This guy at one time was the #1 act in Country music, but had a huge universal appeal in all avenues of music. While The Gambler was a gigantic hit, with its lyrics becomming part of our vernacular, this song was so big for him, it became his concert signature song. He absolutley owns this song. It's sad to a degree, that we don't record songs this powerfully honest and caring much anymore. Rogers was a Mega Star in every regard and benefited greatly by the pop country trend of the Urban Cowboy era. In fact, he helped to define it. (This song was even on the Urban Cowboy Soundtrack -Love The World Away) . Everyone new Kenny Rogers and most liked him. He was exceptionally likable and carried a large torch for us for years on TV, the movies and in pop culture. This song was written by another Mega Star, Lionel Richie and this changed the direction of Roger's career. Full disclosure, this is not one of my favorite Rogers singles, but it's hard to describe the enormity of this song. It was #1 country and was on about every chart around the world in dozens of countries over the course of a couple years. It charted on the A/C Charts at #1 for 6 weeks, where it was knocked off finally by John Lennon's, Starting Over. It was on the Soul charts as well. It became the first song of the 80's to chart on all four of Billboard's singles charts – country, Hot 100, adult contemporary and Soul. It elevated Rogers career by a ton, and became a concert number that is now legendary. It sold millions, introducing him and country music to millions of new fans.
My Full Profile On Kenny Rogers
