On How Life Is

On How Life Is
Studio album by Macy Gray
Released	July 1, 1999 (1999-07-01)
Recorded	1997–99; A&M Studios, Paramount Studios, Sunset Sound Recorders (Hollywood, Los Angeles, California)
Genre	R&B, soul, neo soul
Length	44:55
Label	Epic
Producer	Andrew Slater
Macy Gray chronology
On How Life Is (1999) The Id (2001)
Singles from On How Life Is
"Do Something" Released: June 24, 1999 "I Try" Released: September 27, 1999 "Still" Released: February 21, 2000 "Why Didn't You Call Me" Released: July 24, 2000

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]
The Village Voice	[3]

On How Life Is is the debut album by American recording artist Macy Gray, released in the United States on July 27, 1999 by Epic Records. Produced by Andrew Slater, it became Gray's best-selling album to date, selling 3.2 million copies in the United States and seven million copies worldwide.^[4][5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Why Didn't You Call Me"	Macy Gray, Jeremy Ruzumna	3:14
2.	"Do Something"	Gray, Darryl Swann, Ruzumna, Dion Murdock, Patrick Brown, Raymon Murray, Rico Wade, Cameron Gipp, Robert Barnett, André Benjamin, Antwan Patton, Thomas Burton, Greg Mays, Daryl Barnes, George Clinton, Jr., Garry Shider, Bernard Worrell	4:57
3.	"Caligula"	Gray, Swann, Ruzumna	4:38
4.	"I Try"	Gray, Ruzumna, Jinsoo Lim, David Wilder	3:59
5.	"Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak"	Gray, Ruzumna, Murdock	3:57
6.	"I Can't Wait to Meetchu"	Gray, Swann, Ruzumna, Miles Tackett	5:18
7.	"Still"	Gray, Ruzumna, Bill Esses, Jeff Blue	4:15
8.	"I've Committed Murder"	Gray, Swann, Ruzumna, Kiilu Beckwith, Eddie Harris, Francis Lai, Carl Sigman	4:59
9.	"A Moment to Myself"	Gray, Ruzumna, Tackett, Mark Morales, Damon Wimbley	4:00
10.	"The Letter"	Gray, Jamie Houston, Matt Sherrod	5:38

Australian and Japanese bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Rather Hazy"	Gray	3:10

Sample credits

• "Do Something" contains a sample of "Git Up, Git Out" by OutKast and "Funky for You" by Nice & Smooth.
• "I've Committed Murder" contains a sample of "Live Right Now" by Eddie Harris and an interpolation of "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" by Francis Lai & His Orchestra.
• "A Moment to Myself" contains a sample of "Human Beat Box" by The Fat Boys, excerpts of "The Wildstyle" by Time Zone, and a sample of "Entropy (Hip Hop Reconstruction from the Ground Up)" by DJ Shadow & the Groove Robbers.

Personnel

Macy Gray – lead vocals (all tracks); backing vocals (tracks 1, 3–5, 10) Steve Baxter – horn (track 6) Dawn Beckman – backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–9) Jon Brion – Chamberlin (tracks 2, 3, 8, 10); guitar (tracks 3–6, 8–10); synthesizer (tracks 3, 8); orchestra bells (track 4); piano (tracks 4, 10); vibraphone (tracks 7, 8); marimba (track 8); Optigan (track 10) David Campbell – string arrangements (track 7) Lenny Castro – percussion (tracks 1, 2, 7–9) Matt Chamberlain – drums (all tracks); percussion (tracks 1, 3, 9, 10) Kevin Dean – assistant engineer DJ Kiilu – programming (tracks 2, 8, 9); turntables (track 8) James Dowdall – A&R Michelle Forbes – assistant engineer Musiic Galloway – backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–10) Charles Green – horn (track 6) Frank Harkins – art direction Michael Harris – horn (track 6) Hooshik – art direction, design Ngozi "Guz" Inyama – saxophone (track 8) Rami Jaffee – synthesizer (track 5); Chamberlin, Optigan, piano (track 10) Jay Joyce – guitar (track 7) Jinsoo Lim – guitar (tracks 1, 2) Arik Marshall – guitar (tracks 1, 7–10)

