LP NM

 

Jacket NM-

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

It took several tries before  became a star. As a member of  (and  before that), he shared in some million-sellers, among them "Reuben James" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town," an excellent  song about a disabled veteran. But superstardom lay ahead for this Texan, and it arrived in the late '70s. His experience with the two previous pop groups had prepared him well: he knew the easy listening audience was out there, and he supplied them with well done middle-of-the-road songs with a country flavor. Having gone solo, in 1976  charted with "Love Lifted Me." But it was with an outstanding song by writers  and , "Lucille," that his star shot upward.

The rest (as they say) is history: award-winning duets with  and , 12 TV specials, another song of the year with "The Gambler," "Daytime Friends," "Coward of the County," "We've Got Tonight," "Crazy," "Lady" (his first pop number one), etc., etc., etc. And that's just the musical side of . In 1980, the made-for-TV movie The Gambler blasted the competition, followed quickly by Coward of the County, then enough sequels to The Gambler to get him to Roman numeral IV. Throughout the '80s,  remained a celebrity, even when his sales were declining. Even during the '90s, when he rarely charted, his name, face, and music were recognizable in a series of concerts, television specials, films, and even fast-food restaurants.

Like many country superstars,  came from humble roots. Born in Houston, Texas,  and his seven siblings were raised in one of the poorest sections of town. Nevertheless, he progressed through high school, all the while learning how to play guitar and fiddle. When he was a senior, he played in a rockabilly band called , who released three singles, including "Kangewah," which was written by . Following his graduation, he released two singles, "We'll Always Fall in Love Again" and "For You Alone," on the local independent label Carlton. The B-side of the first single, "That Crazy Feeling," was popular enough to earn him a slot on American Bandstand. In 1959, he briefly attended the University of Texas, but he soon dropped out to play bass in the jazz combo . While he was with the group,  continued to explore other musical venues and played bass on's 1960 single "Is It Wrong."  released one album, In a Most Unusual Way, before left the group to play with . He didn't stay long with  and soon landed a solo record contract with Mercury.

 released a handful of singles on Mercury, all of which failed. Once Mercury dropped the singer, he joined  in 1966. He stayed with the folk group for a year, leaving with several other bandmembers --, , and  -- in 1967 to form . Adding drummer ,  signed with Reprise and recorded the pop-psychedelic single "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." The single became a hit early in 1968, climbing to number five. Within a year, the group was billed as , and in the summer of 1969, they had their second and final Top Ten hit, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." The country overtones of the single hinted at the direction  was taking, as did the minor hit follow-up, "Ruben James." For the next two years,  bounced between country, pop, and mild psychedelia, scoring their last big hit with ' "Something's Burning" in early 1970. By the end of 1972, the group had its own syndicated television show, but sales were drying up. They left Reprise the following year, signing to ' new label, Jolly Rogers. None of their singles became major hits, though a version of 's "Today I Started Loving You Again" reached the lower regions of the country charts late in 1973. left the group in 1974, and the band broke up the following year.

At the time the band broke up,  was severely in debt and Jolly Rogers was out of business. In order to jump-start his career, he signed to United Artists in 1975, and with the help of producer , he devised an accessible, radio-ready, and immaculately crafted take on country-pop that leaned toward adult contemporary pop, not country. "Love Lifted Me," his debut single for the label, was a minor hit early in 1976, but it took a full year for  to have a genuine breakthrough hit with "Lucille." Climbing to number one early in 1977, "Lucille" not only was a major country hit, earning the Country Music Association's Single of the Year award, but it also was a huge crossover success, peaking at number five on the pop charts. For the next six years,  had a steady string of Top Ten hits on both the country and pop charts.

His crossover success is important -- his lush, easy listening productions and smooth croons showed that country stars could conquer the pop audience, if produced and marketed correctly. During the late '70s and early '80s, much of country radio was dominated either by urban cowboy or country-pop in the vein of ' own singles. Between 1978 and 1980, he had five straight number one country singles -- "Love or Something Like It," "The Gambler," "She Believes in Me," "You Decorated My Life," "Coward of the County" -- most of which also reached the pop Top Ten. In addition to his solo hits, he had a series of Top Ten duets with , including the number one hits "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (1978), "All I Ever Need Is You" (1979), and "What Are We Doin' in Love" (1981). Not only did his singles sell well, but so did his albums, with every record he released between 1976's  and 1984's  going gold or platinum.

