KENNY ROGERS - RUBY, DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE TO TOWN

RUBY, DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE TO TOWN

KENNY ROGERS

SONGWRITER: MEL TILLIS

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: TEN YEARS OF GOLD

LABEL: UNITED ARTISTS RECORDS

GENRE: COUNTRY

YEAR: 1978

 

           Kenneth Ray Rogers(August 21, 1938– March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, record producer, and entrepreneur. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 420 hit singles across various genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. He remade his career and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.

          In the late 1950s, Rogers began his recording career with the Houston-based group the Scholars, who first released "The Poor Little Doggie". After some solo releases, including 1958's "That Crazy Feeling", Rogers then joined a group with the jazz singer Bobby Doyle. In 1966, he became a member of the folk ensemble the New Christy Minstrels, playing double bass and bass guitar as well as singing. In 1967, he and several members of the New Christy Minstrels left to found the group the First Edition, with whom he scored his first major hit, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", a psychedelic rock song which peaked at number five on the Billboard charts. As Rogers took an increased leadership role in the First Edition following the success of 1969's "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", the band gradually changed styles to a more country feel. The band broke up in 1975–76, and Rogers embarked on a long and successful solo career, which included several successful collaborations, including duets with singers Dottie West, Dolly Parton, and Sheena Easton and a songwriting partnership with Lionel Richie. His signature song, 1978's "The Gambler", was a crossover hit that won him a Grammy Award in 1980 and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. He developed the Gambler persona into a character for a successful series of television films starting with 1980's Emmy-nominated Kenny Rogers as The Gambler.(…)

          Ten Years of Gold is the fourth studio album by Kenny Rogers issued in 1978.

           As his fourth solo album, Ten Years of Gold is a collection of ten songs spanning the last decade. The album features solo re-recordings of hits Kenny had with The First Edition. These new versions were recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studio "B" using Kenny Rogers' road band "Bloodline" (listed below). Side 1 of the LP contained the all re-recordings. Though Kenny had already scored three other solo hits, "Lucille", "Daytime Friends", "While The Feeling's Good" and "Love Lifted Me" are all that represent his recent work. The last track is the First Edition's original hit recording of "Today I Started Loving You Again", which was featured on the First Edition's 1972 album Back Roads; Kenny still had the rights on this song, therefore this version is present. Oddly the First Edition are not credited on the album jacket, even individually.

          There were two different versions of the cover art. One had Kenny's name in white next to the title and a mock pasted photo on the back. On the second pressing the photo is retouched to look like it is in a gold frame.

You've painted up your lips

Rolled and curled your tinted hair

 

Ruby, are you contemplating

Going out somewhere?

The shadow on the wall

Tells me the sun is going down

 

Oh, Ruby

Don't take your love to town

 

It wasn't me

That started that old crazy Asian war

But I was proud to go

And do my patriotic chore

And yes, it's true that

I'm not the man I used to be

Oh, Ruby, I still need some company

 

It's hard to love a man

Whose legs are bent and paralyzed

And the wants and the needs of a woman your age

Ruby, I realized

But it won't be long

I've heard them say until I'm not around

Oh, Ruby

Don't take your love to town

 

She's leaving now 'cause

I just heard the slamming of the door

The way I know I've heard it slam 100 times before

And if I could move I'd get my gun

And put her in the ground

 

Oh, Ruby

Don't take your love to town

Oh, Ruby, for God's sake, turn around.