“Long as I Live“
John Michael Montgomery
Written by Rick Bowles and Will Robinson
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
May 3, 1996
John Michael Montgomery returns to No. 1 with the cleanup single from his third album.
The Road to No. 1
After “I Can Love You Like That” and “Sold” were multi-week No. 1 hits, John Michael Montgomery produced the top five hits “No Man’s Land” and “Cowboy Love.” The final single was a ballad in the vein of his previous big hits.
The No. 1
This is a dreadfully boring ballad, with the only suspense coming from whether or not he’s going to hit those notes he’s reaching for.
It sounds like a mall recording studio demo from some random young dude who wants to be the next John Michael Montgomery, and he’s convinced he’s got the song to do it.
Mercifully, Montgomery’s next two No. 1 singles explore life beyond the first wedding dance.
The Road From No. 1
Country radio cooled a bit to Montgomery after his third album, but he still has three more No. 1 hits on the way before the end of the decade. We’ll cover them all when we get to 1997.
“Long as I Live” gets a D.
Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties
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It’s telling that two of the songs from this feature I didn’t recall by title alone belong in John Michael Montgomery’s discography.
This is awful for its utter blandness. Sins of omission are at play here.