By the beginning of the '80s, ' audience was as much pop as it was country, and singles like his cover of 's "Lady" confirmed that fact, spending six weeks at the top of the pop charts.  also began performing duets with pop singers like  ("Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer," number three country, number four pop, 1980) and  ("We've Got Tonight," number one country, number six pop, 1983).  also began making inroads into television and film, appearing in a number of TV specials and made-for-TV movies, including 1982's Six Pack and two movies based on his songs "The Gambler" and "Coward of the County." Late in 1983, he left United Artists/Liberty for RCA Records, releasing a duet with  called "Islands in the Stream" as his first single for the label. Written by  and produced by , the record became one of his biggest hits, spending two weeks on the top of both the country and pop charts.

 stayed at RCA for five years, during which time he alternated between MOR, adult contemporary pop, and slick country-pop. The hits didn't come as often as they used to, and they were frequently competing with releases from Liberty's vaults, but he managed to log five number one singles for the label, in addition to "Islands in the Stream": "Crazy" (1984), "Real Love" (1985), "Morning Desire" (1985), "Tomb of the Unknown Love" (1986), and the duet "Make No Mistake, She's Mine" (1987). Despite his country successes, he no longer had pop crossover hits. Nevertheless,' concerts continued to be popular, as did his made-for-TV movies. Still, the lack of blockbuster records meant that RCA failed to renew his contract when it expired in 1988.  returned to his first label, Reprise, where he had one major hit -- 1989's Top Ten "The Vows Go Unbroken (Always True to You)," taken from the gold album  -- before his singles started charting in the lower half of the Top 40.

Throughout the late '80s and '90s,  kept busy with charity work, concerts, his fast-food chain ' Roasters, television specials, movies, and photography, publishing no less than two books, Kenny Rogers' America and Kenny Rogers: Your Friends and Mine, of his photos. continued to record, releasing albums nearly every year, but they failed to break beyond his large, devoted fan base and only made a slight impact on the charts. With 1998's , he established his own record label, Dreamcatcher;  followed a year later, and  was issued in mid-2000. appeared in 2001, followed by  in 2003, in 2004, and  in 2006. At this point in his career, unable to hit the pop or country charts any longer,  repositioned himself as a nostalgic brand in the middle, releasing 2011's , a collection of gospel hymns and inspirational songs, only through Cracker Barrel locations (the album was re-released a year later by the Gaither Music Group under the title ). In 2012 issued an autobiography, Luck or Something Like it: A Memoir. A year later,  signed to Warner Bros. Nashville and released , his first major-label, big-budget release in seven years. Preceded by the title track duet with , the record was released in October 2013.

All Lps are sight graded   Note: I Do Not Grade inner sleeves, If these are Important to you then you may e-mail me)

 

RECORD GRADING

Based On Goldmine Grading Standards:

Near Mint (NM): A nearly perfect record. There may be one or two small inaudible defects. The record should show no obvious signs of wear. A 45 RPM or EP sleeve should have no more than the most minor defects, such as almost invisible ring wear or other sights of slight handling. An LP jacket should have no creases, folds, seam splits or any other noticeable similar defect. No cut-out holes, either.

Near Mint Minus (NM-): A record that should play mint but has a few slight visible marks. The album will have as much luster as an NM, there just may be some superficial scuffs from the sleeve or very light hairlines that shouldn't be audible. An NM- album cover subjectively fits somewhere in between VG+ and NM.

Very Good Plus (VG+): A Very Good Plus record will show some signs that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. Record surfaces may show some slight signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don t significantly affect play. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. The label may have some ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable. The center hole will not have been misshapen by repeated play. 45 Picture sleeves will have some slight wear, lightly turned-up corners, or a slight seam-split. An LP jacket may have slight signs of wear also and may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation or corner indicating it was taken out of print and sold at a discount.

Very Good (VG): Many of the defects found in a VG+ record will be more pronounced in a VG disc. Surface noise will be evident upon playing, especially in soft passages and during a song s intro and fade, but will not overpower the music otherwise. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as will light scratches (deep enough to feel with a fingernail) that will affect the sound. Labels may be marred by writing, or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached. The same will be true of picture sleeves or LP covers. However, it will not have all of these problems at the same time, just two or three of them.

Good (G), Good Plus (G+): Good does not mean Bad! A record in Good or Good Plus condition can be put onto a turntable and will play though without skipping. But it will have significant surface noise and scratches and visible groove wear. A jacket or sleeve will have seam splits, especially at the bottom or on the spine. Tape, writing, ring wear or other defects will start to overwhelm the subject.

Poor (P), Fair (F): Below good. imperfections will be described.

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SHIPPING TO CANADA Multiple LP Shipping Rates In USD

1 LP 11.50

2. Lps 13.00

3 Lps 15.00

4 Lps 17.00

5 Lps 26.00

6 Lps 29.00

Multiple Shipping Rates SHIPPING TO Rest Of The World Outside USA in USD

Note: Gatefold Lps Count as 2 Lps

1 LP 17.25

2 LP 20.00

3. Lps 26.50

4 Lps 30.00

5 Lps 48.00 (price jump becuse weight usually takes it to priority mail rate)

6 Lps 51.00

7 Lps 54.00

8 LPs 58.00

9 Lps 61.00

10 Lps 64.00

11 Lps 67.00

12 Lps 70.00

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