Saturday, July 2, 2022

When R&B Goes Country and Vice-Versa

When I was in the car coming back from Colorado my sister-in-law was playing various country songs, as she is a fan of the genre. I honestly don't listen to much country outside of some Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, The (formerly Dixie) Chicks, and Trace Adkins. Hence, I was surprised to hear a very familiar song being sung by an unfamiliar voice. It was a man named John Michael Montgomery singing, "I Swear." I knew all the lyrics as apparently after he sang it the song became a smash hit with the cover version by the gentlemen of All-4-One. I had no clue it was even a cover as oftentimes people don't think about R&B and Country intersecting in such a manner. It has happened with some great songs that started as one genre and then became the other, however.

"Back At One," is a smash-hit song by the immensely talented Brian McKnight. However, some may actually know also as a country ballad by Mark Wills. Both are loaded with emotion, but they do indeed have a different vibe. Then you've got, "I Will Always Love You." Originally sung by Dolly Parton, it was later covered by Whitney Houston and went from a bit of a quiet song of love to an absolute epic when Whitney hits those high notes. Interestingly enough, Reba McEntire has a cover of Beyonce's hit, "If  I Were a Boy," but she has discussed she felt it didn't do the original justice and only released it due to pressure from her record label.

I didn't have much of a point to this post besides using it to show how a great song sometimes works wonderfully in multiple genres! Sometimes a good tune can work in all kinds of ways, and I like that. To bring us full circle I present a duet of John Michael Montgomery and All-4-One singing the song that gave me the idea for this post as a live duet to celebrate the success of both their versions:

 Wild to see both versions mashed up in a duet of sorts.

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