted but loved AC/DC, so my good friend Mick Cummins and I bought tickets, and he drove us up to the Spectrum (where we saw most of our concerts). Bon Scott was in fine form, and the band went over great. Although the crowd knew Ted better, Angus [Young] wouldn't let anyone upstage him. I'll never forget it! Unfortunately, Bon would be gone in 6 months. Check out "Walk All Over You," "Touch Too Much," "Shot Down in Flames," and "If You Want Blood (You Got It)." 4) Toys in the Attic by Aerosmith (1975) By the time I heard this, I was now in my teens. I had a childhood friend up the street, Jim Linberg (we're still good buddies). His older sister had a great album collection, including Toys in The Attic. Once I heard that groove, my taste changed. I lost interest in rock music that didn't have some sort of "swing" feel to it. I think Rocks is a slightly better Aerosmith album (and possibly my favorite album of all time), but both are perfect or very close. Check out "Uncle Salty," "Adam's Apple," "No More No More," "Round and Round," and "You See Me Crying." 3) Alive! by Kiss (1975) When I was still a little kid, I asked for Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke album for Christmas. The entire family came over for an enormous feast, and I dropped the needle. When my mother heard the content, she turned off the album and said I had to exchange it. My mom was cool, but I was young and knew much more about life than she suspected. Anyway, the next day, she drove me back to the store. In the music section, promoted on an "endcap" was a Kiss Alive! display. I had never heard of Kiss, but that cover picture told me I had to have it! My first foray into hard rock. Check out “Strutter.” I went through my Kiss phase very quickly, I believe in a matter of months because I discovered the previous entry, Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic. 2) Honky Chateau by Elton John (1972) When I was a wee lad, my parents bought a used Volkswagen camper van from my uncle Ozzie. My favorite Elton John album is Yellow Brick Road, but Honky Chateau is great and easily one of his best. It sent me down a lifelong rabbit hole of loving everything about the 1970s partnership between Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin. The simple beauty of voice, the master songwriting, the perfect backing band, the clear, unobtrusive recordings, and always Bernie's incredible lyrics. The day this album was released, Elton became an unstoppable force that conquered the music industry. Check out "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" and "Rocket Man." 1) Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles (1967) Another tape that was included in the VW Camper. The van had a bunch of music tapes, and one was Sgt Pepper. I was too young to understand the sophistication of the music, but that was one of the many skills of The Beatles. They attracted listeners at every level, even little kids. I still feel that immediate connection to Sgt Pepper; now, I hear so much more. It's an album that changed the world and the world of music. Check out "Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds," "A Day In The Life," and "Fixing a Hole."](http://www.classicrockhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Shutterstock_1815495569-1-300x200.jpg)
