Kenny is the eighth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released in 1979. It includes the singles "Coward of the County" and "You Decorated My Life."

Kenny
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1979[1]
Recorded1979
Studio
GenreCountry
Length36:02
LabelUnited Artists Group
ProducerLarry Butler
Kenny Rogers chronology
The Kenny Rogers Singles Album
(1979)
Kenny
(1979)
Gideon
(1980)
Singles from Kenny
  1. "You Decorated My Life"
    Released: September 10, 1979
  2. "Coward of the County"
    Released: November 12, 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

"Tulsa Turnaround" is a reworking of an earlier song Rogers recorded with The First Edition.

"Goodbye Marie" was first recorded by Johnny Rodriguez on his March 1979 album, Rodriguez Was Here, and then later recorded by Bobby Goldsboro, charting as a single for him in 1981.

The album reached the top five of the US Billboard album chart and #1 in the Country charts (where it stayed for a record total of 25 weeks). In the UK, it was a top ten album as well. In 2007, the album was issued as a two album set on one CD, the other album included on the disc being the self-titled Kenny Rogers from 1976.

In the sleeve notes for the 2009 reissue on the Edsel record label, biographer Chris Bolton notes that this album "does its best to represent every musical personality of Kenny Rogers." Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that the album mixes music styles from Country to Disco.[2]

This was the fourth of twelve #1's for Rogers on the Country albums chart, as well as his first Top 10 'Pop' album entry.

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Turn the Light On"Lewis Anderson, Stephen Geyer3:03
2."You Decorated My Life"Debbie Hupp, Bob Morrison3:38
3."She's a Mystery"Larry Keith, Steve Pippin2:54
4."Goodbye Marie"Dennis Linde, Mel McDaniel2:47
5."Tulsa Turnaround"Larry Collins, Paul Cotton, Alex Harvey2:52
6."I Want to Make You Smile"Bill Medley3:20
7."Santiago Midnight Moonlight"John Porter McMeans3:14
8."One Man's Woman"Steve Glassmeyer3:45
9."In and Out of Your Heart"Thomas Cain, Randy Cullers, Dennis Linde, Alan Rush3:23
10."Old Folks"Willard Robison2:44
11."Coward of the County"Roger Bowling, Billy Edd Wheeler4:20

Personnel

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Production

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  • Producer, Mixing – Larry Butler
  • Engineers – Billy Sherrill (Tracks 1, 2, 4–8, 10 & 11); Harold Lee (Tracks 3 & 9).
  • Recorded at American Studios and Jack Clements Recording Studios (Nashville, TN).
  • Mastered by Bob Sowell at Master Control (Nashville, TN).
  • Artwork – Bill Burks
  • Photography – Reid Miles

Charts

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Chart (1979-80) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[3] 15
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] 17
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[5] 1
Canada Country Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] 17
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 15
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 7
US Billboard 200[10] 5
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[11] 1

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[12] Platinum 50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[13] 4× Platinum 400,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "LP Discography: Kenny Rogers". Lpdiscography.com. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Kenny - Kenny Rogers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  3. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 256. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kenny Rogers – Kenny" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9467a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  6. ^ "RPM Country Albums for January 10, 1980". RPM. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kenny Rogers – Kenny" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  8. ^ "Charts.nz – Kenny Rogers – Kenny". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  10. ^ "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  11. ^ "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kent Music Report No 341 – 5 January 1981 > Platinum and Gold Albums 1980". Kent Music Report. Retrieved November 12, 2021 – via Imgur.com.
  13. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Kenny". Music Canada.
  14. ^ "British album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Kenny". British Phonographic Industry.
  15. ^ "American album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Kenny". Recording Industry Association of America.