Maps of Music

Kenny Rogers (1976)

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

The single Lucille from this album reached No. 1 in the UK and opened Kenny Rogers's solo career there.

Key places

Recorded at American Sound Studios (1976)

Recording site American Sound Studio — The album's recording location is listed as American Sound Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studio (1976)

Recording site Nashville — The credits list Jack Clement Recording Studios in Nashville as a recording location. The pin is placed at the city-center coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Kenny Rogers: second studio album by the American singer Kenny Rogers
• Released 1977 on United Artists Records
• Followed Love Lifted Me (1976), which had only minor success
• Marked his first major solo success
• Produced two singles

Background

• The first single, 'Laura (What He's Got That I Ain't Got?)', came out in 1976 and peaked at #19
• The song was originally a #1 country hit for Leon Ashley in 1967
• The second single, 'Lucille', made Rogers a star in 1977
• 'Lucille' climbed to the top of the country charts in the U.S. and Canada
• 'Lucille' placed at #5 on the U.S. Hot 100
• 'Lucille' also reached #1 in the UK, opening his solo career there
• 'I Wasn't Man Enough' is another track from the album and later appeared on several of Rogers's greatest hits compilations

Recording

• Recorded at American Studios and Jack Clement Recording Studios (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Producer Larry Butler
• Engineers Harold Lee and Billy Sherrill
• Mastered by Bob Sowell at Master Control in Nashville

Cover

• Art direction by Ria Lewerke
• Photography by David Brandenberg
• Typography by Michael Manoogian

Sources: en.wikipedia.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

At release

• The album produced two singles
• The first single, 'Laura', peaked at #19 in 1976
• 'Lucille' gained Rogers stardom in 1977
• 'Lucille' climbed to the top of the country charts in the U.S. and Canada
• 'Lucille' placed Rogers at #5 on the U.S. Hot 100

Reappraisal

• 'I Wasn't Man Enough' later appeared on some of Rogers's greatest hits compilations
• The album was the first of twelve No. 1 albums Rogers had on the Country chart

Records

• Peaked as high as #30 overall
• Certified Platinum in the U.S.
• Also reached Gold in Canada
• 'Lucille' reached #1 in the UK, the single that blew open his solo career there

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Lucille also reached No. 1 in the UK, the single that opened Rogers's solo career there
• Laura had been a #1 country hit for Leon Ashley in 1967 before Rogers recorded it
• The album was the first of twelve No. 1 albums Rogers had on the Country chart
• I Wasn't Man Enough later appeared on several Rogers greatest hits compilations

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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