Smoky Mountain Rain#2019 version
{{Short description|1980 single by Ronnie Milsap}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Smoky Mountain Rain
| cover = Smoky_Mountain_Rain_-_Ronnie_Milsap.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Ronnie Milsap
| album = Greatest Hits
| B-side = Crystal Fallin' Rain
| released = September 1980 (U.S.)
| recorded = 1980
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = 3:43
| label = RCA Nashville
| writer = Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan{{cite web|title=www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com|url=https://www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com/smokymountainrainlyricschords.html|website=www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com|accessdate=May 20, 2021}}
| producer = Tom Collins, Ronnie Milsap
| prev_title = Cowboys and Clowns
| prev_title2 = Misery Loves Company
| prev_year = 1980
| next_title = Am I Losing You
| next_year = 1981
}}
"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.Tennessee Journal, Vol. 36, No. 23, June 4, 2010Tom Humphrey, [http://blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2010/06/smoky-mountain-rain-wins-race.html 'Smoky Mountain Rain' Wins Race to Become 8th State Song] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606040248/http://blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2010/06/smoky-mountain-rain-wins-race.html |date=2010-06-06 }}, KnoxNews website, June 3, 2010. In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Smoky Mountain Rain" number 96 in their list of the 100 greatest country songs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/100-greatest-country-songs-of-all-time-20140601/96-ronnie-milsap-smoky-mountain-rain-1980-0986678 |title=96. Ronnie Milsap, 'Smoky Mountain Rain' (1980) | 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=2014-06-01 |access-date=2016-10-17}}
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:{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6fXPucJupIC&dq=%22smoky+mountain+rain%22+%22kentucky+rain%22+%22similarly+themed%22&pg=PA211|title=Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios|author=Roben James|publisher=University of Mississippi Press|year=2010|page=210|isbn=9781604734027|accessdate=2021-03-11}} 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.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-country-songs-1234986540/ronnie-milsap-smoky-mountain-rain-1980-1235012750/|title =The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time|magazine = Rolling Stone|date =May 24, 2014}}
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.{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=233}} "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.{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=171}}
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1980–1981) ! style="text-align:center;"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Ronnie Milsap}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|24|artist=Ronnie Milsap}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardadultcontemporary|1|artist=Ronnie Milsap}} |
| align="left"|Canadian RPM Country Tracks
| style="text-align:center;"|8 |
2019 version
{{Infobox song
| name = Smoky Mountain Rain
| cover = SmokyMountainRainDolly.jpg
| type = single
| artist = Ronnie Milsap featuring Dolly Parton
| album = The Duets
| released = May 1, 2019
| recorded = 2018
| studio =
| genre = Country
| length = 3:45
| label = {{hlist|Riser House|GForce}}
| writer = {{hlist|Dennis Morgan|Kye Fleming}}
| producer = {{hlist|Rob Galbraith|Ronnie Milsap}}
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| type = single
| artist = Dolly Parton
| prev_title = Girl in the Movies
| prev_year = 2018
| title = Smoky Mountain Rain
| year = 2019
| next_title = I Will Always Love You
| next_year = 2019
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|W9rk0zhMivk|"Smoky Mountain Rain"}}}}
}}
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.{{cite web |title=Ronnie Milsap Feat. Dolly Parton - Smoky Mountain Rain |url=https://daily.plaympe.com/ronnie-milsap-feat-dolly-parton-smoky-mountain-rain-2/ |website=Daily Play MPE® |access-date=August 1, 2019 |date=19 June 2019}}
=Music video=
An animated music video for the song was released on May 16, 2019.{{cite web |title=Ronnie Milsap - Smoky Mountain Rain (with Dolly Parton) Official Music Video | website=YouTube | date=16 May 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9rk0zhMivk |access-date=August 1, 2019 |language=en}} 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=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (2019) ! style="text-align:center;"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardadultcontemporary|27|artist=Ronnie Milsap}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/ronnie+milsap/smokey+mountain+rain_20255708.html Smoky Mountain Rain lyrics] via lyricsfreak.com
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1eH2FYXrrM Ronnie Milsap : Smokey Mountain Rain] via YouTube
{{Ronnie Milsap}}
{{Dolly Parton songs}}
{{List of U.S. state songs}}
Category:Music of East Tennessee
Category:Songs written by Kye Fleming
Category:Songs written by Dennis Morgan (songwriter)
Category:Song recordings produced by Tom Collins (record producer)
Category:Songs about Tennessee
{{1980-country-song-stub}}