Greatest Hits (1980 Kenny Rogers album)

Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Kenny Rogers
Released	September 23, 1980
Genre	Country
Length	42:35 (US); 43:28 (UK)
Label	Liberty
Producer	Richard Landis
Kenny Rogers chronology
Alternative cover
	UK release, titled Lady

Greatest Hits (sometimes referred to as Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits) is the second compilation album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Rogers. It was released in September 1980 and issued by Liberty Records. The album marks Rogers' first release after United Artists Group merged with Liberty. The album was certified 12× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of 12 million copies in the US.

History

The album reached No. 1 on both the Pop and Country charts in the US and featured three singles that were not included on any of Rogers' studio albums: "Lady" (written and produced specifically for Rogers by Lionel Richie, which was a No. 1 hit single in the same year), "Love The World Away" (a top five country and top 20 pop hit that was featured on the soundtrack of the 1980 film Urban Cowboy) and "Long Arm of the Law" (a lesser known, but still relatively popular song among Rogers' loyal fan base).

The album features a further nine hit singles from Rogers' career, omitting a number of others (including "Daytime Friends", "Sweet Music Man" and "Love or Something Like It"). This didn't stop the album from being a massive success and confirmed Rogers' status as one of the most best-selling musicians in the US. It remains the best selling compilation release in country music, beating out Garth Brooks' 1994 limited-time-availability release The Hits.

In the UK, the album was sold with the same artwork under the title Lady but differed slightly in the track listing, omitting "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" and "Reuben James" in favor of "Goodbye Marie" and "Sail Away".

The album is not the only Kenny Rogers release to be called Greatest Hits. In 1971, while with The First Edition, an album under that title was released. Since 1980, many other collections by Rogers have been called Greatest Hits, such as a 1985 Reader's Digest box set and the 1988 collection of his RCA material. However, this 1980 collection on Liberty was the first solo offering by Rogers to be given this designation.

In 1983, when Rogers changed labels to RCA Records, Liberty quickly issued 20 Greatest Hits, a more complete look at Rogers' hit list. However, both albums remained in catalog side by side for over two decades. Also in 1983, HBO re-released the Greatest Hits package on special picture discs. The track listing remained identical to the 1980 US release.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Billboard	(unrated)^[1]

Track listings

US release

Source:^[2]

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original release	Length
1.	"The Gambler"	Don Schlitz	The Gambler, 1978	3:32
2.	"Lady"	Lionel Richie	Previously unreleased	3:54
3.	"Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" (With Kim Carnes)	Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson	Gideon, 1980	3:39
4.	"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"	Mel Tillis	Ten Years of Gold, 1977	2:48
5.	"She Believes in Me"	Steve Gibb	The Gambler, 1978	4:11
6.	"Coward of the County"	Roger Bowling, Billy Edd Wheeler	Kenny, 1979	4:18
Total length:				22:19

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original release	Length
1.	"Lucille"	Bowling, Hal Bynum	Kenny Rogers, 1977	3:34
2.	"You Decorated My Life"	Debbie Hupp, Bob Morrison	Kenny, 1979	3:37
3.	"Reuben James"	Barry Etris, Bob Morrison	Ten Years of Gold, 1977	2:37
4.	"Love the World Away"	Morrison, Johnny Wilson	Urban Cowboy (soundtrack), 1980	3:11
5.	"Every Time Two Fools Collide" (With Dottie West)	Jan Dyer, Jeff Tweel	Every Time Two Fools Collide, 1978	3:00
6.	"Long Arm of the Law"	Bowling, Wheeler	Previously unreleased	4:17
Total length:				20:16

UK release (Lady)

Source:^[3]

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lady"	3:51
2.	"Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer"	3:39
3.	"Lucille"	3:34
4.	"She Believes in Me"	4:11
5.	"You Decorated My Life"	3:37
6.	"Coward of the County"	4:18
Total length:		23:10

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Goodbye Marie" (from Kenny, 1979, written by Mel McDaniel)	2:47
2.	"Every Time Two Fools Collide"	3:00
3.	"Sail Away" (from Love or Something Like It, 1978, written by Rafe van Hoy)	3:31
4.	"The Gambler"	3:32
5.	"Love the World Away"	3:11
6.	"Long Arm of the Law"	4:17
Total length:		20:18

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)	Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[4]	32
Chart (1981)	Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[5]	48

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[6]	Diamond	1,000,000^{^}
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)^[7]	Gold	20,000^[7]
Japan	—	120,000^[8]
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[9]	Platinum	15,000^{^}
Philippines (PARI)^[10]	Gold	10,000^[10]
United States (RIAA)^[11]	12× Platinum	12,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Review: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 41. 11 October 1980. p. 70. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via American Radio History.
^ "Kenny Rogers - Greatest Hits (1980, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
^ "Kenny Rogers - Lady (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
^ "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
^ "Top Selling Albums of 1981 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits". Music Canada. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
^ ^a ^b "Kenny Rogers" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
^ Fujita, Shig (November 7, 1981). "International - Japan Suffers From 'Country Allergy,' Yet Rogers Still No. 1" (PDF). Billboard. p. 76. Retrieved May 30, 2020 – via American Radio History.
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 16, 2019.^{[dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b "A "Gold" sales award presented to Kenny Rogers to commemorate the sales of 10,000 units of the album, Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits, in the Philippines on February 1, 1983". 18 March 2023.
^ "American album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 16, 2019.

