Kenny Rogers was one of the top country music vocalists of all time, one who also landed several hits on the pop charts.
Yet, the singer — well known for tunes as “The Gambler,” “Lady,” “Islands in the Stream,” “Lucille,” “She Believes In Me” and “Through the Years” — was also pretty handy at gospel music. Although, sadly, Rogers didn’t record all that much of it during his career.
In 2011, however, Rogers finally got around to releasing his first — and what turned out to be his only — gospel album, “The Love of God.”
And it was terrific.
Hear for yourself when the new deluxe edition of “The Love of God” is released on CD via Capitol Records Nashville/UMe on March 25. Fans can preorder it at KennyRogers.lnk.to/LoveOfGodDeluxe.
One of the key reasons to buy the newly expanded offering is to get to hear “The Gospel Truth,” a collaboration with the Oak Ridge Boys that was recorded for the album but didn’t end up making the original track listing.
Other collaborators include Point of Grace (on the song “Circle of Friends”), The Whites (“I’ll Fly Away”) and Winfield’s Locket (“In the Sweet By and By”).
“’The Love of God’ is the culmination of an idea I had been thinking about for years but never had the opportunity to bring to life,” Rogers said at the time of the album’s initial release. “It’s been a musical awakening to me. To all of the wonderful musicians, vocalists, and songwriters who lent their amazing talents to this record, I want to thank you for making it so special.”
The album is available at multiple online retailers (including Target and Barnes and Noble) for varying prices, but the cheapest one we saw was $11.98 at walmart.com.
