I liked Kenny Rogers when I first heard his hit “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” when Rogers sang with the First Edition (which I liked for the book reference) in 1967. It wasn’t long before Kenny Rogers left the group for a solo career. I must have used the expression, “You’ve got to know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em” a thousand times in conversations. Those famous lines are from Roger’s classic, “The Gambler.” I enjoyed Kenny Rogers’ music. I’m sad that he’s no longer with us. Do you have a favorite Kenny Rogers song? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
1. The Gambler
2. Through The Years
3. Lady
4. Lucille
5. Coward of The County
6. I Don’t Need You
7. We’ve Got Tonight (with Sheena Easton)
8. Crazy
9. Islands In The Stream (with Dolly Parton)
10. She Believes In Me
11. Every Time Two Fools Collide (with Dottie West)
12. You Decorated My Life
13. Make No Mistake, She’s Mine (with Ronnie Milsap)
14. Share Your Love With Me
15. All I Ever Need Is You
16. Buy Me A Rose (with Alison Krauss)
17. Daytime Friends
18. Love Or Something Like It
19. Love Will Turn You Around
20. Morning Desire
21. What Are We Doing In Love (with Dottie West)
22. Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer (with Kim Carnes)- Bonus Track
Not a fan at all. So I don’t have a favorite.
Steve, my mother loved Kenny Rogers. He occasionally held concerts in Western New York, but I never went to one. Friends who did said they were great.
Sorry he has died but never much of a fan. A little too country for my tastes.
Patti, Kenny Rogers was a “cross-over” artist who brought Country Music into the mainstream of popular music.
To the detriment of country music. Country sounds better when it is rougher around the edges. Not really a lot of country here. More like pop/MOR music with a southern accent.
I do remember “Just Dropped In….” fondly but don’t recall anything else by First Edition. I’m not a fan of Rogers’ solo career either, not because I have anything against him but because that’s just not my kind of music, and I’m mostly unfamiliar with it. I’ve heard “The Gambler” and like it, but that song was so big you’d have had to be living in a cave not to hear it. Looking over the list of songs the only title that sounds familiar is “We’ve Got Tonight”, and I’m wondering if it’s a cover of the great Bob Seegar song.
Michael, Kenny Rogers ended up selling 100 million records. Yes, “We’ve Got Tonight”–a duet with Sheeena Easton–is a cover of Bob Seegar’s hit. It’s available on YouTube.
Since I wrote my original comment I listened, out of curiosity, to the Rogers-Easton version. I hate to be mean about somebody who just died, but lord! it’s awful. I know it was probably a huge hit, but from the arrangement to the vocals it’s almost a textbook example of how to screw up and neuter a great song.
Michael, I much prefer the Bob Seegar version of “We’ve Got Tonight.”
I echo the sentiments of everyone who commented above: other than “Just Dropped In…,” Rogers didn’t really make my kind of music.
Here’s my Kenny-Rodgers-adjacent story: in the 1980, I was driving my brother’s car from St. Simons Island to Statesboro, Georgia, to see some friends at Georgia Southern (my alma mater). The car (which was old) only had an AM radio and by the time took a left at Savannah and headed east, I could find absolutely nothing on the dial. For some reason, Kenny Rogers’s song “Lucille” got stuck in my head. For close to two hours, that song would not leave me alone. It was dreadful. It finally got so bad, I prayed that God would take that damn song out of my head! Even today, just the words, “You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille,” will have me screaming NOOOOOO!!!
Deb, I know what you mean when I song get stuck inside your head. Kenny Rogers married five times but probably not to Lucille.
I’d say Islands in the stream would be a favorite. I enjoyed some, not all of his works. Agree with Deb about Lucille, though I like Dolly’s Jolene
Maggie, “Islands in the Stream” was written by the Bee Gees. It was a huge hit for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.
One of my favorite Hemingway novels.
Not a fan, never was.
He started with the New Christy Minstrels for 6 years before the First Edition years. I must admit I never liked “The Gambler” and absolutely loathed “Lucille” but there were a few of his songs I liked (without being a huge fan) – “Through the Years” and “She Believes in Me.” As a huge Bob Seger fan, I was never thrilled with his version of “We’ve Got Tonight.”
Deb? “You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille.”
*ducks*
Note to Deb: Remind me to kill you. Now I can’t get that stupid song out of my head.
Going to put on “Super Freak” to change the sound in my brain.
OK, you guys got me curious enough to listen to “Lucille”, a dangerous thing for me because I had “Baby Shark” stuck in my head for days after hearing it once. I’d never heard it before and will probably never hear it again, but I must confess I found it pretty catchy. I can see where listening to it several times might be fatal.
The First Edition had a hit with “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.”! I like Kenny; he’s one of only two acts I’ve seen twice! The other was Jay and the Americans! Not because I’m such a huge fan, but it just worked out that way! But I do like him and his music and he seemed like a pretty nice guy, at least on stage!
Bob, I’m a fan of Jay and the Americans, too!
You picked a fine time to post this, George.
It was originally supposed to be “Gertrude”, but there was the need to rhyme with “rude”, instead of “meal” so the whole thing got rewritten. I’m pretty sure I heard that in 1974 during the Timothy Leary Show.
I was beginning to think I was wrong that Rogers had been with The New Christy Minstrels, who I saw a couple of times and now Jeff has confirmed that he was. Never liked his single work that much and he never made it onto my juke box in my basement. Had a message from a friend yesterday saying that he needed to find a new favourite now that The Gambler had joined Elvis, Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Merle Haggard in the Castle in the Sky. Told him Hank Jr. was still around.
Kent, don’t forget Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Gene Autry.