What were Kenny Rogers’ 5 Biggest US Pop Hits?

No country artist displayed a finer touch in terms of crossing over to the top charts than Kenny Rogers. His longevity was astounding, as he enjoyed most of his biggest chart successes in the 80s, when Rogers was in his forties.

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Kenny also proved to be the master of the duet during his heyday. You can find evidence of all that in this list of his five biggest US pop hits.

5. “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer” (with Kim Carnes) – No. 4 in 1980

What makes an effective duet partner? Hard to say, but there was something about Rogers’ husky vocals that projected sturdiness. It allowed a wide range of female vocalists with sharply contrasting vocal styles to play off it. Kim Carnes was still in her pre-“Bette Davis Eyes” soft-rock period when she wrote this song with her husband David Ellingson. The two singers go for broke in the chorus in thrilling fashion. Carnes would team up again with Rogers (and James Ingram) for the 1984 Top 20 hit “What About Me?”

“I Don’t Need You” – No. 3 in 1981

Rogers found a kindred musical spirit in Lionel Richie. Even though they seemed to be coming from two different stylistic worlds, the two men met in the middle at an outpost filled with lush adult contemporary ballads. “I Don’t Need You”, produced by Richie and written by Rick Christian, focuses on a man who is trying to futilely convince both himself and his significant other that their breakup won’t be a disaster. This one doesn’t get as much airplay these days as the others on this list. But it’s worth a listen for Rogers’ soulful vocal alone.

3. “Coward Of The County” – No. 3 in 1979

It’s interesting that “The Gambler”, what we now consider Rogers’ signature song, only made it to No. 16 in 1978. But Rogers wisely returned to the well with another story song featuring hard-earned advice. The enemies in the song are “The Gatlin boys,” which was supposedly co-songwriter Roger Bowling’s way of getting back at Larry Gatlin of The Gatlin Brothers for some slight. Rogers deals out the beats of the story in a typically commanding fashion, making the moment when the protagonist rises to the occasion both triumphant and heartbreaking all at once.

2. “Lady” – No. 1 in 1980

Lionel Richie was still a member of The Commodores when he connected with Rogers. It couldn’t have hurt his prospects as a solo artist when he hand-delivered a chart-topper to Rogers as both a writer and producer. The fact that Rogers slipped so subtly into an arrangement that’s more soul than country says something about both the solidity of the song and Rogers’ versatility. Listen closely enough, and you can trace the DNA of many a Richie solo hit ballad to “Lady”. Rogers essentially provided him with a test run.

1. “Islands In The Stream” (with Dolly Parton) – No. 1 in 1983

The Brothers Gibb were unfairly blackballed on pop radio in the early 80s due to their association with disco. But they kept their coffers full by writing and producing songs for others. They penned “Islands In The Stream” with the intent of handing it off to Diana Ross. Instead, it made its way to Rogers and Dolly Parton. There’s something about this song that’s a little over the top. The performers have to meet it at that level. Parton, with her ebullient personality, was a natural to handle that. But Rogers gleefully got in the spirit as well to lift the song to massive hit status.

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