I Hope You Dance (album)
I Hope You Dance is the third studio album by American country music singer Lee Ann Womack. It was released on May 23, 2000, as her first album for MCA Nashville. The title track was a crossover hit in 2000, becoming Womack's only number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, while "Ashes by Now", "Why They Call It Falling", and "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger" also peaked in the top 40 region of that chart.
I Hope You Dance
May 23, 2000
1999–2000 at The Sound Kitchen and Javelina Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
43:39
Background[edit]
Womack told Billboard: "Frank [Liddell] doesn't look for hits; he looks for great songs. He's into making albums, not hit singles. So hopefully what people will see with this project is that it is an album. There are a lot of great songs on there that won't even be singles. You've got to listen to the album to get them." She also stated, "I'm very, very glad I spent that time and didn't come right back out with a new album right after Decca closed. I didn't rush in to make an album. We took a lot of time. I wanted to get it right. It's different for each person, but I think because I did take the time and the care to take care of both of those things as best I could, I feel like some good things are coming in the future."[1]
Content[edit]
The first single release from the album was the title track. Featuring guest vocals from then-labelmates Sons of the Desert, "I Hope You Dance" became Womack's only number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. This song was also a crossover hit, topping the Adult Contemporary charts and reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After that song came "Ashes by Now", a cover of a song which was previously a #37 pop hit for Rodney Crowell in 1980. Womack's rendition reached #4 on the country charts and #45 on the pop charts. "Why They Call It Falling" was the album's third single, with a #13 country and #78 pop peak. The #23 country hit "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger", written by Buddy and Julie Miller, was the album's last single release.
"I Feel Like I'm Forgetting Something" is the only track on the album that Womack co-wrote, doing so with ex-husband Jason Sellers and Wynn Varble. "Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good" was originally a number one country hit for Don Williams in 1981.