John Michael Montgomery
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Montgomery issued his debut album in 1992, titling it after the lead single, Lifes a Dance. The song rocketed into the Top Five, and its follow-up, I Love the Way You Love Me, went all the way to number one, helping the album climb into the country Top Five. That set the stage for 1994s Kickin It Up, a bona fide, multi-platinum blockbuster that topped both the country and pop charts and made Montgomery a star. Three number one country hits -- I Swear, Be My Baby Tonight, and If Youve Got Love -- sprang from the album as well as another Top Five hit, Rope the Moon. A self-titled 1995 follow-up also topped the country charts and kept Montgomerys hit streak alive with the number one smashes Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident) and I Can Love You Like That, plus more Top Fivers in No Mans Land, Cowboy Love, and Long as I Live. Late in 1995, Montgomery was forced to take time off for surgery to repair his vocal cords.
Montgomery recovered in time to put out What I Do the Best in 1996. Friends and How Was I to Know both hit number two, and I Miss You a Little was also a Top Ten hit. A Greatest Hits compilation was released in 1997, and Montgomery returned in 1998 with Leave a Mark, which found him continuing to move into more polished territory. Cover You in Kisses and Hold on to Me were the Top Five hits this time out. Things got even smoother on the very adult contemporary-styled Home to You, which appeared in 1999 and whose title cut reached number two on the country charts. Still, Montgomerys crossover-friendly approach was beginning to affect his sales in the country marketplace. 2000s Brand New Me featured a higher percentage of up-tempo tracks, and it peaked at number two on the country charts; plus, his duet with Alison Krauss, The Little Girl, gave him another number one hit. His next album, 2002s Pictures, was an attempt to move into more mature, adult territory.
