"I Know How the River Feels" is a song written by Steven Dale Jones and

Amy Powers Amy Powers (born 1960) is a lyricist, songwriter and producer who writes songs for film, television, and theater. Career Early life Powers graduated from Vassar College, and then attended Columbia University (M.B.A) and Harvard University law de ...

. First recorded by

Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962), known professionally as Ty Herndon, is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamon ...

, it has been released as a single by both

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was foun ...

and

McAlyster McAlyster was an American country music group founded in Pensacola, Florida. Its members comprised Cody Collins, Josh Walther, Leigh Usilton and Valerie Gills. They were signed to MCA Nashville Records in 2000. Their debut single, "I Know How the ...

History

The song was originally recorded by

on his 1996 album ''

Living in a Moment ''Living in a Moment'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Ty Herndon. The album was released in 1996 (see 1996 in country music) via Epic Records. Like his debut album '' What Mattered Most'', the album has been certified ...

''. Herndon said that he chose to record the song after a friend had died from cancer. Doug Johnson, then the senior vice president of

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, told ''Billboard'', "I think there is magic in the way he delivers that song."

then covered the song for their album '' Unbelievable'', and released it as the album's third single in March 1999. It was the first song in the band's career to feature outside musicians; specifically, a string section. A year later,

recorded a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

, which was submitted to

MCA Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashv ...

and released as the group's only single.

Critical reception

Mikel Toombs of the ''

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' described Diamond Rio's version negatively in his review of the album, saying that "There's nothing too embarrassing here, save the anything-for-a-metaphor 'I Know How the River Feels'. ''Billboard'' gave the McAlyster version a mixed review, calling it "a pretty song and a promising performance, but where it fits in the country format remains to be seen."

Chart performance

Diamond Rio

"I Know How the River Feels" debuted at number 74 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 27, 1999.

McAlyster

References

{{authority control 1999 singles Diamond Rio songs Ty Herndon songs Songs written by Steven Dale Jones Arista Nashville singles MCA Records singles 1996 songs Songs written by Amy Powers