Maps of Music
Love or Something Like It (1978)
Where the lyrics of Love or Something Like It take you, and where it was really made.
The title track topped the charts, yet it was the album's only single, and the other strong cut, "Momma's Waiting", went out as the B-side of Rogers' 1978 hit "The Gambler".
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Recorded in Nashville at Jack Clement Studios (1978)
Recording site Nashville — The album was recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The map pin marks only the city centre, so the exact building is not shown. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- Love or Something Like It: fifth studio album by American country artist Kenny Rogers
- Released in 1978 (July 1978 per release date)
- Issued by United Artists, as listed on the Italian Wikipedia page
- Title track topped the charts and was the only single issued from the album
- Recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
- Album's best tracks still carry a strong country sound
Recording
- Recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studios (Nashville, TN)
- Producer Larry Butler; string arrangements by Bill Justis
- Mastering by Bob Sowell at Master Control (Nashville, TN)
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.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
Reappraisal
- Biographer Chris Bolton, in the 2009 Edsel reissue sleevenotes, suggests the disco influence may be why only one single was pulled from the album
- Bolton calls "Momma's Waiting" a close cousin of Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried"
- Bolton says the album's songs are much more pop slanted overall than any of Rogers' previous albums
- Bolton says the album's best tracks still have an overriding country sound
Records
- Rogers' fourth number-one hit album
- Title track topped the charts
- "Momma's Waiting" was issued as the B-side of "The Gambler" in 1978, a major hit
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- "Momma's Waiting" (written by Rogers) was issued on the B-side of the 1978 major hit "The Gambler".
- The title track was the album's only single.
- Biographer Chris Bolton describes "I Could Be So Good For You" as Kenny's attempt to go disco.
- "We Could Have Been the Closest of Friends" was also recorded by B J Thomas, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones.
- Janie Fricke sang backing vocals on the album and also recorded "We Could Have Been the Closest of Friends".
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
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