"It's Not Over" is a song written by Mark Wright and Larry Kingston, and recorded 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, ...

singer

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 ...

. Originally found on his 1992 album ''

Longnecks & Short Stories ''Longnecks & Short Stories'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt. It was released in 1992 on MCA Records, and like its predecessor ''Too Cold at Home'', it was certified platinum in the United States for sales ...

'', the song was also included on his 1997 album ''

Thank God for Believers ''Thank God for Believers'' is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt. His third album for Decca Records, it produced four singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts between 1997 and 1998: the title t ...

'',

History

The song was originally recorded under the title "It's Not Over (If I'm Not Over You)" by

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

on her 1984 album '' My Kind of Country''.

included his version of the song on his 1992 album ''

'', but did not release it as a single at the time. His rendition of the song features backing vocals from

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

. Five years later, he put the original version on his 1997 album ''

''. Chesnutt chose to put the song on the album in order to replace a song that he felt did not fit thematically with the rest of the album. Regarding its placement on the album, he said that "When we put it up against the other songs, you would never know it was recorded so long ago." He also chose to make it a single because he "always thought that song had a place on radio".

Critical reception

A review from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' was favorable, praising Chesnutt's "heartbroken hillbilly delivery", the presence of

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

and

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

in the production, and the harmony vocals.

Personnel

From ''Thank God for Believers'' liner notes. * Pat Flynn - acoustic guitar * Paul Franklin -

- background vocals *Rob Hajacos - fiddle *

- background vocals *

Paul Leim Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

- drums *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...

- piano *

Brent Rowan Brent Rowan (born May 28, 1956 in Waxahachie, Texas) is an American session musician and record producer who works primarily in country music. Active since the 1970s, Rowan began working with John Conlee through the recommendation of record produce ...

- electric guitar *

Biff Watson Fletcher Bangs "Biff" Watson is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. His musicianship has been a part of recording sessions for many artists. Biography Early years Raised in Chatham, Virginia, Watson learned how to play guitar at a ...

- acoustic guitar *Bob Wray - bass guitar

Chart performance

The song was the "Hot Shot Debut", meaning the highest-debuting song of the week, on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart published for December 13, 1997, where it entered at No. 53.

References

{{authority control 1984 songs 1997 singles Reba McEntire songs Mark Chesnutt songs Vince Gill songs Alison Krauss songs Songs written by Mark Wright (record producer) Song recordings produced by Mark Wright (record producer) Vocal collaborations