Roger Bowling was a bit younger and still trying to make his way as an artist while also writing for others. The Writersīilly Edd Wheeler was already a veteran of the country music scene when “Coward of the County” came along, with a long list of songwriting credits, including “Jackson,” made famous by Johnny Cash and June Carter. Next up was “Coward of the County,” a song whose subject matter went to a much darker place than “The Gambler”’s. First, Rogers delivered to the sentimentalists with the lead single, “You Decorated My Life,” which became his third solo Top 10 pop hit and his sixth song to top the country charts. It made sense, then, that his 1979 album, Kenny, would include one of these narrative tales. “The Gambler” became the standard-bearer for the latter group. Once he moved on to become a solo artist, Rogers showed the versatility to move back and forth between romantic fare and those rough-and-tumble story-songs. Perhaps the best early example, when Rogers was still a member of The First Edition, was “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.” It’s a pretty chilling tale when you get down to it, but there was something soothing in Rogers’ delivery that made it go down a little smoother. Even from his earliest days in music, Kenny Rogers displayed a knack for being able to bring listening audiences along with him when telling a story in song.
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