CMT Blog: John Michael Montgomery

Faith Hill is reportedly in Greensboro, Ga., for the Wedding of the Century, so I hope -- just for fun -- Carrie Underwood plays Hill's "Dearly Beloved." Maybe it's not appropriate at the actual reception since it's about a shotgun wedding. But maybe Friday (July 9), at the rehearsal dinner, it would kick off the festivities with a sense of humor. (According to E! Online, that dinner is being prepared by a chef that Underwood and fiance Mike Fisher flew in for the night.) But come Saturday, when the post-nuptial dancing begins, here are some songs I hope Underwood has on her orchestra's play list. Add 'em if you've got 'em:

"Stealing Cinderella," Chuck Wicks
"Lost in This Moment," Big & Rich
"Forever and Ever, Amen," Randy Travis
"You Had Me From Hello," Kenny Chesney
"I Swear," John Michael Montgomery
"I Loved Her First," Heartland

Maybe he put a little extra thought into it because it was a good cause. Or maybe Darius Rucker's shows are just always this good. But between the classic country covers, his old songs from his Hootie & the Blowfish days, his new country songs, an even newer not-released-yet song ("In a Big Way"), and the cover songs he did that I've never heard anyone do so far (Jamey Johnson's "In Color" and Toby Keith's "God Love Her"), I felt like by the end of his set, Rucker had done every kind of country there was at the Shake the Lake Music Festival on Thursday (May 27) in Chicago.

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On Friday (April 2), country fans can catch me singing in a very special guest role on The Bold and the Beautiful on CBS. In this unique opportunity, I play myself and sing for the wedding of Whip and Taylor. The song I am singing is brand new -- it's called "You're All I Ever Wanted," written by Frank J. Myers, Gary Baker and Zoran Konevic. Myers and Baker are the same guys that brought you the smash hit, "I Swear," which was a huge hit for John Michael Montgomery and later for All-4-One. "You're All I Ever Wanted" has the perfect lyrics for a wedding. I had a blast working with the cast, all of whom respect country music. I feel honored and privileged to deliver this song as a debut artist to 50 million people worldwide.

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John Michael Montgomery went indie for his most recent album. Why? "Things, unfortunately, aren't played out in a fair manner in Nashville. That's why I started my own label to produce and record records the way that I know they should be made. Or, at least how they should be made for me. No one can tell you how to sing a song, and put the true feeling into it," he told a St. Louis newspaper. And he's right. There's definitely an art to music and he's staying true to his. Besides, it sounds like he doesn't care much for the kind of country the big labels are releasing anyway. He thinks they are making music not for the true music lover, but the buying audience. Now, this is from a man who spent about a dozen years on a major label and had nearly 20 Top 5 songs in that time. But now he says of the big labels, "Sooner or later, they will be wondering where their audience went. Their only concern is the person who can make them the most money at that specific time. Country music fans are smarter than that, and they will stick with the performers they truly like."

I took some friends to a bull riding rodeo this weekend. I know. A rodeo? In Chicago? It hardly ever happens, so I wanted to get my group in the mood with good country music about boots, chaps, cowboy hats, spurs and latigo. And just the wild rides in general. Some are about going to a rodeo, some are actually being in the rodeo, some are about dying during one, some about holding on for dear life and some are just about that cowboy way of life.

"Good Ride Cowboy," Garth Brooks
"Lonesome Rodeo Cowboy," George Strait
"Bull Rider," Johnny Cash
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This week marks the 17th anniversary of John Michael Montgomery's debut single, "Life's a Dance," and it made me stop and think of all the memories I've had with his music. I can still remember the first two CDs I ever bought with my own money. I belonged to a CD club, and I spent hours trying to figure out exactly which ones I wanted to purchase with my own money. Finally, I settled on Montgomery's self-titled album and Alison Krauss' Now That I Found You: A Collection. Even just last year when I was out with a couple of my friends on Lower Broadway, Montgomery jumped onstage for an impromptu set. Later, I shared with him that his was in fact one of the first CDs I ever bought. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure if he was flattered by this statement or more confused. Anyway, here are a few of my favorites. I'd love to hear some of yours.

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No, I was not one of the lucky 35,000 fans who got to see Alan Jackson perform at Aquapalooza. But I did manage to haul my family up to a little lake in Wisconsin for some of our own water fun, complete with pontoon boats, fishing gear, swimming pools, Coronas, greasy cheeseburgers, arcade rooms and plenty of other nuances that make life occasionally resemble a country song. And this was the digital mix tape I took along for the ride:

"Chattahoochee," Alan Jackson
"Water," Brad Paisley
"Young," Kenny Chesney
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Some 90 minutes before the Nashville Convention Center was set to open this morning for autograph sessions during the CMA Music Festival, the line was already rounding the corner of Commerce Street down Fifth Avenue across the street from the Ryman Auditorium. At least that's what I saw out of the corner of my eye while trying to drive past the horse-drawn carriage that hauls people around downtown Nashville at speeds up to two miles an hour. Simultaneously, I spotted a pickup truck turning around in heavy traffic after the driver realized a little too late that Fifth Avenue is a one-way street. Read more...

If you stumble upon country star John Michael Montgomery in a new infomercial, don't assume he's after Billy Mays' job. He is selling something much better than OxiClean and Mighty Putty. Montgomery is the new pitchman for Time Life's Country Music Explosion. This boxed set of CDs has 160 songs from household names like Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Sugarland, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Craig Morgan, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Then there's Montgomery's own biggies, like "I Can Love You Like That", "I Swear" and "I Love the Way You Love Me." I can't find the price tag for this Explosion on the Time Life Web site yet, but whatever it costs, getting 160 hit country songs has to be worth it.

OK. So maybe John Michael Montgomery didn't make it to the top of Kelly Clarkson's list of musical influences. And maybe he wasn't an integral part of her developmental years as an pop artist. But still. She lists the country crooner's 1995 hit, "I Can Love You Like That," as the song she first slow-danced to. (That would have made her right around 13 years old.) It's in this week's People magazine, on their Soundtrack of My Life page. Clarkson admits she was dreading it. "I slowly turned into more of a romantic, but I was not like that at all when I was a kid," she says. So if that's true that she's more romantic now, maybe when she sings that her life would suck without you, what she really means is that she would give you her heart, be all that you need, show you you're everything that's precious to her. About her actual dance partners back then, Clarkson said, "And poor guys, they're always off beat."