Lucille (Kenny Rogers song)

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"Lucille"
Single by Kenny Rogers
from the album Kenny Rogers
B-side"Till I Get It Right"[1]
ReleasedJanuary 24, 1977
GenreCountry
Length3:42
LabelUnited Artists
Songwriter(s)Roger Bowling
Hal Bynum
Producer(s)Larry Butler
Kenny Rogers singles chronology
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)"
(1976)
"Lucille"
(1977)
"Daytime Friends"
(1977)

"Lucille" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Hal Bynum, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in January 1977 as the second and final single from the album Kenny Rogers. It became Rogers' first major hit as a solo artist after leaving the successful country/rock group the First Edition the previous year. An international hit, it reached number one on the Billboard Country Singles chart and number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] Overseas, "Lucille" reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in June 1977,[3] the first of Rogers' two number one singles there.[4]

The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Song and Rogers won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1978.[5]

Content[edit]

The song, told by the narrator (Rogers), tells the story of a man in a bar in Toledo, Ohio, who acquaints himself with a downhearted married woman named Lucille. An inebriated Lucille admits her unhappiness in life and her longing for adventure. Her husband arrives and approaches the two; the narrator is intimidated by the man. The brokenhearted husband, starting to shake, scorns her for her inconvenient timing in abandoning him "with 4 hungry children and a crop in the field", leaving him with a "hurtin'" that won't heal. After the husband leaves, Lucille and the narrator make their way to a hotel room. Once there, however, the narrator is unable to engage romantically, in spite of her willingness and her beauty. He keeps recalling the husband's haunting words.

Chart performance[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 360–361. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 537.
  3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 340. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ "Kenny Rogers | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  5. ^ "GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Kenny Rogers Win Best Country Vocal Performance For "Lucille" At The 20th GRAMMYs". Grammy.com. Grammy Awards. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 256. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 203.
  10. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 429. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 14, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  13. ^ "End of Year Charts 1977". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  14. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1977". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  15. ^ Hunter, Nigel; Scaping, Peter, eds. (1978). "Top 100 Singles in 1977". BPI Year Book 1978 (3rd ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 216–17. ISBN 0-906154-01-4.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1977". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1977". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2021.