Kenny Rogers – The Gambler (D. Schlitz) ~ Erwin Lazaro 092

I appreciate and enjoy country music because of my dad.  He is the BIGGEST Elvis Presley fan, like millions of other Elvis fans.  But, as an overall genre of music, country music seems to hit the spot for my dad.  Of course, Elvis had his share of country songs too, but I listened to Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, Conway Twitty, Barbara Mandrell, Emmylou Harris … the list goes on and on.  Of course, Kenny Rogers is within that list.  The commonality between all of these wonderful artists seems to be that they are all country artists who crossed into the popular scene for portions of their respective musical careers.  Because of that, they were able to reach a diverse set of listeners, like me, who didn’t widely search for country music as a primary choice.  Flip on the radio and listen to a new song; music from many genres that made their way into playlists for popular local radio stations.

From all of the aforementioned country artists, through the years, the music made popular by Kenny Rogers has remained near and dear to my heart.  No pun intended.  In fact, I’ve already posted my covers for “Crazy” (072), “You Decorated My Life” (073), and “Coward of the County” (079), on YouTube.  I can sing Kenny Rogers hits for hours, but for the sake of diversity, I’ve chosen to spread my love for Kenny’s music.  I know that some of my friends on YouTube have asked me to post more covers of Kenny Rogers and I’m finally doing that now. I’m sorry for the wait and I hope those of you who did want to hear more Kenny Rogers covers will enjoy my personal renditions of his timeless classics.  I know that Kenny Rogers still tours and performs his marvelous music. Recently, I actually enjoyed listening to an interview with him on a local radio station.  He seems to be doing very well.  I’m thoroughly impressed with his success!  With all of that said, please remember that I’m a fan, just as much as any fan. I’m expressing my appreciation for these amazing artists with my love for music. And, in the case of Kenny Rogers, it’s also a testament for the vast love I have for my dad.  Lastly, as I profess my love for my dad, my mom eternally shapes my being. 
My mom was a big fan of these artists, as well. 
We miss you mom …

From Wikipedia:
"The Gambler" is the title of a song written by Don Schlitz and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers.  It was released in November 1978 as the title track from his album The Gambler which won him the Grammy award for best male country vocal performance in 1980.  Bobby Bare had recorded the song earlier that same year in his album BARE CBS KC35314 (1978). The song was written by Schlitz who had recorded it previously, and had charted at #65 on the country charts with it. It was one of five consecutive songs by Rogers to hit #1 on the Billboard country music charts.  On the pop chart, the song made #16 in early 1979. Johnny Cash also performed this song.