About The Song
“Love of My Life” is Sammy Kershaw’s signature late-’90s ballad, a stately pledge of devotion released on October 20, 1997 as the lead single from his album Labor of Love. Written by Keith Stegall and Dan Hill and produced by Stegall for Mercury Nashville, it runs a graceful 4:22 and leans into Kershaw’s crooner side—warm baritone up front, gently gliding accompaniment, no hurry. As an opening statement for a new LP, it announced an artist confident enough to slow down and let a simple promise carry the weight.
The album context matters. Labor of Love arrived on November 4, 1997 and would become Kershaw’s third RIAA-platinum set and his highest-charting on Top Country Albums (peaking at No. 5). Stegall’s production favors clean lines and roomy mixes, framing a sequence that tilts more romantic and reflective than some earlier records. Across the campaign, “Love of My Life” led the way before “Matches,” “Honky Tonk America,” and “One Day Left to Live” extended the album’s radio run.
Musically, the single is built for late-night radio: piano and steel tracing the melody, a steady pulse that never crowds the vocal, and a chorus that blooms without bombast. Lyrically it’s direct—no elaborate metaphors, just a man admitting he was hesitant until love “came and saved” him. That plainspoken candor, long a country strength, is the heart of the record’s appeal: you believe him. The song’s architecture (square 4/4, classic ballad contours) keeps the focus on feeling rather than fireworks.
Kershaw’s performance is the clincher. He underplays the verses, saves the lift for the hook, and lets small details—breath, timing, the slight catch at the end of a line—do the work. Stegall’s mix resists gloss; guitars are tidy, keys supportive, and nothing obscures the grain of the voice. It’s quietly luxurious, the kind of track that sneaks up on a playlist and then refuses to leave.
The charts tell the story of a big country hit. In the U.S., “Love of My Life” rose to No. 2 on Hot Country Songs in early 1998 (held out of the top spot by Tim McGraw’s “Just to See You Smile”), and it reached No. 3 on Canada’s country survey; it also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 85. On the industry airplay list Radio & Records, the single did reach No. 1 for the week of January 23, 1998—evidence of just how thoroughly it saturated country radio.
There were multiple single configurations in the market. Some pressings listed “Roamin’ Love” as the B-side; others issued a duet version of “Love of My Life” with Terri Clark as the flip, extending the song’s reach into a two-voice conversation. The official video, directed by Michael Salomon, nods to Kershaw’s earlier hit “Meant to Be” before settling into a domestic tableau that mirrors the lyric’s unshowy devotion.
In the larger arc of Kershaw’s career, “Love of My Life” stands as the last U.S. Top-10 of his ’90s run and the ballad that crystallized his shift toward a smoother, grown-up romantic persona. Decades on, it remains a wedding-playlist staple and a catalog centerpiece—not because it aims for grandeur, but because it trusts a sturdy melody and a true-sounding voice to say what matters.
In his career, he has released sixteen studio albums. Those albums were certified platinum and gold by RIAA. More than twenty-five of his singles have reached Top ten on the Billboard.
Video
Lyrics
You are the love of my life
And you are the reason I’m alive
And baby baby baby
When I think of how you saved me
I go crazy
I’ve never known love like this
And it fills me with a new tenderness
And I know I know I know
You’re in my heart you’re in my soul
You’re all I can’t resist
And I need to tell you
The first time I held you
I knew you are the love of my life
I spent a lifetime waiting
Always hesitating until you
I was lost so deep inside my shell
‘Til you came and saved me from myself
Now all I really know
Is I need you
And you are the love of my life
All the joy and tears that I cry
And baby baby baby
You don’t have to say a word
I see it in your eyes
As we stand together
I promise forever
‘Til the day that I die
You are the love of my life
I spent a lifetime waiting
Always hesitating until you
I was lost so deep inside my shell
‘Til you came and saved me from myself
Now all I really know
Is I need you
You are the love of my life
You are the reason I’m alive
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