''Good Day for Living'' is the tenth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist Joe Nichols. It was released on February 11, 2022, via Quartz Hill. Three singles have been released from the album, including its title track, which became Nichols' first top 20 hit on the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart since 2014.

Content

The 13-track album was co-produced by longtime collaborators

Mickey Jack Cones Mickey Jack Cones (born in San Antonio, TX) is an American record producer, engineer, session musician, singer and songwriter. Raised in a musical family, he is the grandson of Glenn Gray Orchestra singer Jane Cones and son of Jackie Cones of Th ...

and

Derek George Derek George (born in Philadelphia, Mississippi) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist currently signed to Spirit Music Group. He is known for his work in Pearl River and Williams Riley, and his frequent collaborations ...

, who previously worked with Nichols on his 2013 album, '' Crickets''. ''Good Day for Living'' was recorded during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, which allowed Nichols to take his time with the record while on a break from touring: "For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel any pressure. I'm the type of person who's always striving for more, but I've reached a place where I'm grateful for everything I've accomplished so far. It's been such a good run. I feel at peace, and that has freed me up to make new music that's very honest". It marked his first release under Quartz Hill Records, and Nichols credited label head Benny Brown for his intuition on some of the song selection for the record. "Home Run" was released as the album's lead single on May 10, 2021, and was a major influence in Nichols' initial decision to sign to Quartz Hill. "

Good Day for Living "Good Day for Living" is a song recorded by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released as the second single from his tenth studio album of the same name in January 2022. It was written by Dave Cohen, Bobby Hamrick, and Neil Mason. ...

" and "Brokenhearted" were issued as the album's second and third singles, respectively, and both charted on the ''Billboard''

chart, with the former becoming a top 20 hit. The album includes a collaboration with Blake Shelton on "I Got Friends That Do". It also features several songs previously recorded by other artists: "

She Was "She Was" is a song written by Jimmy Melton and Neal Coty, and recorded by American country music singer Mark Chesnutt. It was released in February 2002 as the lead-off single from his self-titled album. It peaked at number 11 on the United Stat ...

" by

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...

for his 2002 self-titled album, "Hawaii on Me" by

Chris Janson Christopher Pierre Janson (born April 2, 1986) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Janson has recorded three full-length albums, '' Buy Me a Boat'', '' Everybody'', and '' Real Friends'', through Warner Bros. Records Nashville, alo ...

for his 2019 album, ''

Real Friends Real Friends may refer to: *Real Friends (band) Real Friends is an American pop punk band from Tinley Park, Illinois. To date, the band has released seven EPs and three studio albums. Previously signed to Fearless Records, the band is currentl ...

'', and "Reckon" and "Why Can't She" by Adam Craig in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Nichols toured in support of the album on the Good Day for Living 2022 Tour, which commenced on February 12 in Jackson, Mississippi, and ended in September after 26 dates.

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock spoke favorably of the album's melodies and production choices, and highlighted the diversity in material across the project, while comparing Nichols' vocals at times to

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

and Gene Watson.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2022 albums Joe Nichols albums