Trivia / Kenny Rogers

• Breakup Breakout: From The First Edition.
• Career Resurrection: As his style of pop-country became outmoded around 1990, his streaks of hits quickly came to an end, to the point that he spent most of the 1990s off the charts. But in 1999, he independently released She Rides Wild Horses, which produced a #1 smash in 2000 with "Buy Me a Rose" (featuring Alison Krauss and Billy Dean). Although he didn't have any more big hits afterward, that song helped get him back into the limelight again.
  • On the pop charts, he's had several hits outpeak "The Gambler", including the now-forgotten "She Believes in Me", "You Decorated My Life", "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" (featuring Kim Carnes), "I Don't Need You", "Share Your Love with Me", and "What About Me?" (featuring Carnes and James Ingram). Averted otherwise, as "Lady" and the Dolly Parton duet "Islands in the Stream" were among the only songs to top the Hot 100, Country, and AC charts.
  • On country, most of his famous songs hit #1. However, "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)" only reached #19, "Sweet Music Man" only got to #9, "Planet Texas" to #30, and "The Greatest" only got to #26. His rendition of "Mary, Did You Know?" with Wynonna Judd didn't crack top 40, but has the justification of being a Christmas release. His next-to-last #1, the Ronnie Milsap duet "Make No Mistake, She's Mine", is probably his most obscure chart-topper.
• He Also Did: "Tomb of the Unknown Love" was written by Micheal [sic] Smotherman, one-time keyboardist for Captain Beefheart's Magic Band.
• Inspiration for the Work: "Daytime Friends" came about because songwriter Ben Peters was watching a Nashville TV newscast and heard the weatherman (a pre-Wheel of Fortune Pat Sajak) use the phrase "daytime highs and nighttime lows", which prompted Peters to coin the phrase "daytime friends and nighttime lovers" and use it for the hook of a song.

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