5 Kenny Rogers Songs That Prove 1978 Was The Best Year Of His Career

Let's not mince words: 1978 was not only the best year for Kenny Rogers' long and celebrated career, but one of the best years for any songwriter. In what was evidently a Beatles-esque fit of monomania and creativity, Rogers put out three stellar albums in 1978, including his signature work "The Gambler," all of which topped Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. All three albums went gold, and in the case of "The Gambler," multi-platinum, and between them produced three No. 1 hit singles (as well as a not-too-shabby No. 2) on Billboard's Hot Country Songs that same year. In other words, Rogers was on the hottest hot streak of his life throughout '78.

To prove that thesis, we've put together five songs that showcase Rogers at his best, all from '78. Each of these was a well-charting hit, yes, but they all remain something more: an enduring testament to the Gambler at the apex of his talent and productivity. Rogers, who became the king of soft rock, was a singular talent across decades and genres, and from a duet with Dottie West to the song that gave him his nickname, here we celebrate the best year of his illustrious career.

"Colliding" is an apt word for how Rogers and Dottie West first paired up on "Every Time Two Fools Collide." Though the story has remained murky through the years, what is known is that West was in a studio with a plan to record the song solo when Rogers happened to show up (for one reason or another; different sources claim different reasons), and the pair immediately hit it off. Regardless of the how and the why, the chance encounter was a lucky one. Not only did the pair decide to record and release the song as a duet instead of West's solo version, they then recorded an entire album together, also titled "Every Time Two Fools Collide," which remained one of Rogers' favorites throughout his life.

Speaking with The Boot, Rogers revealed that "I loved [West], and I thoroughly enjoyed ['Every Time Two Fools Collide'] ... I'm more known for 'The Gambler' and the Dolly Parton stuff, but that was the song that I loved doing." Rogers' love of the song shows in his performance: a plaintive, vibrato-laden crooning that, alongside the song's emotive string arrangement, gives the song a lasting poignance. That tenderness translated into success, as Rogers and West's ballad topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart for two weeks — though perhaps no accolade is worth more than being one of Rogers' own favorite songs.

In what was both a blessing and a curse, "She Believes in Me" was tasked with being the follow-up single to "The Gambler," the single most acclaimed work in Rogers' career. Having been released on the 1978 album "The Gambler," it faced both an appreciative audience and high expectations. Nonetheless, on its release the following year, "She Believes in Me" spent two weeks atop both the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, proving to be a major crossover hit and that "The Gambler" album was too darn good for any sophomore slump.

Rogers once explained to Country Stars Central that the crossover nature of "She Believes in Me" was something that came from his unique background, saying, "I think I am a country singer with a lot of other musical influences. Which allowed me to do songs through the years like "She Believes In Me." Rogers cut his musical teeth through jazz almost as much as country and claimed that versatility was what made him distinctly him, adding, "You either have to do what everyone else is doing or do it better than them or you have to be different enough to stand on your own. That is what I chose to do — to try to do something different."

As wild as it sounds, "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" reached No. 2 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart, making it Rogers' lowest-performing single of the six that came from his 1978 trio of albums. Despite its lack of success, albeit relatively so, the song is perhaps the most stereotypically pop in its sound, built from bright, jangling chords, fun staccato sections and breakdowns, and a shuffle-like rhythm that almost forces instinctual head-bopping from the first listen.

As for the lyrics to "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight," they're the sort of openly intimate fare that would become typical of pop music in later years, but to country audiences in '78, it's almost surprising they weren't considered controversial. Perhaps their inoffensiveness stems from the contrast provided by the bouncing, major-key music surrounding them, which sounds about one African drum away from "Graceland"-era Paul Simon. That counterpoint works, and especially when both pieces are tempered by Rogers' duetting partner, West, whose lush, smoky voice matches Rogers' own perfectly. Luckily for fans of the pairing, West and Rogers released a second album of duets, "Classics," just a year later, to similar success.

"The Gambler" came out in November of '78, but surprisingly for an album of such esteem, it didn't take Rogers long at all. In fact, his previous full album release was "Love or Something Like It" in July of the same year. And perhaps surprisingly still, "Love or Something Like It" was no half-assed effort on the road to "The Gambler." Instead, it shows Rogers at his peak, and at least commercially, the peak of that peak was its sole single, also named "Love or Something Like It." Like so many of Rogers' songs, especially in the late '70s, the tune hit No. 1 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and deservedly so, given its immediate catchiness.

The song, with its Jimmy Buffett-esque sing-along chorus and folksy, everyman (of the time) lyrics, is a near-immediate earworm, one that would and did appeal to a broad listener base. "Love or Something Like It" also has the distinction of being one of only five of Rogers' hits co-written by the man himself, though the effortless proficiency of the lyrics would suggest a far more practiced songwriter.

Could there be any doubt? "The Gambler" was a monumental crossover hit for Rogers, one that almost instantly became his signature song, and even became part of his identity throughout the remainder of his life. Its many on-paper accomplishments are worth mentioning — the song won Rogers and songwriter Don Schlitz each a Grammy, helped propel its eponymous album to multi-platinum certification, and both the song and album reached No. 1 on their respective Country charts — but the real triumph of "The Gambler" is in how it embedded Rogers in pop culture forever.

Not only was Rogers affectionately referred to as the Gambler his whole life, he even starred as a fictional version of the character in a five-movie series. The song itself has also found its way into a number of TV shows and movies, and not just those that featured it in their soundtracks. In the world of pro wrestling, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin once paused in the middle of one of the highest-profile feuds in the business's history to sing a duet of "The Gambler," and in the U.S. version of "The Office," the characters all sing "The Gambler" in a rare moment of harmony. There are many more examples, but the point is clear: Rogers wrote the song that would come to define his career in his best year, 1978.