March 24, 2023     —–     Chart #188

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Feelin’ a little country today so let’s go with something that fits the mood. How about a song that inspires, something that will lift your spirits? That’s how I feel when I hear Travis Tritt perform It’s A Great Day To Be Alive. Travis was not the first to record this song, but he made the most of it.

“It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” is a song written by Darrell Scott. It was originally recorded by American country music artist Jon Randall, of whose version was to have been included on an album titled Great Day to Be Alive, which would have been released in the late 1990s via BNA Records. Scott released his own version of his song on his 1997 album Aloha from Nashville.

The song was also recorded by The Sky Kings, an American country-rock supergroup consisting of Bill Lloyd (Foster & Lloyd), Rusty Young (Poco), and John Cowan (New Grass Revival) around 1995/1996. Their version sat unreleased until Rhino Handmade released the compilation “From Out Of The Blue” in 2000.

The Sky Kings:  https://youtu.be/CuHPw4TZe6E

The song was later covered more famously by American country music artist Travis Tritt. It was released in December 2000 as the second single from his album Down the Road I Go. It peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and at number 33 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Pat Green & Cory Morrow:  https://youtu.be/tEgjVTwtXHA

It was subsequently covered by Pat Green and Cory Morrow on their March 2001 album Songs We Wish We’d Written and by Niko Moon for his 2021 album Good Time.

Have fun with this one.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw