B-side "Is It Over" Format 7" single Label RCA | Released April 2, 1983 Length 4:11 | |
Genre Country rock, soft rock | ||
"Stranger in My House" is a song written by 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.
Contents
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 due to the sixth tone being raised by a half-step. Milsap's vocal ranges from D4 to A5. 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.
Success and reception
His 35th single to be released, the song immediately became a major hit as it peaked at No. 5 on the country charts, and at No. 8 on the Adult Contemporary. The song also went as high as No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts.
The song features a rock guitar solo from Bruce Dees. Some stations edited this solo out of the song, and a station in Denver, Colorado refused to play the song, because personnel at the station thought that the song sounded like a Led Zeppelin song. The airplay lost from the Denver station kept the song from going to number one.
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 literally breaking into the narrator's house as the blind singer plays his piano. During the climax, it shows his wife's imaginary lover playing an electric guitar as she performs an erotic dance to the solo. In the end, it shows investigators searching the house. White tape is laid down in the shape of an electric guitar.