Maps of Music

Something Inside So Strong (1989)

Where the lyrics of Something Inside So Strong take you, and where it was really made.

Behind a Kenny Rogers album, four duet partners and a long list of session players share the credits, and the title track was written by Labi Siffre.

Key places

Nashville recording credit (1989)

Recording site Nashville — Sixteenth Avenue Sound is listed among the recording studios in Nashville for this album. The pin uses the city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Huntsville recording credit (1989)

Recording site Sound Cell Recording Studios — Sound Cell Recording Studios in Huntsville is listed among the recording locations for this album. The pin marks the city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

North Hollywood recording credit (1989)

Recording site Schnee Studio — Bill Schnee Studios in North Hollywood is credited as a recording location for this album. The pin uses the district center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Toronto recording credit (1989)

Recording site Phase One Audio Group — Manta Sound in Toronto is listed as a recording location for this album. The pin marks the city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Something Inside So Strong: 21st studio album by American country singer Kenny Rogers
• Released in 1989; release date given as 28 April 1989
• Jim Ed Norman produced the album
• Steve Dorff added production on 'If I Ever Fall in Love Again'
• Duet partners: Gladys Knight, Anne Murray, Holly Dunn, and Ronald Isley
• Track listing includes ten songs, from 'Planet Texas' to a seven-minute closer with Ronald Isley

Background

• Album made during Rogers' country career, with several singles pulled from it
• Singles: 'When You Put Your Heart in It', 'Planet Texas', 'The Vows Go Unbroken', the title track, and 'Maybe'
• Title track credited to Labi Siffre as writer
• Several songs written by outside writers, including Gary Burr and Eric Kaz, Mike Reid and Troy Seals

Recording

• Recording credits list studios in several cities: Sixteenth Avenue Sound, Audio Media Recorders, Digital Recorders, The Loft, and MasterMix in Nashville
• Other recording studios: Sound Cell Recording Studios in Huntsville, Bill Schnee Studios in North Hollywood, and Manta Sound in Toronto
• Mastering at Masterfonics in Nashville, Tennessee, by Glenn Meadows and Eric Prestidge
• Digital editing at GroundStar Laboratories in Nashville
• Musicians include Matt Rollings on piano, Paul Leim on drums, Michael Rhodes on bass, and Michael Landau and Dean Parks on guitars

Cover

• Front cover photography by Empire Studio
• Back cover photography by Kelly Junkerman; background photography by David Skernick
• Art direction and design by Laura LiPuma

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

At release

• The album includes five singles: 'When You Put Your Heart in It', 'Planet Texas', 'The Vows Go Unbroken', 'Something Inside So Strong', and 'Maybe'
• Duet guests on the album: Gladys Knight on 'If I Knew Then', Anne Murray on 'If I Ever Fall in Love Again', Holly Dunn on 'Maybe', and Ronald Isley on 'Love the Way You Do'
• Producer Jim Ed Norman handled the album, with Steve Dorff credited for additional production on one song
• Track list shows ten songs with several outside songwriting teams
• Singer credited on the album: Kenny Rogers, with vocals on the whole record
• Duet partners add a distinct guest-vocal layer to the country-pop sound of the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title track '(Something Inside) So Strong' was written by Labi Siffre, according to the Italian track listing.
• 'Planet Texas' is credited to John Andrew Parks III as writer.
• Jim Ed Norman is the album's producer, and he also played acoustic piano on track 10.
• Duet partners appear on tracks 3, 6, 9, and 10, linking each to a different guest singer.
• Recording credits span studios in Nashville, Huntsville, North Hollywood, and Toronto.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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