Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years is a striking look back at an incomparable career that has landed Kenny Rogers in the pop and country charts every single decade for the past fifty years, a feat no other artist has matched. Released today (October 27th) via Time Life in association with Dreamcatcher Artist Management, the 45 track collection includes all original versions of his biggest hits as well as three new songs, one with his longtime collaborator Dolly Parton. Lavishly packaged with a booklet that features photos from Kenny’s personal collection, ach disc reflects a distinctive style that Rogers has built his iconic career around; Duets, Story Songs, and Love Songs. The set also marks the first time all of Rogers’ hit duets have been collected in one place. In addition to the box set, a single disc called The Greatest Duets is available at retail outlets beginning today.Rogers began his recording career in 1957 and immediately became a local sensation in his Houston neighborhood and throughout Texas. In 1968 he made the leap to the national stage his group, the First Edition. A hint at what his career was to become, the band quickly amassed 10 hits in four years including the powerful “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town.” After leaving the First Edition, Rogers embarked on a solo career at the age of 37 and defied the youth-driven pop charts with his 1977 runaway hit, “Lucille,” a massive crossover sensation that became part of mainstream pop culture and remains one of his most iconic songs.
That year, another pivotal moment in his career took place; Kenny discovered his love of duets. By chance, he recorded “Every Time Two Fools Collide” with Dottie West. As an artist, he was impressed by the chemistry that a duet creates. As a chart-topper, he saw the appeal of a song that didn’t feature just his own vocals, giving fans something different to listen to. Since then, Kenny has continued to make duets an important part of his career, recording with Kim Carnes, Sheena Easton, Gladys Knight, Don Henley, James Ingram, Tim McGraw, Ronnie Milsap and Travis Tritt. His favorite partner by far is Dolly Parton. They share a particularly powerful chemistry that fans love hearing again and again, and produced megahits “Islands in the Stream,” “Real Love” and now their newest song, “Tell Me That You Love Me“.
In the grand tradition of country music, Kenny has a special affinity for story songs and no one does them better. Fans embraced his easygoing storytelling manner from the onset of his career, driving “Ruby” and “Lucille” to the top of the charts. But perhaps there is no greater story song ever recorded than “The Gambler” (1979) which became his second pop culture phenomenon. It is one of his biggest hits of his career, spawning no fewer than 5 movies and was made into a five-episode mini-series (starring Rogers) that became the longest running mini-series in the history of US television and was seen by 100 million people.
And then there are his love songs, delivered with the sincerity and charm that few can match. “If you kind of break down the hits I’ve had, I think the love songs say what every man would like to say and every woman would like to hear,” Rogers surmises. His #1 pop and country hit, “Lady” (a collaboration with Lionel Richie), was a surprisingly subtle combination of country and R&B that swept the charts. His songs “She Believes In Me” and “You Decorated My Life” remain perennial wedding favorites while “Through The Years” catches up with those couples as they celebrate their anniversaries years later.
Kenny Rogers has recorded more than 65 albums, selling over 105 million copies worldwide, earning 20 platinum albums and 21 gold. At one point, Kenny Rogers sold more than one million records every month for 26 straight months and has topped the album charts for a combined 90 weeks. Rogers has won four Grammy awards, 11 People’s Choice Awards, 18 American Music Awards, eight Academy of Country Music awards and 11 Country Music Association awards and remains as active as ever, continuing to tour and record new music year round. “The great thing about all of this is that it represents the first 50 years of my music career,” says Rogers. “I’m currently working on the next,” he continues, with a gleam in his eye.
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