“One More Day”
Diamond Rio
Written by Stephen Dale Jones and Bobby Tomberlin
Radio & Records
#1 (2 weeks)
March 2 and March 23, 2001
Billboard
#1 (2 weeks)
March 10 and March 31, 2001
Some leadership changes at Arista Nashville created bumps in the road for that label’s flagship artists. The arrival of a new label head with a long history in town was good news for most of the male ones, with Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and Diamond Rio all reversing their commercial slides around this time period.
Diamond Rio did it with a ballad that transcends its own pre-9/11 era. Sonically, they were navigating the pop-country landscape perfectly with “One More Day.” They are acquiescing to the Lonestar sound without sacrificing their own musical identities, so of course the ballad sounds better than most of what their younger competitors were cooking up. Marty Roe’s distinctive lead vocal, the bluegrass-flavored harmonies, and the backporch instrumentation all elevate what could’ve been a bland AC crossover effort.
But because the song is about wishing for one more day with someone who is unexpectedly ripped away from you, it took on a new meaning in the 9/11 era, putting it in the same boat as Brooks & Dunn’s “Only in America” and Aaron Tippin’s “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly” as 9/11 anthems conceived before 9/11. This is the best of those three records, and another reminder that the nineties standard of quality didn’t disappear right away when the new century came calling.
“One More Day” gets an A.
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I think it’s interesting how Diamond Rio more or less adapted to the 21st century without changing membership or producers. I think only their age and a couple misguided single choices kept them from being fruitful longer.
Back in March, I went to see them in concert for the first time. They sounded as good as ever. I also heard co-writer Bobby Tomberlin sing it at least once. It’s a song that has broad appeal to anyone who has lost a loved one, although I loved it before I actually had many losses to deal with.
A very deserving “A”. I don’t think of 9/11 at all when I hear this, but it is an excellent performance.
I agree with Tom P – I don’t think of 9/11 when I hear this song but having lost family and friends in the last three months, I teared up immediately upon hearing the song again.
A-
I agree with Tom P – I don’t think of 9/11 when I hear this song but having lost family and friends in the last three months, I teared up immediately upon hearing the song again. A-
I always kind of took Diamond Rio for granted in the 90s. I’m not entirely sure why, other than a spattering of songs here and there that never landed for me, but it didn’t hit me until I saw them many years later when they performed at my county fair in 2017 how much I missed Marty Roe’s unique and instantly recognizable voice. He could pull off joy, anguish, and everything in between so effortlessly. He’s one of the few male artists who I think could have pulled off “I Hope You Dance”, which is fitting because I’ve always considered “One More Day” a reverse version of “I Hope You Dance”. Instead of a narrator projecting their wishes for themself on a next of kin, the narrator here is projecting a wish for himself on someone who’s lost, presumably a parent or a spouse.
The sentiment combined with the vivid imagery and emotion was custom-made for Roe and his harmonizing partners and they weaved it together seamlessly. It was a well-deserved launch for an encore act for the group just as so many other spiraling acts of the 90s got unlikely rebounds at this point in time. It made for a great record and a continuity of the sentiment I described a couple of weeks ago that I sense most people agree with that country music was in a good place in 2001. Certainly what happened six months later would give “One More Day” renewed relevance but for the worst possible reasons, and I must confess that what the message became in late 2001 distorts my perception of what the message was intended in early 2001. I probably shouldn’t take away points because of that, but it certainly underscores what a universally corrosive impact 9/11 had.
Grade: A-
This was a wonderful return from Diamond Rio. They were my very favorite group of the nineties! To this day, I think their debut album was nearly perfect.
Yes, I love their debut album, too! All of the singles are classics, though I think “Nowhere Bound” and “Mama Don’t Forget To Pray For Me” are quite underrated. I also love album cuts like “They Don’t Make Hearts Like They Used To,” “Pick Me Up,” “The Ballad of Conley And Billy,” and “This State Of Mind.”
If looking at the Billboard charts only, it is interesting how spread out Diamond Rio’s number one hits were at this point. 3 chart toppers, one in 1991, one in 1997, and one in 2000/2001.
As for One More Day, it is an absolutely gorgeous song. Very different sonic approach than Diamond Rio’s 90s fare, but it serves the song so well here. The older I get, the more I long for one more day with those I’ve lost.
Small quibble: I don’t think “Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly” was written pre-9/11. I thought I remembered reading in Country Weekly it was written in the immediate days after the attack. There’s a lot of other songs in that category of current/recent singles that took on a whole new meaning from the attacks: “Riding With Private Malone”, “Angels In Waiting”, “Real Life”, and “I Breathe In I Breathe Out”
Is 2001 on a roll so far, or what?!
This was yet another one of my most favorite songs that was on the radio during the Fall/Winter period of late 2000 and early 2001. It’s just simply a gorgeous record all around. The lovely signature harmonies from the boys, the beautiful, catchy melody, the instrumentation, the clean, smooth production, etc. Everything about it is perfectly executed to my ears. Even though I also love their twangier early 90s music, I personally love how cleaner and slightly more contemporary Diamond Rio’s music got by the late 90s and just how professional their records really sounded by then. The Rio boys were undoubtedly all longtime experienced pros by that time, and I like how producer Michael D. Clute gave them a cleaner and smoother sound, all the while keeping their signature, unique style in tact and STILL not sounding like anyone else on the radio. “One More Day” is a fine example of that high level of excellence and professionalism we came to expect from Diamond Rio by the late 90s and early 2000s. These boys had come a long way since I first fell in love with “Meet In The Middle” as a six year old!
