Kickin' It Up

Kickin' It Up is the second studio album by American country music artist John Michael Montgomery. The album was released by Atlantic Records on January 25, 1994. On February 19 of the same year, the album reached #1 on the Billboard 200.^[4] Four songs were released from it: "I Swear," "Rope the Moon," "Be My Baby Tonight" and "If You've Got Love." Three of the singles reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, while "Rope the Moon" was a #4. "Be My Baby Tonight" and "I Swear" both crossed over into the Hot 100, peaking at #73 and #42, respectively. Additionally, "Kick It Up" peaked at #72 from unsolicited airplay. "I Swear" was later covered by pop group All-4-One, whose version was also a Number One hit in several countries.^[1]

Kickin' It Up
Studio album by John Michael Montgomery
Released	January 25, 1994 (1994-01-25)
Recorded	1993
Studio	The Castle (Franklin, TN) Midtown Tone & Volume, Recording Arts and Woodland Sound Studios (Nashville, TN)
Genre	Country
Length	34:26
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Scott Hendricks
John Michael Montgomery chronology
Life's a Dance (1992) Kickin' It Up (1994) John Michael Montgomery (1995)
Alternative cover
Japan Cover
Singles from Kickin' It Up
"I Swear" Released: November 19, 1993 "Rope the Moon" Released: March 14, 1994 "Be My Baby Tonight" Released: May 23, 1994 "If You've Got Love" Released: September 19, 1994

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B[2]
New Country	[3]

Critical reception

Giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars, Brian Mansfield wrote in New Country magazine that "On Kickin' It Up...Montgomery captures the personality he has spent the last year developing on stage." He praised Montgomery's energy on "Friday at Five" and "Be My Baby Tonight" in particular.^[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Be My Baby Tonight"	Richard Fagan, Ed Hill	2:50
2.	"Full-Time Love"	Carson Chamberlain, Zack Turner	2:53
3.	"I Swear"	Gary Baker, Frank J. Myers	4:22
4.	"She Don't Need a Band to Dance"	Randy Archer, Freddy Weller	3:21
5.	"All In My Heart"	Mike Geiger, Woody Mullis	3:46
6.	"Friday at Five"	Jimmy Alan Stewart, George Teren	2:41
7.	"Rope the Moon"	Aggie Brown, Jess Brown, Jimmy Denton	4:06
8.	"If You've Got Love"	Mark D. Sanders, Steve Seskin	3:54
9.	"Oh How She Shines"	Pat Bunch, Doug Johnson	3:14
10.	"Kick It Up"	Andy Byrd, Jim Robinson	3:17

Production

• Scott Hendricks – producer, overdub recording, mixing
• John Guess – recording
• Jeff Balding – mixing (10)
• Amy Hughes – recording assistant
• John Kunz – recording assistant, additional engineer, mix assistant, production assistant
• Marty Williams – recording assistant
• Hank Williams – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Virginia Team – art direction
• Jerry Joyner – design
• Karen Miller – photography
• Lori Turk – make-up
• Hallmark Direction Co. – management

Personnel

As listed in the liner notes.^[5]

• John Michael Montgomery – vocals
• John Barlow Jarvis – acoustic piano (2), Hammond B3 organ (2, 10)
• Reese Wynans – acoustic piano (2-10), Hammond B3 organ (5, 7)
• Bill Cuomo – synthesizers (3, 7, 9)
• Steve Gibson – acoustic guitars (1-3, 6, 8, 9)
• Dann Huff – electric guitars (1-9), acoustic guitars (10)
• Brent Mason – electric guitars
• Billy Joe Walker Jr. – acoustic guitars (4, 5, 7, 10)
• Paul Franklin – pedal steel guitar
• Glenn Worf – bass
• Lonnie Wilson – drums
• Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin (8)
• John Wesley Ryles – backing vocals (1, 2, 4-6, 8-10)
• Dennis Wilson – backing vocals (1-9)
• Harry Stinson – backing vocals (3, 7)

Group vocals on "Kick It Up"

• Mike Janas, John Kunz, Mimi Nuyens, Harry Stinson, Bruce Sulfridge and Dennis Wilson

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994) Peak position Canadian Albums (RPM) 23 Canadian Country Albums (RPM) 1 US Billboard 200[6] 1 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[7] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position US Billboard 200[8] 35 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] 4 Chart (1995) Position US Billboard 200[10] 119 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[11] 19

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[12]	2× Platinum	200,000^
United States (RIAA)[13]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Video	Gold	50,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Kickin' It Up at AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
2. Alanna Nash (January 28, 1994). "Kickin' It Up Review". EW.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
3. Mansfield, Brian (March 1994). "Reviews: Kickin' It Up". New Country. 1 (1): 44.
4. "Billboard 200". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
5. Kickin' It Up (CD). John Michael Montgomery. Atlantic Records. 1994. CD 82559.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. "John Michael Montgomery Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
7. "John Michael Montgomery Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
8. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
9. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
10. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
11. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
12. "Canadian album certifications – John Michael Montgomery – Kickin' It Up". Music Canada. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
13. "American album certifications – John Michael Montgomery – Kickin' It Up". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
14. "American video certifications – John Michael Montgomery – Kickin' It Up". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 3, 2024.