Smoky Mountain Rain
"Smoky Mountain Rain" | ||||
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Single by Ronnie Milsap | ||||
from the album Greatest Hits | ||||
B-side | "Crystal Fallin' Rain" | |||
Released | September 1980 (U.S.) | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:43 | |||
Label | RCA Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan[1] | |||
Producer(s) | Tom Collins, Ronnie Milsap | |||
Ronnie Milsap singles chronology | ||||
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"Smoky Mountain Rain" is a song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Milsap. It was released in September 1980 as the first and only single from his Greatest Hits compilation album. The single became one of his best-known songs.
In 2010, "Smoky Mountain Rain" became Tennessee's eighth state song as a result of action by the Tennessee General Assembly on June 3, 2010.[2][3] In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Smoky Mountain Rain" number 96 in their list of the 100 greatest country songs.[4]
Content
The song is a first-person narrative of a man who has left Los Angeles and returned to Knoxville, Tennessee, due to "a change of dreams." He attempts to call a woman from a phone booth, but learns that she is gone. Attempting to find her, he then gets a ride from a truck driver who is going to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Although he "can't blame her for letting go," he vows to find her "no matter what it takes." Rain is mentioned in the opening verse, in the bridge, and three times in the chorus. Milsap liked the lyrics of Elvis Presley's "Kentucky Rain" so much that "Smoky Mountain Rain" was written for him similarly, albeit with a slightly different flavor:[5] Millsap had played piano on the recording of Presley's "Kentucky Rain" in 1969.
Critical reception
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #115 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.[6]
Charts
The song was Milsap's 16th number one hit on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart where it stayed at the top for one week in December 1980.[7] "Smoky Mountain Rain" also fared well as a crossover hit and was the first of his two number one hits on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (the other being "Any Day Now"), as well as number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.[8]
Chart (1980–1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100[10] | 24 |
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[11] | 1 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 8 |
Year-end chart (1981) | Rank |
---|---|
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[12] | 88 |
2019 version
"Smoky Mountain Rain" | ||||
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Single by Ronnie Milsap featuring Dolly Parton | ||||
from the album The Duets | ||||
Released | May 1, 2019 | |||
Recorded | 2018 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:45 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Dolly Parton singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Smoky Mountain Rain" on YouTube | ||||
In 2019 Milsap released a new version of the song featuring American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton (with additional lyrics written by Parton). It was produced by Milsap and Rob Galbraith and released on Milsap's 2019 album, The Duets. It was sent to Country radio as the first single from the album on May 1, 2019 and Adult Contemporary radio on June 19.[13]
Music video
An animated music video for the song was released on May 16, 2019.[14] The video tells the story of a man who has come back to a woman that he has left only to find that she has moved on.
Charts
Chart (2019) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[11] | 27 |
References
- ^ "www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com". www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Tennessee Journal, Vol. 36, No. 23, June 4, 2010
- ^ Tom Humphrey, 'Smoky Mountain Rain' Wins Race to Become 8th State Song Archived 2010-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, KnoxNews website, June 3, 2010.
- ^ "96. Ronnie Milsap, 'Smoky Mountain Rain' (1980) | 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
- ^ Roben James (2010). Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. University of Mississippi Press. p. 210. ISBN 9781604734027. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
- ^ "The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 24, 2014.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 233.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 171.
- ^ "Ronnie Milsap Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Ronnie Milsap Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ a b "Ronnie Milsap Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Number One Awards – Billboard's 1981 Year-End Charts : Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 51. December 26, 1981. p. YE-9. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ^ "Ronnie Milsap Feat. Dolly Parton - Smoky Mountain Rain". Daily Play MPE®. 19 June 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ "Ronnie Milsap - Smoky Mountain Rain (with Dolly Parton) Official Music Video". YouTube. 16 May 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
External links
- Smoky Mountain Rain lyrics via lyricsfreak.com
- Ronnie Milsap : Smokey Mountain Rain via YouTube
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- Where My Heart Is
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- Only One Love in My Life
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- Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
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- "What Goes On When the Sun Goes Down"
- "(I'm A) Stand by My Woman Man"
- "Let My Love Be Your Pillow"
- "It Was Almost Like a Song"
- "What a Difference You've Made in My Life"
- "Only One Love in My Life"
- "Let's Take the Long Way Around the World"
- "Back on My Mind Again"
- "Nobody Likes Sad Songs"
- "Why Don't You Spend the Night"
- "My Heart"
- "Cowboys and Clowns"
- "Smoky Mountain Rain"
- "Am I Losing You"
- "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me"
- "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World"
- "Any Day Now"
- "He Got You"
- "Inside"
- "Stranger in My House"
- "Don't You Know How Much I Love You"
- "Show Her"
- "Still Losing You"
- "She Keeps the Home Fires Burning"
- "Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night)"
- "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby"
- "In Love"
- "How Do I Turn You On"
- "Snap Your Fingers"
- "Make No Mistake, She's Mine" (with Kenny Rogers)
- "Where Do the Nights Go"
- "Don't You Ever Get Tired (Of Hurting Me)"
- "A Woman in Love"
- "Stranger Things Have Happened"
- "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry"
- "Just in Case"
- "In No Time at All"
- "Prisoner of the Highway"
- "Old Folks" (with Mike Reid)
- "Button Off My Shirt"
- "Houston Solution"
- "Are You Lovin' Me Like I'm Lovin' You"
- "Since I Don't Have You"
- "Turn That Radio On"
- "All Is Fair in Love and War"
- "True Believer"
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