Maps of Music

Kenny (1979)

Where the lyrics of Kenny take you, and where it was really made.

Kenny stayed at No. 1 on the US Country albums chart for a record total of 25 weeks.

Key places

Recording site in Nashville (1979)

Recording site American Sound Studio — Tracks A3 and B3 were recorded here, according to the Discogs credits, and the album lists American Studios as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Kenny: eighth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers
• Released in 1979
• Includes the singles 'Coward of the County' and 'You Decorated My Life'
• Eleven tracks; 'Coward of the County' (4:20) closes the album
• Larry Butler produced and mixed the album
• Engineers: Billy Sherrill (tracks 1, 2, 4–8, 10, 11) and Harold Lee (tracks 3 and 9)
• Artwork by Bill Burks; photography by Reid Miles

Background

• 'Tulsa Turnaround' reworks an earlier song Rogers recorded with The First Edition
• 'Goodbye Marie' was first recorded by Johnny Rodriguez on his March 1979 album Rodriguez Was Here
• Bobby Goldsboro later recorded 'Goodbye Marie' and charted with it as a single in 1981
• Late 1979 repressing came after Transamerica sold United Artists Records
• In 2007 the album was issued as a two-album set on one CD, paired with the self-titled Kenny Rogers from 1976

Recording

• Recorded at American Studios and Jack Clements Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee
• Mastered by Bob Sowell at Master Control in Nashville
• Discogs lists Jack Clement Studio for most tracks and American Studio for tracks A3 and B3

Cover

• Artwork credited to Bill Burks
• Photography credited to Reid Miles
• The sleeve prints 'Coward Of The Country' while the label prints 'Coward Of The County'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kenneth Donald Ray Rogers was born on August 21, 1938, in Houston, Texas, and began his recording career in the late 1950s with the Houston group the Scholars.
• He was an American country singer-songwriter who moved from teenage rock and roll through psychedelic rock to become a country-pop crossover artist of the 1970s and 1980s.
• In 1967 he co-founded the First Edition with former New Christy Minstrels members, later renamed Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.

Members

• The First Edition's members included Mike Settle, Terry Williams, Thelma Camacho, and Kin Vassy.
• Rogers's backing band Bloodline has toured with him since 1976.

Career

• The First Edition scored hits including "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" before the group disbanded in 1976.
• As a solo artist he charted more than 60 top-40 singles, including the number-one hits "Lady" and "Islands in the Stream".
• He recorded duets with Dottie West, Dolly Parton, and Sheena Easton, and partnered with Lionel Richie as songwriter.
• His signature song "The Gambler" won a Grammy in 1980 and was selected for the National Recording Registry in 2018.
• He sold more than 100 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
• He retired from touring in 2017 and died on March 20, 2020, at age 81.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• In the sleeve notes for the 2009 reissue on the Edsel record label, biographer Chris Bolton notes that this album "does its best to represent every musical personality of Kenny Rogers."
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that the album mixes music styles from Country to Disco.

Records

• The album reached the top five of the US Billboard album chart.
• It reached #1 on the Country albums chart, where it stayed for a record total of 25 weeks.
• It was the fourth of twelve #1 Country albums for Rogers.
• It was his first Top 10 'Pop' album entry.
• In the UK it was a top ten album.
• In 2007 it was reissued as a two-album set on one CD with the 1976 self-titled Kenny Rogers.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The 'Goodbye Marie' track had earlier life: Johnny Rodriguez recorded it first, and Bobby Goldsboro charted with it as a single in 1981.
• A Discogs note says a late 1979 repressing was issued with a custom inner sleeve after Transamerica sold United Artists Records.
• The sleeve prints 'Coward Of The Country', but the label prints the correct title 'Coward Of The County'.
• The album's Country-chart run of 25 weeks at #1 is listed as a record total.
• Rogers's first Top 10 'Pop' album entry came with this record.

Sources: www.discogs.com

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