In October 2000, country music group Diamond Rio dropped a sock in the gut ballad titled “One More Day.” The track was the title track and second single off their same-titled album.
The song first gained buzz a month prior to its official release. In a story shared by Martin Roe, the group’s lead singer, he said that it started with morning-drive personality Shawn Parr at Los Angeles’ KZLA. He read an email one day, seemingly talking to a child, about how thankful they were to God that they had all the time together. And that they weren’t going to worry about today, and at night, they’d pray to have one more day with the kid.
Parr was so moved by the email that he left work to have lunch with his son that day. And then he talked about it in his scheduled afternoon meeting with the band’s then-manager, Ken Kragen. But what made that conversation memorable was the fact that Kragen handed him an advanced copy of the song titled “One More Day.” Those were the exact same words included in the email that touched him.
His mouth dropped open, and then the next day, he played the song along with the email. To their surprise, it started a phenomenon on the morning show, with Parr receiving 1,600 emails of stories, hoping and wishing for one more day with their loved ones.
When it was finally released, it received a warm welcome from fans. In an interview with On The Record host Suzanne Alexander, they shared that in the spring of ‘01, the song was coming off the charts, but it earned newfound popularity when it was used as a tribute track for the death of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. And then it once again made it to heavy recurrent rotation in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Meaning Behind the Song
“One More Day” was written by Bobby Tomberlin and Steven Dale Jones and produced by Diamond Rio themselves with Michael D. Clute under Arista Nashville.
According to Marty Roe, the group’s lead singer, he was touched when they first heard it. He then took it home to his wife, Robin, and they both teared it up. “It’s a very simple concept, but an idea that we all ought to try to live by a little more often: don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.”
For You
The song opens with a picture of a dream where the narrator is asked for one wish. One might think to ask for money or a mansion in Malibu, but they simply wished to have just one more day with the one they loved.
The song has since become a signature song to memorialize people, even well-known figures who have passed away.
Diamond Rio’s songs, as Alexander noted, are like a timeline. Fans, including her and us, can remember where we were the moment they came out. And it’s definitely an incredible thing to have this kind of connection with an artist and their music.
Watch “One More Day” by Diamond Rio in the video below.
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