''My Life'' was the twenty-fourth studio album of

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, h ...

. It was released in 2006, marking his return to RCA Nashville, after a departure in 1991 following '' Back to the Grindstone''. Two singles were released from the album including "Local Girls" and "You Don't Know My Love", the latter did not chart but the former reached 54 on country charts, Milsap's first activity on the chart since the release of "Time, Love and Money" from his 2000 compilation album ''40 #1 Hits''. The track "If It's Gonna Rain" was previously recorded by country music artist

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

on his 2000 self-named album.

Content

''My Life'' starts off with the track, "You Don't Know My Love", which Milsap released as his second single from the album. Described by about.com as "a little funky," the song is "upbeat" while describing "stable love." The third track "My Life", shares its name with the album, and is reflective, finding the performer "reminiscing about his life." Allmusic remarked that the song had "nostalgic undertones" and was perfect for an individual in their sixties. Milsap was 61 upon the album's release. The fourth track, "If It's Gonna Rain", was written by songwriter Dean Dillon among others. Dillon is best known for his collaborations with George Strait, who had recorded the song six years prior to Milsap. "Rain" is a ballad that centers around lost love, repeating the chorus, "If It's Gonna Rain, Let it pour'" throughout the song. The next track, "Time Keeps Slipping Away" is described as "catchy" by about.com. The song discusses the fast-paced life of 21st century America. The seventh track, "A Day in the Life of America", is described by allmusic.com as a "chronicling of mundane everyday events that borders on the depressing." The song discusses such activities as waiting in traffic, drinking coffee, microwaving dinner, checking e-mail, watching

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

in a day, and then proceeding to repeat the cycle the following day, while commenting that it's "just a day, a day in the life of America". The ninth track, "Local Girls" was released as a single, charting at No. 54. The song describes a man's visit to a tropical location, and his discovery of a "local girl", whom he ultimately marries. A video was released with the track. It features Milsap performing the song in a party setting.Videos : Ronnie Milsap : Local Girls
CMT.

Reception

The record peaked at No. 46 on the country albums chart, Milsap's first appearance on the chart since ''Back to the Grindstone''.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album four stars, describing it as "bright and tuneful and relaxed as the best of ilsap'searly-

980s The 980s decade ran from January 1, 980, to December 31, 989. Significant people * At-Ta'i * Pope John XV Pope John XV (, ; died March 996) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from August 985 until his death. A Roman by bir ...

crossover albums" remaining "true" to his "strengths as a country-pop hitmaker." The tracks "A Day in the Life of America" and "My Life" are cited as addressing "American life in the early 2000s."Erlewine, Stephen. My Life

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

gave the album five stars, commenting that Milsap's voice "has remained virtually unchanged since he hit the airwaves in the early 970s"Downs, Jolene
Ronnie Milsap - My Life

about.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Jamie Brantley –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

, background vocals * Thomas Cain – background vocals * Melodie Crittenden – background vocals *

Stuart Duncan Stuart Ian Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school ...

– baritone ukulele,

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

* Rodney Edmondson –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Jason Eskridge – background vocals * Warren Gowers –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, background vocals * Adam Hampton – keyboards,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, background vocals * Rhonda Hampton – background vocals * Greenwood Hart –

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...

, acoustic guitar,

jews harp The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or Reed (mouthpiece), reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most like ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Jypsi Jypsi (pronounced "gypsy") was an American country music vocal group composed of four siblings, all with the surname Rische: Amber-Dawn (fiddle, vocals), Frank (guitar, vocals), Lillie Mae (lead vocals), and Scarlett (mandolin, electric mandolin). ...

– background vocals on "You Don't Know My Love" * Shane Keister –

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

, keyboards, Hammond organ, piano,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

* Brent Mason – electric guitar, gut string guitar *

– lead vocals * Matt Rovey – background vocals * John Wesley Ryles – background vocals * D. Vincent Williams – background vocals *

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Life and career Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten single ...

– drums *

Glenn Worf Glenn Worf is an American bassist known mainly for his work as a session musician. He has recorded with many major country music acts and also tours with Mark Knopfler. Early life and education Worf was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Madis ...

– bass guitar

Chart

Singles

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Ronnie Milsap albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Keith Stegall