''Love or Something Like It'' is the fifth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

, released in 1978. It was Rogers' fourth #1 hit album.

Overview

The album's title cut (" Love or Something Like It") also topped the charts. Though this was the only single to be issued from the album, another cut, "Momma's Waiting" (written by Rogers), was issued on the B-side of a 1978 major hit single, " The Gambler". "Momma's Waiting" was originally recorded by Rogers and The First Edition in 1970. The song "We Could Have Been The Closest of Friends" was also recorded by a number of other artists including B J Thomas,

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

and

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen Single (music), singles in the top ten of the US ''Billboa ...

, who provides backing vocals on this album, also recorded the song. Biographer Chris Bolton notes in the sleevenotes of the 2009 reissue on the Edsel record label that "I Could Be So Good For You", was Kenny's attempt to "go Disco" and suggests the Disco influence may be the reason only one single was pulled from this album. Bolton goes on to call "Momma's Waiting" a close cousin of

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

's "Mama Tried" and states the album features songs that are much more pop slanted -on the whole- than any of Rogers' previous albums, but the album's best tracks still have an over-riding country sound.

Track listing

Personnel

* Kenny Rogers – guitar, lead vocals * Billy Sanford, Fred Carter Jr., Jerry Shook, Jimmy Capps, Randy Dorman, Rick Harper – guitars *

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988) was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anders ...

– steel guitar *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig", was an American session keyboard player. He played on records for many artists, including Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Loretta Ly ...

, Steve Glassmeyer – keyboards * Gene Golden, Edgar Struble –

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan R. Pearlman, Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the ...

* Edgar Struble –

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

Joe Osborn Joe Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Tommy Allsup Thomas Douglas Allsup (November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017) was an American rockabilly and swing musician. Personal life Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma, in 1931, and was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Allsup had a son, ...

– six-string bass guitar *

Bob Moore Bob Moore may refer to: * Bob Moore (musician) (1932–2021), American session musician * Bob Moore (executive) (1929–2024), co-founder of Bob's Red Mill * Bob Moore (American football) (born 1949), American football tight end * Bob Moore (Au ...

– upright bass *

Jerry Carrigan Jerry Kirby Carrigan (September 13, 1943 – June 22, 2019) was an American drummer and record producer. Early in his career he was a member of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later worked as a session musician in Nashville for over ...

, Bobby Daniels – drums, percussion * Bill Joor, Dennis Good, Philip Forrest, Roger Bissell – horns * Byron Bach, Carl Gorodetzky, Gary Vanosdale, George Binkley, Lennie Haight, Marvin Chantry, Roy Christensen, Samuel Terranova, Sheldon Kurland, Wilfred Lehman – strings *

Bill Justis William Everett Justis Jr. (October 14, 1926 – July 16, 1982) was an American pioneer rock and roll musician, composer, and arrangement, musical arranger, best known for his 1957 Grammy Hall of Fame song, "Raunchy (instrumental), Raunchy". As a ...

– string arrangements * Bobby Daniels, Janie Fricke, Steve Glassmeyer, Gene Golden,

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...

, Wendellyn Suits – backing vocals

Production

* Producer – Larry Butler * Engineer –

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regar ...

* Recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studios (Nashville, TN). * Mastered by Bob Sowell at Master Control (Nashville, TN). * Art Direction and Design – Bill Burks * Photography – Gary Regester * Management – Ken Kragen

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Or Something Like It 1978 albums Kenny Rogers albums United Artists Records albums Albums arranged by Bill Justis Albums produced by Larry Butler (producer)