John Michael Montgomery

With a musical career that spans twelve albums and a greatest hits package, John Michael Montgomery's contribution to the country music format includes hits such as "I Swear," "Be My Baby Tonight," "I Can Love You Like That," "Sold (the Grundy County Auction Incident)" and "Life's A Dance," among many others. He's earned 15 number one singles, sold over 16 million albums and received numerous industry and fan-voted awards, including CMA Awards, ACM Awards and American Music Awards. His most recent single at radio, "Letters from Home," (2004) reached #5 on Billboard's Country Singles chart.

Born Jan. 20, 1965, in Danville, Ky., John Michael Montgomery arrived on the country music scene in 1993 with a debut album, Life's a Dance, that became the only million-seller on the country charts by a new artist that year. Its title was a No. 4 hit single and was followed by his first country #1 single, "I Love the Way You Love Me." The follow-up, Kickin' It Up, hit the top spot on both the country and adult contemporary charts and produced four more successful singles, the chart-topping "I Swear," "Be My Baby Tonight," "If You Got Love" and the No. 4 single "Rope the Moon." At this point, Montgomery was one of the hottest artists in country music, appealing to lovers of both Garth Brooks and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He remained unchanged by his success, however, refusing to leave his Lexington, Ky., home to move to Nashville. Instead he continued to enjoy traditional pursuits such as fishing and golfing.