“Living Proof”
Ricky Van Shelton
Written by Steve Clark and Johnny MacRae
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
September 29, 1989
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
October 21, 1989
With every Ricky Van Shelton chart topper we’ve covered, I’ve become more convinced that he was among the most golden of this remarkable golden era of male country vocalists.
He was honored as such at the CMA Awards in 1989, a ceremony that very much feels like the end of the eighties in retrospect, as he was joined in the winner’s circle that night by Highway 101, The Judds, and Kathy Mattea. Right around the bend were Clint Black, Garth Brooks, and Vince Gill, who would dominate the awards circuit for the next couple of years and push even superstars like Randy Travis and Shelton himself off of the ballot.
Of all of his big hits, “Living Proof” is the most tantalizing for how it suggests an alternate timeline where Shelton stayed healthy and was able to use his authoritative voice to keep making standards out of new Music Row compositions. “Living Proof” is a damn good ballad that is perfectly constructed to cultivate empathy for the woman getting on with her life in the first verse, only to slyly pivot to empathizing with her reckless returning lover as the song shifts from third to first person.
The smartest choice made here was no third verse. The song works as well for a love that finally lasts a lifetime after several false starts as it does for the aftermath of yet another one of those false starts. A break up song and a make up song in one.
Shelton is featured heavily in the early years of our nineties feature, starting with his first chart topper of that decade, “Statue of a Fool.”
“Living Proof” gets an A.
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This is one of Van Shelton’s hits that really got scarce after its radio run. I recall hearing most of his songs from this feature get recurrent play throughout the 90s, but I don’t have the kind of enduring connection to it than most of the rest of his catalog. He sounds great on it, but I must admit the shift in perspective from third person to first person is confusing. When I was a kid, I couldn’t follow the story. It makes more sense now but I still think the pivot could be more clearly articulated to the listener. Agreed, however, the there’s no need for a third verse. It holds up best with just the two.
Grade: B+