[bboardreview-1] "Review: Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 41. 11 October 1980. p. 70. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via American Radio History.

[2] "Kenny Rogers - Greatest Hits (1980, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 24 December 2023.

[3] "Kenny Rogers - Lady (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 24 December 2023.

[4] "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 28 January 2022.

[5] "Top Selling Albums of 1981 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 1 February 2022.

[CanadaKenny_RogersGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-6] "Canadian album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits". Music Canada. Retrieved 2017-06-13.

[FinlandKenny_RogersGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-7] "Kenny Rogers" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-28.

[8] Fujita, Shig (November 7, 1981). "International - Japan Suffers From 'Country Allergy,' Yet Rogers Still No. 1" (PDF). Billboard. p. 76. Retrieved May 30, 2020 – via American Radio History.

[New_ZealandKenny_RogersGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-9] "New Zealand album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 16, 2019.^{[dead link‍]}

[PARI-10] "A "Gold" sales award presented to Kenny Rogers to commemorate the sales of 10,000 units of the album, Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits, in the Philippines on February 1, 1983". 18 March 2023.

[United_StatesKenny_RogersGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-11] "American album certifications – Kenny Rogers – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 16, 2019.

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v t e Kenny Rogers
Studio albums	Love Lifted Me Kenny Rogers Daytime Friends Love or Something Like It The Gambler Kenny Gideon Share Your Love Love Will Turn You Around We've Got Tonight Eyes That See in the Dark What About Me? The Heart of the Matter They Don't Make Them Like They Used To I Prefer the Moonlight Something Inside So Strong Love Is Strange Back Home Again If Only My Heart Had a Voice Vote for Love Across My Heart She Rides Wild Horses There You Go Again Back to the Well Water & Bridges You Can't Make Old Friends Life Is Like a Song
Collaboration albums	Every Time Two Fools Collide (with Dottie West) Classics (with Dottie West) Timepiece (with David Foster)
Christmas albums	Christmas Once Upon a Christmas (with Dolly Parton) Christmas in America The Gift Christmas from the Heart Once Again It's Christmas
Compilations	Ten Years of Gold The Kenny Rogers Singles Album Greatest Hits (1980) 20 Greatest Hits Duets The Kenny Rogers Story Love Is What We Make It Short Stories Greatest Hits (1988) Daytime Friends – The Very Best of Kenny Rogers Live by Request 42 Ultimate Hits 21 Number Ones
Notable singles	"That Crazy Feeling" "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" "But You Know I Love You" "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" "Something's Burning" "Love Lifted Me" "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)" "Lucille" "Daytime Friends" "Sweet Music Man" "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (with Dottie West) "Love or Something Like It" "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Dottie West) "The Gambler" "All I Ever Need Is You" (with Dottie West) "She Believes in Me" "'Til I Can Make It on My Own" (with Dottie West) "You Decorated My Life" "Coward of the County" "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" (with Kim Carnes) "Love the World Away" "Lady" "I Don't Need You" "Share Your Love with Me" "Blaze of Glory" "Through the Years" "Love Will Turn You Around" "A Love Song" "We've Got Tonight" (with Sheena Easton) "All My Life" "Scarlet Fever" "Islands in the Stream" (with Dolly Parton) "Eyes That See in the Dark" "This Woman" "Buried Treasure" "Together Again" (with Dottie West) "What About Me?" (with Kim Carnes and James Ingram) "Evening Star" "Crazy" "Morning Desire" "Goodbye Marie" "Tomb of the Unknown Love" "Twenty Years Ago" "Make No Mistake, She's Mine" (with Ronnie Milsap) "I Prefer the Moonlight" "The Factory" "I Don't Call Him Daddy" "When You Put Your Heart in It" "Planet Texas" "The Vows Go Unbroken (Always True to You)" "Maybe" (with Holly Dunn) "Love Is Strange" (with Dolly Parton) "Crazy in Love" "If You Want to Find Love" "Ol' Red" "Mary, Did You Know?" (with Wynonna Judd) "The Greatest" "Buy Me a Rose" (with Alison Krauss and Billy Dean) "He Will, She Knows" "There You Go Again" "Homeland" "I Can't Unlove You"
Guest singles	"What Are We Doin' in Love" (with Dottie West) "Real Love" (with Dolly Parton) "If I Ever Fall in Love Again" (with Anne Murray)
Other songs	"Elvira" "You and I" (with the Bee Gees)
Related articles	Discography The First Edition Kenny Rogers Roasters The Real West