About The Song
Back in 1978, RCA presented the first gold album ever inscribed in Braille for Ronnie Milsap. It was for the song โIt Was Almost Like A Songโ and the song was the first of three singles that belonged to Ronnie Milsap which occupied the No. 1 spot for three weeks on Billboardโs Country Chart. It was also the first Ronnie Milsap crossover hit, reaching the No. 16 spot on Billboardโs Hot 100 Pop Chart.
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 โIt Was Almost Like A Song.โ
Archie Jordan actually pitched the song all over Nashville. However, he didnโt 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.
What happened to Jordanโs song was amazing. Ronnie Milsap actually held onto a copy of the song for six months. However, he wasnโt really interested in recording the song until the Christmas of โ76 when he worked up a new arrangement at the piano in his living room. He used his previous song โ(Iโd Be A Legend In My Timeโ as a pattern for the ending of โIt Was Almost Like A Song.โ 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 โIt Was Almost Like A Song.โ Collins said:
โIf it doesnโt become a huge hit and win a Grammy award to boot, Iโll be really surprised!โ
Tom Collins came close to what he said. The song โIt Was Almost Like A Songโ was a monster hit. Although it didnโt win, the song still got two Grammy nominations. It also helped bring Ronnie Milsap his third โAlbum of the Yearโ trophy from the CMA.
Video
Lyrics
Once in every life … someone comes along,
And you came to me … it was almost like a song.
You were in my heart … right where you belong,
And we were so in love … it was almost like a song.
January through December … we had such a perfect year,
Then the flames became a dying ember …
All at once you weren’t here.
Now my broken heart … cries for you each night,
And it’s almost like a song … but it’s much too sad to write.
Now my broken heart … cries for you each night,
And it’s almost like a song … but it’s much to sad to write …
Much too sad to write. It Was Almost Like A Song