Back in 1978, RCA presented the first gold album ever inscribed in Braille for Ronnie Milsap. It was for the song “It Was Almost Like A Song” and the song was the first of three singles that belonged to Ronnie Milsap which occupied the No. 1 spot for three weeks on Billboard’s Country Chart. It was also the first Ronnie Milsap crossover hit, reaching the No. 16 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart.
The Story of the Song
The lyrics of the song were from the mind of Archie Jordan. A songwriter from South Carolina that caught the attention of producer Tom Collins. Collins arranged through ASCAP for Jordan to collaborate with Hal David through the mail. Jordan sent a type with a handful of melodies to David. Two weeks later, David called Jordan with the lyrics “It Was Almost Like A Song.”
Archie Jordan actually pitched the song all over Nashville. However, he didn’t make anyone interested. Then, Tom Collins submitted the song to Jim Foglesong for Roy Clark. After that, Roy Clark recorded the song but it was shelved the last minute. It was a bitter disappointment for Jordan.
A Hit for Ronnie Milsap
What happened to Jordan’s song was amazing. Ronnie Milsap actually held onto a copy of the song for six months. However, he wasn’t really interested in recording the song until the Christmas of ’76 when he worked up a new arrangement at the piano in his living room. He used his previous song “(I’d Be A Legend In My Time” as a pattern for the ending of “It Was Almost Like A Song.” Thereafter, Ronnie Milsap called Tom Collins and had him come over to his house. Then Tom Collins arrived, listened to the song and was impressed. Tom called Archie that night and said that he heard a magnificent performance of “It Was Almost Like A Song.” Collins said:
“If it doesn’t become a huge hit and win a Grammy award to boot, I’ll be really surprised!”
Tom Collins came close to what he said. The song “It Was Almost Like A Song” was a monster hit. Although it didn’t win, the song still got two Grammy nominations. It also helped bring Ronnie Milsap his third “Album of the Year” trophy from the CMA.
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ronnie milsap, Tom Collins