On this day (January 20) in 1965, John Michael Montgomery was born in Danville, Kentucky. He burst onto the country music scene in the early 1990s and quickly began dominating the charts and airwaves. Two of his No. 1 singles, “I Swear” and “I Can Love You Like That,” became major hits for the R&B group All-4-One.
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Montgomery grew up in a musical household. His father, Harold, was a guitarist and singer who played the local honky tonk circuit. By the time John Michael was in high school, he was playing rhythm guitar in the family band, Harold Montgomery and the Kentucky River Express. When his parents divorced, he formed John Michael Montgomery and Young Country.
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By the early 1990s, Montgomery was performing as a solo act. While doing a show at the Congress Inn in Lexington, Kentucky, he was discovered by music manager Estill Sowards, who helped him land a deal with Atlantic Records, according to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. He signed with Atlantic in 1991 and released his debut album, Life’s a Dance, in 1992.
The album’s title track was Montgomery’s debut single. It peaked at No. 4 on the country chart. He followed that with “I Love the Way You Love Me,” which became his first No. 1. The next year, he scored one of his biggest hits with “I Swear,” which topped the country chart and almost made the top 40 of the Hot 100, and became a major pop hit months later.
John Michael Montgomery Finds Mainstream Success
Penned by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers, John Michael Montgomery released “I Swear” as the lead single from his sophomore album Kickin’ It Up in November 1993. It reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and stayed there for four weeks. Additionally, it peaked at No. 42 on the Hot 100.
Months after Montgomery’s version of the song became a hit, fellow Atlantic artists All-4-One released an R&B rendition. It reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 and stayed there for 11 consecutive weeks.
Montgomery released “I Can Love You Like That” in February 1995 as the lead single from his self-titled album. It reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart and spent three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1.
All-4-One released their version of the song in June, around a month after Montgomery topped the country chart with it. It was a hit for them, but didn’t see the same success as their cover of “I Swear.” The group’s version of “I Can Love You Like That” reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. It also topped the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.
John Michael Montgomery notched a total of seven No. 1 hits, including “Be My Baby Tonight,” “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident),” “If You’ve Got Love,” and “Little Girl.”
He retired from touring in 2025, after a concert at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
Featured Image by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
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