This Tender Love Song Held The No. 1 Spot The Longest In 1980

Both soft rock and country music had a mainstream, crossover moment in the early 1980s, and at the nexus point of both stood Kenny Rogers and his love song, "Lady." In 1980, it spent six weeks at No. 1 on the pop chart with the sweet and snuggly tune, tying with Blondie's "Call Me" for the most time total time atop the Hot 100 that year. As love songs go, though, "Lady" couldn't be beat at the beginning of the decade of decadence. 

In the song, Rogers takes on the role of a man examining a long romance with a partner, and he likes what he sees from both people. He claims to be both this unnamed woman's hero and credits her with making him a sappy fool and turning him into a decent, complete human being, crooning that "there's no other love like our love" (via Genius). Here's a fond and wistful look back at a song about fond and wistful looks back at a beloved partner: "Lady," by Kenny Rogers.

The story of Kenny Rogers includes more than just country music superstardom. He'd started out in rock before settling into country balladry and story songs by the late '70s. But when he found himself getting bored, he got an idea: He wanted to collaborate with Lionel Richie, breakout star of the Commodores. Rogers looked to combine his country sensibilities with Richie's R&B prowess to make a pop song with wide appeal. Neither musician was a stranger to genre-bending — Rogers had once fronted the lightly psychedelic rock band the First Edition, and Richie had written "Sail On," a modern country standard, for the Commodores.

Rogers' instinct was correct: "Lady" was a multi-platform success, rating highly on Billboard's R&B, pop, country, and soft rock charts. Not only did the music of "Lady" include irresistible elements of all those genres, but the lyrics were so confessional and unabashedly romantic that the masses couldn't help but fall under its spell. "Lady" is a song for and about couples that have weathered the ups and downs of a relationship. Richie and Rogers collaborated on what's really a very intimate love poem. So many duos must have felt recognized and appreciated by "Lady," with countless others finding the song romantically aspirational.

As for the artists, "Lady" showed that Rogers was bigger than country, and was a bonafide mainstream icon. It also helped open up the market for Richie's burgeoning solo career, which would shortly thereafter explode.