Craft Recordings is proud to announce the wide vinyl debut of The Best of Ronnie Milsap from six-time GRAMMY®-winning artist, Ronnie Milsap. The 12-track collection features such favorites as “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World,” “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me,” and “Smoky Mountain Rain”—and spotlights Milsap’s accomplishments as a crossover star in the ’70s and ’80s with singles that not only topped Billboard’s Country Chart but also found success on the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, among others. Arriving November 1st, The Best of Ronnie Milsap can be found on classic black vinyl as well as a limited-edition “Tan Smoke” pressing, available exclusively to Milsap’s Spotify followers through Fans First. Click here to pre-order.
Long before country music was heard regularly on pop radio, Ronnie Milsap (b. 1943) was among the first artists in his genre to find repeated crossover success on the mainstream airwaves with hit after hit throughout the ’70s and ’80s. But this wasn’t the path he initially set out on. A native of North Carolina, the singer and pianist began his career in R&B, scoring his first hit—a cover of Ashford & Simpson’s “Never Had It So Good”—in 1965. Relocating to Memphis, Milsap established himself in the city’s rich music scene, working as a session player (appearing, most famously, on Elvis Presley’s “Kentucky Rain” and “Don’t Cry Daddy”), performing regularly on the club circuit, and releasing his self-titled debut in 1971.
But a chance encounter with country icon Charley Pride would forever alter the direction of Milsap’s career. Blown away by the artist’s talents at a Los Angeles concert, Pride urged Milsap to relocate to Nashville and try his hand at country music. Pride’s instincts proved correct, as Milsap’s entrée into the genre, 1973’s “I Hate You,” was a Top Ten hit on Billboard’s Country chart. One year later, he scored his first pair of No.1s with “Pure Love” and “Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends”—the latter of which earned the artist his first GRAMMY Award.
Milsap’s profile skyrocketed in the latter half of the decade, as he released seven consecutive No.1 hits on the Country chart between 1976 and 1978. Among them was the Hal David/Archie Jordan-penned “It Was Almost Like a Song,” which also served as the title track of Milsap’s CMA-winning 1977 album. A signature hit for the artist, “It Was Almost Like a Song” launched his crossover success—not only topping the Hot Country Singles chart but also breaking the Adult Contemporary Top 10 and the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 20. Months later, Milsap followed with another Archie Jordan composition, “What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life.” Originally recorded by Amy Grant, the song became Milsap’s ninth No.1 on the US Country charts and his sixth chart-topper on the Canadian Country charts.
That momentum continued in the new decade, as Milsap dominated the Country charts with an astonishing ten consecutive No.1 hits between 1980 and 1982. Most notable was the Kyle Fleming/Dennis Morgan-penned “Smoky Mountain Rain.” Released in the fall of 1980, the song became Milsap’s first No.1 single on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. Today, it endures as another signature hit in the artist’s canon, as well as a beloved country staple. In 2010, it was adopted by Tennessee as one of its official state songs, while on his 2019 album, The Duets, Milsap reimagined the tune alongside fellow country icon, Dolly Parton. Earlier this year, the ballad ranked among Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
Other highlights from this prolific era include the chart-toppers “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me” (also a Top 5 hit on the Hot 100 and the title track of Milsap’s first No.1 country album), “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World,” “He Got You,” and a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Bob Hilliard classic, “Any Day Now,” which also landed atop the Canadian Country chart, as well as the Adult Contemporary charts in the US and Canada.
Milsap’s 1983 album, Keyed Up, spawned the Top 30 pop hit “Stranger in My House,” as well as the singer’s 25th Country chart-topper, “Show Her.” The unstoppable artist’s streak continued in 1985 with his No.1 album, Lost in the Fifties Tonight, which featured the GRAMMY-winning track “Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night), later named the best-selling country song of 1985. Milsap rounded out the decade with 1989’s “A Woman In Love,” which marked his 35th hit atop the Country chart.
Today, at 81 years old, Ronnie Milsap remains a celebrated figure in his genre with a total of 30 studio albums, 79 singles, and an incredible 35 No.1 Country hits—a record that leaves him just behind three foundational legends: George Strait, Conway Twitty, and Merle Haggard. Among other achievements, Milsap has sold over 35 million albums and has earned six GRAMMY Awards, eight CMAs, and four ACMs—including the prestigious Pioneer Award. A member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1976, Milsap was inducted into the Country Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 2019, The Duets paired the singer with old friends (Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Billy Gibbons, among them) plus a new generation of admirers, including Kacey Musgraves, Luke Bryan, and Little Big Town—as they revisited Milsap’s most iconic hits. In 2021, meanwhile, Milsap released his latest album, A Better Word for Love. While Milsap officially retired from the road in 2023—ending his run with a final, star-studded performance in Nashville—he continues to maintain an active role in the studio.
Click here to pre-order.
Tracklist:
Side A
1. Smoky Mountain Rain
2. I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World
3. (There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me
4. Stranger In My House
5. Any Day Now
6. Lost In the Fifties Tonight (In The Still Of The Night)
Side B
1. It Was Almost Like A Song
2. Don’t You Know How Much I Love You
3. A Woman In Love
4. He Got You
5. What a Difference You’ve Made In My Life
6. Show Her
About Craft Recordings:
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday, and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation— ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness, and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.
Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord. For more information, visit CraftRecordings.com
