View source for Stranger in My House (Ronnie Milsap song)

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Stranger in My House
| cover      = Stranger_in_My_House_-_Ronnie_Milsap.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Ronnie Milsap]]
| album      = [[Keyed Up]]
| B-side     = Is It Over
| released   = April 2, 1983
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Country rock]], [[rock music|rock]]
| length     = 4:11
| label      = [[RCA Records Nashville|RCA Nashville]]
| writer     = [[Mike Reid (singer)|Mike Reid]]
| producer   = [[Tom Collins (record producer)|Tom Collins]]<br />Ronnie Milsap
| prev_title = [[Inside (Ronnie Milsap song)|Inside]]
| prev_year  = 1982
| next_title = [[Don't You Know How Much I Love You]]
| next_year  = 1983
}}
"'''Stranger in My House'''" is a song written by [[Mike Reid (singer)|Mike Reid]] and recorded by American [[country music]] artist [[Ronnie Milsap]].  It was released in April 1983 as the first single from the album ''[[Keyed Up]]''.
==Content==
The song tells of a man who suspects his wife is fantasizing about being with a secret lover. It is mainly in the key of [[D minor]], with some portions of the verses being in D [[Dorian mode|Dorian]] due to the sixth tone being raised by a half-step. Milsap's vocal ranges exactly two octaves (from D{{sub|3}} to D{{sub|5}}). The main chord pattern on the verses is Dm-C-G twice, followed by Gm-Dm-Gm-A; the chorus uses Dm-Gm-A twice and ends on a Dm chord.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0114668&|title=Stranger in My House|work=MusicNotes.com|date=18 March 2013|accessdate=5 March 2014}}</ref>
==Success and reception==
Milsap's 35th single to be released, the song immediately became a major hit as it peaked at No. 5 on the [[Hot Country Songs|country chart]] and No. 8 on the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] chart. The song also went as high as No. 23 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]] pop singles chart.
The song features a [[rock music|rock]] guitar solo from Bruce Dees. Some country stations edited this solo out of the song,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pluggedin.com/upfront/2009/pluggedinconversationronniemilsap.aspx |title=Interview |work=Plugged In |accessdate=29 December 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307154500/http://www.pluggedin.com/upfront/2009/pluggedinconversationronniemilsap.aspx |archivedate=7 March 2012 }}</ref> and a station in [[Denver, Colorado]], refused to play the song, because its personnel opined that the song sounded like a [[Led Zeppelin]] song. That particular airplay lost from the Denver station likely kept the song from peaking at No 1.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Ultimate Ronnie Milsap |others=Ronnie Milsap |year=2004 |first=Kienzle |last=Rich |type=CD booklet |publisher=RCA Records |id=82876}}</ref>
Reid would win the [[Grammy Award for Best Country Song]] category for this song in 1984.
==Music video==
A black-and-white [[music video]] for the single, directed by David Hogan, was also released. During the beginning of the video, a man is shown trespassing in the narrator's house as the blind singer plays his piano. During the [[Climax (narrative)|climax]], it shows his wife's imaginary lover playing an electric guitar as she performs an [[erotic dancing|erotic dance]] to the solo. In the end, it shows detectives investigating the [[chalk outline|tape outline]] of an electric guitar.
==Chart performance==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1983)
!align="center"|Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|authorlink=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=202}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|55
|-
|align="left"|Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|Canadian ''RPM'' Top Singles
|align="center"|42
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|5|artist=Ronnie Milsap}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|23|artist=Ronnie Milsap}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardadultcontemporary|8|artist=Ronnie Milsap}}
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Ronnie Milsap}}
{{Mike Reid}}
[[Category:1983 singles]]
[[Category:1983 songs]]
[[Category:Ronnie Milsap songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Mike Reid (singer)]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Tom Collins (record producer)]]
[[Category:RCA Records Nashville singles]]
[[Category:Black-and-white music videos]]