And of course, I love how relatable the sentiment of the song is. Who doesn’t wish for at least one more day that they could spend with a loved one that they’ve lost? I know I’d sure give anything to have one more day with both my dad and my step dad (perhaps one day for each of them). And like the narrator in the second verse of the song, I’d remove any possible distractions and just spend the entire day talking to them and treasuring their company once more. While I loved the song even before it became relatable for me, I love it even more now, because I can now feel it in my bones, as well.
The first few times I heard “One More Day” in the Fall of 2000, I had already fallen in love with it. It actually reminded me of another gorgeous Steven Dale Jones ballad they had released about a year earlier, “I Know How The River Feels.” But unlike that one which undeservedly (imho) underperformed at radio, I was absolutely thrilled that “One More Day” just seemed to be getting more and more popular as time went on. It was just an absolute pleasure for me to hear on the radio all throughout my freshman year in high school, and I still always think about that time in my life whenever I hear it. I also remember loving it every time my dad and I were in his car together, since we usually listened to 93.3 WFLS, which always had more bass in their music. It was one of those ballads that always sounded great with a little extra bass in the sound, which gave it more of a cozy feel. The sweet, familiar harmonies from the guys was also like having an old friend back, and combined with the pretty melody, it was just perfect for that time of year. On a funny note, I had no idea at the time that they were going to change the name of their then still upcoming album. The last song I heard from the guys was the also underperforming but funny tune called “Stuff” in the Summer of 2000, and I had heard that their new album was also going to be titled Stuff. When “One More Day” was still fairly new, I remember thinking: “This song is way too beautiful to be on an album called Stuff.” lol
I also remember the video for “One More Day” being very popular on GAC around the same time, and I’d see it countless times. This was the first time I would see Marty Roe with his slicker, more professional looking image sporting a shorter haircut and a goatee, instead of the previous more boyish image of long curly hair and a clean shaven face, which I was used to seeing. Actually the entire band’s clean, stylish look in this video was a nice reflection of the overall level of professionalism of their records by this time and the more adult contemporary influence that was now a bigger part of their sound. I also love how the video is shot in black and white, making the group’s black outfits look even cooler, and how it takes place at a very nice looking contemporary styled house, once again fitting the style and sound of the record perfectly.
Also, in addition to “One More Day” regaining popularity after 9/11, I remember the song being used by some as a tribute to legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt after his tragic death earlier in 2001.
Amazingly, this is one of the few early 2001 and late 90s/early 2000s songs in general that seems to have survived country radio’s purging of most of that period. And it’s made even more impressive when considering it’s by a band who had already been in the business for nearly a decade when it came out, and that it’s a quiet, melodic, mature ballad, which is the type of song country radio is not exactly known for embracing these days. On one of our more recent trips to Pennsylvania around the mid 2010s, my mom was scanning the stations while we were still going through Maryland when she landed on a country station that was actually playing “One More Day.” To my delight, she decided to leave it there for the rest of the song, and I quit listening to my iPod for just that moment until it ended. I remembered that this was one of the “new” songs in the early 2000s that my mom actually liked, and gosh, it was such a breath of fresh air to be hearing it on the radio again. Heck, I even heard it again more recently when she had her radio in the dining room set to a country station, and it was such a nice brief pleasurable moment before the station went back to the usual modern bro-country/tractor rap sludge. Same with the surprise of hearing “Beautiful Mess” on an even more recent occasion.
Another thing I love about the early 2000s in mainstream country that I haven’t touched upon yet was that it was the last time that you could still hear many 90s veteran artists like Diamond Rio still get some decent airplay with their latest singles. While many of them were definitely starting to struggle by then, others like the Rio boys, Joe Diffie, Patty Loveless, Clint Black, Trisha Yearwood, Travis Tritt, Aaron Tippin, Pam Tillis, Tracy Byrd, Clay Walker, John Michael Montgomery, Terri Clark, Collin Raye, Mark Chesnutt, etc., were still hanging in there for a little bit longer before radio sadly put most of them out to pasture for good by the middle of the decade.
Speaking of Diamond Rio’s early 2000s music, One More Day, is overall another enjoyable, professional sounding album from them, though I think 1998’s Unbelievable was a little stronger. Besides the title cut, I also enjoy “I’m Trying” (featuring Chely Wright), “You Make Me Feel,” “Hearts Against The Wind,” “I Think I Love You,” “Here I Go Fallin’,” “The The Heartache’s Gone,” and “The Love Of A Woman.” I still enjoy “Stuff” too, which is always a funny listen and reminds me of when we were buying new blue carpet for my bedroom in the Summer of 2000, lol.
Oh, and getting back to Steven Dale Jones, who I mentioned earlier, he’s one of the songwriter names I’ve come to recognize for penning quite a few of my favorites. Besides “One More Day” and “I Know How The River Feels” by Diamond Rio, I also love other songs he’s written such as “Ten Thousand Angels” by Mindy McCready, “He Gets That From Me” by Reba McEntire, “Life Goes On” by James Prosser (aka James Wesley), “Little Things” by Tanya Tucker, “She Wants To Be Wanted Again” by Ty Herndon, and “All Because Of You” by Daryle Singletary.
For all the shade I throw at Lonestar for their lame image and try-hard attempts at being cool, I have a hard time convincing myself that Diamond Rio was any more or less cool visually or sonically at this point of their career.
Thankfully, their musicianship has always set them leagues apart. To a member, the Diamond Rio is an excellent assembly of players. Also, Nobody else was stacking those bluegrass harmonies quite like they did. Right out of the gates, Diamond Rio displayed a strong sense of artistry and identity with their excellent debut album.
Even as they evolved into adult contemporary adjacent production, they were always Diamond Rio. They evolved with elegance and grace, sounding comfortable in their sound.
I guess I am trying to get at their charisma and craftsmanship.
I am a huge Diamond Rio fan and love this single.