What a Way to Live
{{For|the Willie Nelson song|What a Way to Live (song)}}
{{Infobox album
| name = What a Way to Live
| type = studio
| artist = Mark Chesnutt
| cover = Mark_waytolive.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|1994|9|13}}
| recorded = 1993–1994
| venue =
| studio =
- Javelina Studios and Woodland Sound Studios (Nashville, Tennessee)
| genre = Country
| length = 33:25
| label = Decca
| producer = Mark Wright
| prev_title = Almost Goodbye
| prev_year = 1993
| next_title = Wings
| next_year = 1995
| misc = {{Singles
| name = What a Way to Live
| type = studio
| single1 = She Dreams
| single1date = July 12, 1994
| single2 = Goin' Through the Big D
| single2date = October 18, 1994
| single3 = Gonna Get a Life
| single3date = February 21, 1995
| single4 = Down in Tennessee
| single4date = June 12, 1995
}}
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = Allmusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}} {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r204367|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine}}
| noprose = yes
}}
What a Way to Live is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt. His first album for Decca Records, it earned RIAA gold certification in the United States for sales of 500,000 copies. The tracks "She Dreams", "Goin' Through the Big D", "Gonna Get a Life", and "Down in Tennessee" were all released as singles, peaking at #6, #2, #1, and #23, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. "She Dreams" was co-written and originally recorded by Tim Mensy on his 1992 album This Ol' Heart, from which it was released as a single, peaking at #74 on the country charts that year. Mark duets with Waylon Jennings on the track "Rainy Day Woman" which Jennings first recorded on his 1974 album The Ramblin' Man. The title track was originally recorded by Willie Nelson in 1960.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| collapsed =
| headline =
| total length =
| title1 = What a Way to Live
| writer1 = Willie Nelson, Hank Craig
| length1 = 2:40
| title2 = Live a Little
| writer2 = Roger Springer, Tony Martin
| length2 = 2:46
| title3 = She Dreams
| writer3 = Tim Mensy, Gary Harrison
| length3 = 3:43
| title4 = Goin' Through the Big D
| writer4 = Mark Wright, Ronnie Rogers, John Wright
| length4 = 2:34
| title5 = Down in Tennessee
| writer5 = Wayland Holyfield
| length5 = 3:21
| title6 = Gonna Get a Life
| writer6 = Frank Dycus, Jim Lauderdale
| length6 = 3:43
| title7 = It's Almost Like You're Here
| writer7 = Charles Quillen, John Priestley, Jonathan Clift
| length7 = 3:34
| title8 = Rainy Day Woman
| writer8 = Waylon Jennings
| length8 = 3:51
| note8 = duet with Waylon Jennings
| title9 = This Side of the Door
| writer9 = Mensy, Shawn Camp
| length9 = 3:23
| title10 = Half of Everything (And All of My Heart)
| writer10 = David Lott, Glenn Gordon, Mark Chesnutt
| length10 = 3:50
}}
Personnel
- Mark Chesnutt – vocals
- Steve Nathan – keyboards
- Matt Rollings – acoustic piano
- Tim Broussard – squeezebox
- Pat Flynn – acoustic guitar
- B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar
- Tim Mensy – acoustic guitar
- Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
- Brent Rowan – electric guitars
- Paul Franklin – steel guitar
- Russ Pahl – steel guitar
- Bob Wray – bass guitar
- Roy Huskey Jr. – upright bass
- Owen Hale – drums
- Paul Leim – drums
- Glen Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
- Rob Hajacos – fiddle
- Nashville String Machine – strings
- Bergen White – string arrangements, backing vocals
- Carl Gorodetzky – string conductor
- Thom Flora – backing vocals
- Chris Harris – backing vocals
- Matt Kaminski – backing vocals
- Jana King – backing vocals
- Kim Rogers – backing vocals
- John Wesley Ryles – backing vocals
- Lisa Silver – backing vocals
- Cindy Walker – backing vocals
- Dennis Wilson – backing vocals
- Ann Wright – backing vocals
- Curtis "Mr. Harmony" Young – backing vocals
- Waylon Jennings – vocals (8)
Production
- Mark Wright – producer
- Warren Peterson – recording, overdub recording
- Robert Charles – overdub recording, second engineer
- Larry Jeffries – second engineer
- King Williams – second engineer
- Lynn Peterzell – mixing
- Mark Friego – second engineer
- Mark Hagen – second engineer
- Glenn Meadows – digital editing and mastering at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Joe Johnston – production coordinator
- Simon Levy – art direction, design
- Keith Carter – photography
- Lucy Santamassino – hair, make-up
- The BDM Company – management
Charts
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1994)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Billboard200|98|artist=Mark Chesnutt|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 21, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardCountry|15|artist=Mark Chesnutt|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 21, 2021}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1995)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Top Country Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1995/top-country-albums|title=Top Country Albums – Year-End 1995|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=February 21, 2021}}
| 56 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Mark Chesnutt|title=What a Way to Live|award=Gold|relyear=1994|certyear=1995|accessdate=February 21, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Mark Chesnutt}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Albums produced by Mark Wright (record producer)
{{1990s-country-album-stub}}