About The Song
“Smoky Mountain Rain” is a country song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan and recorded by American country music artist Ronnie Milsap. It was released in September 1980 by RCA Victor as the only new single from Milsap’s compilation album Greatest Hits. The B-side is “Crystal Fallin’ Rain.” Produced by Tom Collins and Ronnie Milsap, the track runs approximately 3:43 in length and was recorded in 1980 at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville.
Fleming and Morgan developed the song from two earlier incomplete pieces titled “Appalachian Rain” and “I Wonder What She’s Doing Now.” Producer Tom Collins suggested combining the material and adjusting the setting to the Smoky Mountains because both Milsap and Collins had ties to that region of East Tennessee. The writers completed the final version in two days. The narrative follows a man who hitchhikes from Los Angeles back to Knoxville after deciding the city is not where he belongs. From a phone booth in the rain he calls a woman to say he is coming home, only to learn she has left. He then accepts a ride from a truck driver headed to Gatlinburg and continues searching for her.
Milsap had previously played piano on Elvis Presley’s 1969 recording of “Kentucky Rain.” The songwriters were aware of that connection and shaped “Smoky Mountain Rain” with a comparable rain motif while placing the story in the Smoky Mountains. Bergen White arranged the strings, and Milsap performed the piano parts himself.
The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart for one week dated December 6, 1980, becoming Milsap’s sixteenth country chart-topper. It also peaked at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart it reached number 8. In the Billboard year-end rankings for 1981 it placed at number 88 among pop singles. The parent Greatest Hits album simultaneously topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
In 2010 the Tennessee General Assembly designated “Smoky Mountain Rain” as the eighth official state song of Tennessee. Rolling Stone ranked the song number 96 on its 2014 list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time and number 115 on its 2024 list of the 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
A re-recorded version featuring Dolly Parton, with additional lyrics by Parton, was released in 2019 on Milsap’s album The Duets. Produced by Milsap and Rob Galbraith, the duet single peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. An animated music video accompanied the 2019 release.
The original 1980 recording remains one of Milsap’s most frequently anthologized tracks and appears on multiple later compilations issued by RCA and Universal. Session and production credits consistently list Tom Collins and Ronnie Milsap as co-producers, with string arrangements by Bergen White. Publishing is attributed to the songwriters Fleming and Morgan through the Pi-Gem catalog associated with Collins at the time.
Chart documentation confirms the single’s dual success on country and adult contemporary formats along with moderate pop crossover. No additional major U.S. chart peaks beyond the positions listed above are recorded for the original single. International activity outside Canada is limited in primary sources. The track formed part of a sequence of consecutive number-one country singles that Milsap scored between 1980 and 1983.
Later catalog editions preserve the 1980 masters. The song’s structure follows a verse-chorus form with a bridge and instrumental break, supporting the narrative of the hitchhiking journey from Los Angeles through Knoxville toward Gatlinburg. Catalog reissues continue to feature the recording across digital and physical formats under Universal Music Group and related labels.
Video
Lyric
I thumbed my way from L.A. back to Knoxville
I found out those bright lights ain’t where I belong
From a phone booth in the rain I called to tell her
I’ve had a change of dreams, I’m coming home
But tears filled my eyes when I found out she was goneSmoky Mountain rain keeps on falling
I keep on calling her name
Smoky Mountain rain, I’ll keep on searching
I can’t go on hurting this way
She’s somewhere in the Smoky Mountain rainI waved a diesel down outside a cafe
He said that he was going as far as Gatlinburg
I climbed up in the cab all wet and cold and lonely
I wiped my eyes and told him about her
I’ve got to find her, can you make these big wheels burn?Smoky Mountain rain keeps on falling
I keep on calling her name
Smoky Mountain rain, I’ll keep on searching
I can’t go on hurting this way
She’s somewhere in the Smoky Mountain rainI can’t blame her for letting go
A woman needs someone warm to hold
I feel the rain running down my face
I’ll find her no matter what it takesSmoky Mountain rain keeps on falling
I keep on calling her name
Smoky Mountain rain, I’ll keep on searching
I can’t go on hurting this way
She’s somewhere in the Smoky Mountain rain