Country Music Memories: ‘Nothing on But the Radio’ Goes to No. 1

Eighteen years ago today (Dec. 4, 2004), Gary Allan notched his third No. 1 single, “Nothing on But the Radio.” The song, which was written by Byron Hill, Brice Long and Odie Blackmon, was the third single from Allan’s 2003 album, See If I Care.

The sexy lyrics of “Nothing on But the Radio” — including lines such as, “We’ll fall asleep here in the moonlight / In tangled sheets, we’ll be here all night / And when we wake up in the morning / We might stay like this all day … With nothing on but the radio / Feel the music playing soft and slow / You and me and the lights down low / With nothing on but the radio” – also helped the song land in the Top 40 on the all-genre Billboard 100 chart. Additionally, “Nothing on But the Radio” won an ASCAP Award for being one of the most-played songs of 2005.

However, the peak success of “Nothing on But the Radio” came during one of the most tumultuous times of Allan’s life: On Oct. 25, 2004, as the song was climbing the charts, Allan’s wife Angela committed suicide in their home. The tunesmith took a few weeks off after her tragic death, but he soon resumed his busy touring schedule as a way to help himself recover from the devastating loss.

“For me, it was the best therapy in the world,” Allan tells The Boot. “You sit around and kick around every emotion that you’re having … It always gets better, no matter what. Time will knock it out of you. You have to want to get better, too.”

“Nothing on But the Radio” was also included on Allan’s 2007 Greatest Hits album, as well as his 2012 Icon record.

This story was originally written by Gayle Thompson, and revised by Angela Stefano.

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