"In This Life" is a song written by Mike Reid and

Allen Shamblin Allen Shamblin is a country music songwriter who was born in Tennessee, and was brought up in Huffman, Texas. After graduating from Sam Houston State University he worked in Austin as a real estate appraiser. In 1987, he quit his job and mov ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singer

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...

that reached the top of the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was released in July 1992 as the first single and title track from his CD '' In This Life.''

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of '' Billboard'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the "control, emotion, and integrity with which Raye delivers such tender material is seldom achieved."'' Billboard'', August 1, 1992

Chart performance

The song debuted at No. 58 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart dated August 1, 1992. It charted for 20 weeks on that chart, and became his second Number One single on the chart dated October 3, 1992, where it remained for two weeks. It also peaked at No. 21 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

chart.

Charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

The song appears on the album ''One Careful Owner'' by Michael Ball. The song appears on the album

Now's the Time (4 P.M. album) ''Now's the Time'' is the debut album by 4 P.M., released in 1995. It contains their hit cover version of "Sukiyaki", which reached the top 10 in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Track listing #"Sukiyaki" - 2:42 #"Lay Down Your Love" ...

by the group 4 P.M. Bette Midler recorded the song for her album '' Bette of Roses''. The song appears on the 1996 album '' N Dis Life'' by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. Amy Hanaiali'i covered it again in her 2008 album, 'Aumakua. In 2005, Irish pop band

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporari ...

recorded and included the song on their album, '' Face to Face''.

Ronan Keating version

Irish singer Ronan Keating covered the song for his debut solo album '' Ronan'', released in 2000. As part of a Pepsi promotion, a 3" CD single of "In This Life" was issued in December 2000 exclusively in Tesco stores. The song failed to chart due to its ineligibility, as 3" singles are not able to chart. On October 17, 2009, Keating performed the song at the funeral of his bandmate Stephen Gately, and as such, the track entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 45 for the week of October 22, 2009.

Track listing

# "In This Life" - 3:10 # "Exclusive Ronan Interview" - 10:00 # "CD-Rom Footage"

Westlife version

Irish boyband Westlife sang a version of the song on their 2005 album Face To Face. Due to its popularity and its many downloads, Westlife's version got to Number 87 in the UK Singles Chart.

References

{{authority control 1992 songs 1992 singles 2000 singles Collin Raye songs Ronan Keating songs Bette Midler songs Songs written by Allen Shamblin Songs written by Mike Reid (singer) Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis Epic Records singles Polydor Records singles Westlife songs