Blackbyrd McKnight – guitar (track 5) Gabriel Moses – guitar (track 5) Dion Murdock – bass (tracks 2, 6) Rose Noone – A&R Dave Reed – assistant engineer Greg Richling – bass (tracks 6–10) Jeremy Ruzumna – backing vocals (track 1); organ (tracks 1, 4–6, 8); piano (tracks 1, 7, 10); electric piano, Moog synthesizer (track 2); clavinet, Farfisa synthesizer (track 3); Rhodes piano (tracks 5, 6); Chamberlin, Optigan (track 10) Stéphane Sednaoui – photography Sy Smith – backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 7) Andrew Slater – producer Sherry Sutcliff – production coordinator Darryl Swann – drum programming (track 1); backing vocals, guitar (track 3); programming (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8–10) Miles Tackett – guitar (track 6) Jeff Walch – assistant engineer Patrick Warren – vibraphone (track 2); Chamberlin (tracks 2–4, 7, 8); synthesizer (track 3); Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ (track 9) Dave Way – engineer, mixing David Wilder – backing vocals (track 1); bass (tracks 1, 4) Bendrix Williams – guitar (track 4) Howard Willing – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[6] 1 Austrian Albums Chart[7] 3 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[8] 9 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[9] 44 Canadian Albums Chart[10] 2 Danish Albums Chart[11] 1 Dutch Albums Chart[12] 28 European Top 100 Albums[13] 5 Finnish Albums Chart[14] 16 French Albums Chart[15] 24 German Albums Chart[16] 19 Irish Albums Chart[17] 4 Italian Albums Chart[18] 29 Japanese Albums Chart[19] 61 New Zealand Albums Chart[20] 1 Norwegian Albums Chart[21] 2 Swedish Albums Chart[22] 5 Swiss Albums Chart[23] 6 UK Albums Chart[24] 3 US Billboard 200[10] 4 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[10] 9 US Top Heatseekers[10] 1

Certifications Country Certification Australia 4× Platinum[25] Austria Gold[26] Canada 3× Platinum[27] Europe 2× Platinum[28] Finland Gold[29] France Gold[30] Germany Gold[31] Netherlands Gold[32] New Zealand 4× Platinum[33] Norway Platinum[34] Sweden Gold[35] Switzerland Platinum[36] United Kingdom 3× Platinum[37] United States 3× Platinum[38]

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position UK Albums Chart[39] 11 Chart (2000) Position Australian Albums Chart[40] 7 Austrian Albums Chart[41] 22 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[42] 47 Danish Albums Chart[43] 5 Finnish Albums Chart[44] 145 New Zealand Albums Chart[45] 5 Swiss Albums Chart[46] 25 UK Albums Chart[39] 31 US Billboard 200[47] 21

Decade-end charts Chart (2000–09) Position US Billboard 200[48] 129

Release history

Country	Date	Label
Japan	July 1, 1999	Epic Records
United Kingdom	July 5, 1999	Sony Music
Switzerland	July 7, 1999
United States	July 27, 1999	Epic Records
Canada		Sony Music
Australia	August 16, 1999

