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CD SHOWCASE MEMORIES

Spinning the records…
…& turning the tables on automotive photos!

This week’s feature is 1 of Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits albums & 4 tunes: “Love Or Something Like It” (Side 1), “You Were A Good Friend” (Side 1), “The Gambler” (Side 2) & “Coward Of The County” (Side 2). I don’t think you can choose a ‘bad’ Kenny Rogers song, so it was difficult to narrow this down to even just 4 to showcase, especially on this record, 1 that is near & dear to my heart for multiple reasons! What are your favorite KR tunes from this album? This week’s featured interior: white Pontiac Trans Am at the 2017 World Of Wheels, Chicago IL (photo by OC,SHer BILL O SR)

ALBUM:
‘20 Greatest Hits’, 1983
ARTIST:
Kenny Rogers
For more about KR’s hits & history, see the 01/27/2016 “Wednesday Wrap” entry via THIS LINK HERE, the 09/24/2016 “CarTunes Saturday” entry via THIS LINK HERE, the 02/11/2017 “Smorgasbord Saturday” entry via THIS LINK HERE & the 03/04/2017 “Smorgasbord Saturday” entry via THIS LINK HERE.
This record (which I own on vinyl, originally owned by my grandmother, Mom’s Mom) features 20 tunes. Side 1 has 1977’s “Lucille” (#1 country, 2 weeks; #5 Billboard Hot 100), 1980’s “Lady” (#1 country; #1 BH 100, 6 weeks), 1975-6’s “Love Lifted Me” (#19 country), 1983’s “We’ve Got Tonight” (duet with Sheena Easton; #1 county; #6 BH 100), 1983’s “Scarlet Fever” (#5 country), 1978’s “Love Or Something Like It” (#1 country; #32 BH 100), 1979’s “She Believes In Me” (#1 country, 2 weeks; #5 BH 100), 1969’s “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town” (his debut single; #39 country; #6 BH 100), 1980’s “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer” (duet with Kim Carnes; #3 country, 3 weeks; #4 BH 100) & 1983-4’s “You Were A Good Friend” (#20). Side 2 features 1978’s “The Gambler” (#1 country, 3 weeks; #16 BH 100; CMA Song Of The Year; Country Song & Country Male Vocal Grammys), 1982’s “Through The Years” (#5 country; #13 BH 100), 1977’s “Daytime Friends” (#1 country; #28 BH 100), 1979’s “You Decorated My Life” (#1 country, 2 weeks; #7 BH 100; Country Song Grammy), 1979’s “Til I Can Make It On My Own” (duet with Dottie West; #3 country), 1969’s “Reuben James” (#46 country, #26 BH 100), 1979-80’s “Coward Of The County” (#1 country, 3 weeks; #3 BH 100, 4 weeks), 1981’s “I Don’t Need You” (#1 country, 2 weeks; #3 BH 100, 2 weeks), 1970’s “Something’s Burning” (#11 BH 100) & 1982’s “Love Will Turn You Around” (#1 country; #13 BH 100).

FEATURE SONG # 1:
“Love Or Something Like It”
This song debuted 06/03/1978, spent 14 weeks on the county charts & claimed #1; like many of his tunes, this single crossed over, but only reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the time, it was his 5th straight Top 10 on the country charts, with only 1 of those not reaching the top of the charts. The string of Top 10s stretched into 1983, maxing at 23, with 14 of those as chart toppers.

FEATURE SONG # 2:
“You Were A Good Friend”
Debuting 11/19/1983, this single spent 17 weeks on the country charts & peaked at #20 in early 1984; it did NOT cross over. Clearly, this song’s chart performance is not why I chose to showcase it. 1st, as I’ve mentioned many times, I always loved playing the “lesser known” hits on my radio shows. 2nd, this song means a lot to me. When I was in college, a weekday chapel service sermon reminded me of the opening notes & opening lyrics of this tune (“If I close my eyes, it doesn’t hurt quite so bad…”), but I could not, for the life of me, remember anything else about the song. Then, quite unexpectedly, that very next weekend, this song was played during a classic country show that a Fort Wayne IN country station had at the time. The goosebumps I got when the 1st notes of the song started cannot be described; it was that powerful. You see, 4 years, 1 month, & 8 days after this song debuted, my childhood best friend died of an asthma attack, 12/27/1987. While the lyrics don’t fit 100%, they are pretty dang close, so this song really strikes a chord with me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx-2ZXFXwhw

FEATURE SONG # 3:
“The Gambler”
Like the above tune, this song strikes a chord with me every time I hear it. The very 1st time I remember hearing it (well, really hearing it, anyway), I was in a medium-dark green Plymouth Volare station wagon my best friend’s parents had at the time. His Mom, an awesome singer (Hi, Peg!), was singing right along with it, harmonizing with Kenny. As for the song info, I’d be willing to bet not too many people don’t know this hit, which originally hit the airwaves 10/28/1978, spending 16 weeks on the country charts, 3 of those at #1. It crossed over to the pop charts, but amazingly only notched at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single earned KR the CMA Song Of The Year & 2 Grammys: Country Song & Country Male Vocal.

FEATURE SONG # 4:
“Coward Of The County”
This song 1st graced the airwaves 11/17/1979 & spent 15 weeks on the country charts, 3 of those at the top; it also spent 4 weeks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Amazingly, this song is credited with being his best-charting & popular tune. For me, it never really resonated, though I do remember getting a vivid picture in my mind of the actions the lyrics describe … & hearing it again now, I still do. That noted, I think it has many good “life lessons” & commentary in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvLkKHv5If8