''The Gambler'' is the sixth studio album by American singer

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 by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

in November 1978. One of his most popular, it has established Rogers' status as one of the most successful artists of the 1970s and 1980s. The album reached many markets around the world, such as the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, with Rogers later commenting "When I go to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

people say 'Ah, the gambler!'" (as per the sleeve notes to the 1998 released box set ''Through the Years'' on Capitol Records). The album has sold over 5 million copies.

History

Rogers recorded the album at the Jack Clement Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Larry Butler. The title track " The Gambler" was written by Don Schlitz, who was the first to record it. It was also covered by several other artists, but it was Kenny Rogers' adaptation of the tale that went on to top the country charts and won Rogers a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980, later becoming Rogers' signature song. Although

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

recorded the song first, Rogers' version was released first. Both this song and " She Believes in Me" became pop music hits, helping Rogers become well-known beyond country music circles. Although largely compiled from songs by some of the music business's top songwriters, such as Alex Harvey, Mickey Newbury, and Steve Gibb, Rogers continued to show his own talent for songwriting with "Morgana Jones". In Britain, both the title cut and the album did very well in the country market, but both failed to reach the top 40 of the pop charts. In the 1980s the single of "The Gambler" was re-issued and made the top 100 sales list, but again charted outside the top 40. It wasn't until the song was re-issued in 2007 when the song was adopted by the England Rugby Team at the Rugby World Cup that it charted at its #22 peak. Its popularity has led to many releases over the years. After

was absorbed into EMI/Capitol in 1980, ''The Gambler'' was reissued on vinyl and cassette on the

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

label. Several years later, Liberty issued an abridged version of the album, removing the track "Morgana Jones". EMI Manhattan Records released "The Gambler" on CD in the 1980s. An 'Original Master Recording' from

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL or MoFi) is a record label that specialized in the production of audiophile issues. The company produces reissued vinyl LP records, compact discs, and Super Audio CDs and other formats. History Recording engine ...

s was released on vinyl (audiophile edition vinyl). Finally, ''The Gambler'' was released on Rogers' own Dreamcatcher Records in 2001 as part of the Kenny Rogers "Original Masters Series." Additionally, "I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again" would later become a hit in 1986 for T. Graham Brown, whose version went to #3 on the country charts.

Track listing

Personnel

* Kenny Rogers – lead vocals * Thomas Cain – keyboards (side 1: 5) * Steve Glassmeyer – keyboards,

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

(side 1: 2), backing vocals * Gene Golden – keyboards, backing vocals * Hargus "Pig" Robbins – keyboards (side 1: 1) * 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 ...

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 ...

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...

, backing vocals (side 2: 11) * Jimmy Capps – guitars (side 1: 1) * Randy Dorman – guitars, backing vocals (side 1: 5) * Ray Edenton – guitars (side 1: 1) * Rick Harper – guitars * Billy Sanford – guitars (side 1: 1) * Jerry Shook – guitars *

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

– guitars (side 1: 5) * Reggie Young – guitars * Pete Drake –

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

(side 1: 1) * Tommy Allsup – 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 (side 1: 1) * Dennis Wilson – upright bass * Eddy Anderson – drums, percussion * Jerry Carrigan – drums, percussion (side 1: 1) * Bobby Daniels – drums, percussion, backing vocals * Dottie West - backing vocals (side 1: 1) (uncredited) * Byron Metcalf – drums, percussion (side 2: 1) *

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 (side 1: 3, side 2: 1, 3, 5) * Byron Bach – strings * George Brinkley – strings * Marvin Chantry – strings * Roy Christensen – strings * Carl Gorodetzky – strings * Lennie Haight – strings * Sheldon Kurland – strings * Steven Smith – strings * Gary Vanosdale – strings * Pamela Vanosdale – strings * Dottie West – backing vocals (side 1: 1) *

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 ...

– backing vocals (side 1: 1) *

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of the Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a n ...

– backing vocals (side 1: 5) * Mickey Newbury – backing vocals (side 1: 5)

Producer

* Producer – Larry Butler * Engineer – Billy Sherrill * Recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studio (Nashville, TN). * Mastered by Bob Sowell at Master Control (Nashville, TN). * Art Direction and Design – Bill Burks * Photography –

Reid Miles Reid Miles (July 4, 1927 – February 2, 1993) was an American graphic designer and photographer best known for his work for Blue Note Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Miles was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 4, 1927, but, follow ...

* Management – Ken Kragen

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* Allmusic.com The Gambler album {{DEFAULTSORT:Gambler 1978 albums Kenny Rogers albums United Artists Records albums Albums arranged by Bill Justis Albums produced by Larry Butler (producer)