References

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "On How Life Is – Macy Gray – Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/on-how-life-is-r425324/review. Retrieved December 21, 2005. 
2. ^ Walters, Barry (August 19, 1999). "Macy Gray: On How Life Is". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 28, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080725140929/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/macygray/albums/album/182224/review/6068102/on_how_life_is. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
3. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 25, 2000). "CG: Macy Gray". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Macy+Gray. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
4. ^ Martens, Todd (September 27, 2001). "Jay-Z's 'Blueprint' Enters Second Week At No. 1". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/news/1063322.story. Retrieved December 14, 2008. 
5. ^ "Macy Gray – Full Biography". VH1. MTV Networks. http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/gray_macy/artist.jhtml#biographyEnd. Retrieved September 16, 2011. 
6. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is". Australian Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
7. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
8. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
9. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} "On How Life Is – Macy Gray – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/on-how-life-is-r425324/charts-awards/billboard-album. Retrieved March 16, 2008. 
11. ^ "Macy Gray / On How Life Is". IFPI Denmark. TOP20.dk. http://top20.dk/album/402-420. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
12. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Hung Medien. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
13. ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media) 112 (16): 57. April 15, 2000. ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.com/books?id=4w4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA7&pg=PA57#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
14. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is". IFPI Finland. Hung Medien. http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
15. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
16. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Gray,Macy / Longplay" (in German). Media Control. PhonoNet GmbH. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Gray,Macy/?type=longplay. Retrieved July 22, 2008. 
17. ^ "Discography Macy Gray". Irish Recorded Music Association. Hung Medien. http://www.irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray. Retrieved June 21, 2010. 
18. ^ "Classifica Artisti" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. http://www.fimi.it/classifiche.asp?idtipo_classifica=1&idclassifica=773&archivio=true. Retrieved March 18, 2008. 
19. ^ "オン・ハウ・ライフ・イズ/メイシー・グレイ [On How Life Is / Macy Gray]" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/106314/1/. Retrieved October 5, 2009. 
20. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
21. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is". Verdens Gang. Hung Medien. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
22. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
23. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is". Media Control. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Macy+Gray&titel=On+How+Life+Is&cat=a. Retrieved March 16, 2008. 
24. ^ "Macy Gray – On How Life Is". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=40068. Retrieved March 16, 2008. 
25. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-2000.htm. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
26. ^ "Gold & Platin Datenbank" (in German). IFPI Austria. March 17, 2000. http://www.ifpi.at/?section=goldplatin. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
27. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification – October 2001". Canadian Recording Industry Association. October 22, 2001. http://www.cria.ca/gold/1001_g.php. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
28. ^ "Platinum Europe annual roundup: new qualifiers, more countries and European acts prosper in 2000". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. January 16, 2001. http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/20010116.html. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
29. ^ "Kulta- ja platinalevyt – Macy Gray" (in Finnish). IFPI Finland. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/artistit/macy+gray. Retrieved April 19, 2008. 
30. ^ "Certifications Albums Or – année 2000" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. July 6, 2000. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259165&year=2000&type=8. Retrieved April 20, 2008. 
31. ^ "German certifications – On+How+Life+Is" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=On%2BHow%2BLife%2BIs&strInterpret=&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
32. ^ "Goud/Platina" (in Dutch). NVPI. http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=61112&documentid=1237807&zoekform=60463&formposted=yes. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
33. ^ "Top 40 Albums – Chart #1217". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. July 9, 2000. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
34. ^ "Salgstroféer" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. http://www.ifpi.no/sok/index_trofe.htm. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
35. ^ "Guld & Platina – År 2000" (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. March 27, 2000. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/ar-20002.pdf. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
36. ^ "Awards 2000". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/awards.asp?year=2000. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
37. ^ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. March 10, 2000. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx. Retrieved October 5, 2009. 
38. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. September 8, 2000. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22On+How+Life+Is%22. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
39. ^ ^{a b} "Yearly Best Selling Albums". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/Yearly%20best%20sellers%20-%20albums.pdf. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
40. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-albums-2000.htm. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
41. ^ "Jahreshitparade 2000" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. http://www.austriancharts.at/2000_album.asp. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
42. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2000" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2000&cat=a. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
43. ^ "Chart of the Year 2000". IFPI Denmark. TOP20.dk. http://top20.dk/chart/2000. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
44. ^ "Myydyimmät ulkomaiset albumit vuonna 2000" (in Finnish). IFPI Finland. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/myydyimmat/2000/ulkomaiset/albumit. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
45. ^ "Annual Top 50 Albums Chart 2000". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart_annual.asp?chartYear=2000&chartKind=A. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
46. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2000". Media Control. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=2000. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
47. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media) 112 (53): YE-38. December 30, 2000. ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.com/books?id=ehEEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&lr&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA2-IA13#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 
48. ^ "Decade End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/decadeendcharts/2009/billboard-200-albums. Retrieved September 13, 2011. 

Preceded by All the Way… A Decade of Song by Celine Dion	Australian Albums Chart number-one album January 3, 2000 – February 21, 2000	Succeeded by Play by Moby
Preceded by Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers Play by Moby	New Zealand Albums Chart number-one album January 23, 2000 – February 13, 2000 April 23, 2000	Succeeded by Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers The Platinum Album by Vengaboys
Preceded by Aquarius by Aqua	Danish Albums Chart number-one album April 10, 2000	Succeeded by Everything Glows by D-A-D