“(There’s No) Gettin’ Over Me”
Ronnie Milsap
Written by Walt Aldridge and Tom Brasfield
Radio & Records
#1 (2 weeks)
August 21 – August 28, 1981
Billboard
#1 (2 weeks)
August 29 – September 5, 1981
Ronnie Milsap had been making smooth, soul-influence countrypolitan music for years, so it’s a bit surprising that it took until the early eighties for him to have some consistent pop success. His crossover peak would come with the lead single and title track from his 1981 album, There’s No Gettin’ Over Me.
This single also marked the arrival of Walt Aldridge, an exceptional songwriter who would continue to write big country hits into the next century. His eye for detail in his lyrics pays huge dividends here, as Milsap warns his departing lover that he’ll be gone but never forgotten:
I’ll be the bill you forgot to pay I’ll be the dream that keeps you awakeI’ll be the song on the radioI’ll be the reason that you tell the boys no
Milsap’s performance here strikes the perfect balance between sympathy and smug self-satisfaction. If he’d gone too far in either direction, the record wouldn’t have worked. His delivery is as matter of fact as a weather report, suggesting that he’ll be over her long before she is ever set free from his memory.
“(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me” earned Milsap his third Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, and helped make its namesake album his fourth studio set to be certified gold. The album was good for another classic crossover single. That one’s up next, and it’s even better than this one.
“(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me” gets a B+.
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This song stood out.
For starters, it just sounded cool and confident to my ears in a way fundamentally different from other songs on the radio at the time. It had a brassy swagger and bright sassiness.
The lyrics had a lived in realness to them. They felt more conversational that poetic. It was a story about books, radios, and crowds.
As a kid, I could get what was being said even if the circumstances and nuances of a romantic break-up were unfamiliar to me. Milsap was communicating clearly to both his listening audience and his former darling.
Both understood exactly what he was saying and felt the weight of it.
Milsap keeps looking stronger and stronger as an artist the deeper we get into his ’80s catalogue.
Easily one of my favourite Milsap singles.
This is my favoite in a wonderful catalog of songs recorded by Ronnie Milsap. I agree his delivery of the lyric has a lot to do with making it work. His feelings are a condundrum.
But, everything about this songs hits all the right sweet spots: Milsap’s self-harmony, the production (if somewhat dated), and those lyrics. chef kissing my fingers