There's No Gettin' Over Me

By 1981, Ronnie Milsap had become a superstar and was still riding the crest of the wave that began in the early '70s. But Milsap had taken his version of country music as close as he could get to the pop charts without quite crossing over. In many ways his sound is indicative of the times and the artists making hit records at the same time (Eddie Rabbitt, Ronnie McDowell, Johnny Lee, etc.), but Milsap possessed something that none of the aforementioned did: a direct link to the rock and doo wop sounds of the late '50s and early '60s. His urban country is evidenced in the title track, which was a Top Ten single, has a sweet alto saxophone solo in it, and has a chorus that reflects James Taylor's late-'70s attempts at crooning early rock. And there are Milsap's ballads, such as "It's All I Can Do," "Two Hearts Don't Always Make a Pair," and "Too Big for Words." There's the other single, "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World," which is urban cowboy country music in its purest essence and was rewarded with the number one spot for a few weeks in late 1981. The sweeping backing vocals, a harp, a barely present pedal steel added for atmosphere, and enough acoustic guitars to supply an army of big-feathered hat-wearing drugstore cowpokes. It's also an awesome pop song. The chorus alone is so infectious it could be heard being hummed and whistled on street corners and its words being sung in barrooms and dancehalls throughout the rest of 1981. It also, finally, crossed over. There's No Gettin' Over Me is a perfect example of what Milsap was about in his middle period. There's humility in his confidence and a genuine empathy in his croon. Yeah, it's slick, and even schlocky in places ("Jesus Is Your Ticket to Heaven"), but it's also terrific. ~ Thom Jurek