Kenny Rogers Songs

Kenny Rogers opens South Shore Music Circus season

Kenny Rogers will probably perform some cuts from his latest CD, a gospel album titled “The Love of God,” when he opens the season at Cohasset’s South Shore Music Circus on Friday. But the singer promises his set list will still be heavy with the hits that made him a legend.

“Ray Charles is, was, and always will be my all-time musical hero. I loved him very much. I saw him in concert years ago, however, and he didn’t do ‘Georgia on My Mind.’ It made me very mad, because I felt I didn’t get my money’s worth,” Rogers said by telephone from his Atlanta home last week. “Each song is like a weapon in your arsenal. I am very fortunate, because I’ve had something like 30 to 35 hits. You have to have tools in your tool box to do your job. And those songs are my tools. I’ll put songs from a new album in my show, for sure, but I will always do my hits, too, because I know they are what people have come to hear.” With more than 120 million records sold and 65 albums, Rogers – and hits like “I Just Dropped In,” “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” “The Gambler,” “You Decorated My Life, “Lady,” and, of course, “Lucille” – Rogers has been giving fans of several musical genres what they want for more than 50 years.

“I started performing in high school. I learned very early on that the guys in the groups got all the girls and I wasn’t about to miss my chance. I’ve always been interested in all different kinds of music. At home, growing up, all I heard was Hank Williams and other great country singers. By high school, I was listening to doo-wop. One of my own early musical experiences was as a vocalist and upright bass player in a jazz group called the Bobby Doyle Trio. It was in that group, singing and performing jazz, that I learned most of what I know about different vocal styles.”

The Houston-born Rogers wasted little time putting that knowledge to work.

“I sang and played double bass with the New Christy Minstrels, which was a folk group. Then I helped form the First Edition, and we had more of a pop/rock sound. When I went out on my own in 1976, I focused more on pop and country music.”

Perhaps because of his early group success, Rogers, 72, said he has always enjoyed working with other artists. And he has had considerable success, too, scoring several country hits with his old friend, the late Dottie West, and climbing the pop charts with Kim Carnes on “Don’t Fall in Love With a Dreamer,” Sheena Easton on “We’ve Got Tonight,” and Dolly Parton on “Islands in the Stream.” “I think I am at my best when I do duets,” said the three-time Grammy winner. “The secret is that you start with a great song first. Then, once you have the song, you think, ‘Who will I sing this well with?’ I started working on a new duets album about a year ago and I’ve got a couple of songs in the can, but it isn’t always easy to find just the right music. I have a concept album in mind, too, called ‘Killer Combinations’ in which I would record with people like my good friend Wyclef Jean and other people outside my genre.

Willie Nelson on new Grand Ole Opry cd | www.stillisstillmoving.com

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Music by Willie Nelson is included in the latest release by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and the Grand Ole Opry, along with 50 other country music artists. Their Classic Collection, includes live performances recorded on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry spanning six decades from the mid 1950s to the 2000s. The cds are avaialbe at all Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Grand Ole Opry retail locations as well as online at crackerbarrel.com and opry.com, for $11.99.

Artists on the Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection – Outlaws CD are Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kris Kristofferson, Bobby Bare, and George Jones. Together, those featured have collected hundreds of Top 40 country hits and innumerable industry awards.

Artists on the Our Kind of Country CD are Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Diamond Rio, Terri Clark, Montgomery Gentry, and Dierks Bentley. The 12 tracks are studio recordings. Every artist is a Grand Ole Opry member, from McEntire (member since 1985) to Shelton (member since 2010). The artists included have collectively won every major award presented by the Country Music Association, including Entertainer of the Year (Jackson, McEntire and Paisley).

Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection – Duets spotlights live versions of some of country music’s iconic duos (Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton) as well as artists for whom live versions of collaborative efforts are quite rare (Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs and Emmylou Harris). The Louvin Brothers’ “When I Stop Dreaming” is the only live Opry recording of the brothers known to exist. Other artists on the Duets CD are Johnny Cash and June Carter; George Jones and Tammy Wynette; Jack Greene and Jeannie Seely; Bobby Lord and Patsy Cline; Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs; Loretta Lynn and Ernest Tubb; Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius; and Ronnie Dunn and Rebecca Lynn Howard.

Artists on the Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection – Classics CD include Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, The Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Jack Greene, and Garth Brooks.

Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection is the latest in Cracker Barrel’s exclusive music program. On May 16, 2011, Cracker Barrel released Teddy Gentry’s Best New Nashville with original music from 12 talented new artists. On May 2, Cracker Barrel released Randy Travis’ self-titled album Randy Travis. In March of this year, Cracker Barrel released Kenny Rogers’ The Love of God, which debuted at #8 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and #2 on the Top Christian Albums chart. In January 2011, Cracker Barrel released The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin, which debuted at #1 on Billboard magazine’s Bluegrass Albums chart and at #26 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. In November of 2010, Cracker Barrel released Smokey Robinson’s Now & Then, which debuted at #19 on Billboard magazine’s R&B chart and was nominated for an NAACP IMAGE AWARD. September saw the release of the self-titled Rodney Atkins, which includes four #1 hits, and also the release of Mandy Barnett’s Winter Wonderland, which offers up all the authentic sounds of holiday traditions. In July, the company released Craig Morgan’s That’s Why-Collector’s Edition, and in May the release of Wynonna’s Love Heals debuted at #7 on the Billboard Magazine Top Country Albums chart. February’s release of Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart, where it spent nine weeks in the top position and 18 weeks overall in one of the three top positions. One of its songs was nominated for a Grammy® award. Over the last few years, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive CDs with Alan Jackson, the Zac Brown Band, George Jones, Montgomery Gentry, Dolly Parton, Bill Gaither, Ricky Skaggs, Aaron Tippin, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Josh Turner, Amy Grant, Kenny Rogers, Sara Evans, and Charlie Daniels.

Kenny Rogers Songs, Love Is Strange, Kenny Rogers Discography, Islands in the Stream, Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town, the Gambler, Crazy

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