The Unlikely Collaboration With Beatles Producer George Martin That Kenny Rogers Called
There have been a lot of unlikely collaborations in music, though, one of the more unlikely ones is between Kenny Rogers and the famed Beatles producer, George Martin. Now, you’re probably scouring your brain to find a common thread between the two, and frankly we can’t come up with any other than they’re both musicians. Though, in this business, that is all you need to make some great music and even better partnerships.
Kenny Rogers was always strictly a country pop musician. He rarely strayed away from the genre and as a result, he still exists as one of the genre’s most notable artists. Thanks to his songs “The Gambler,” “Islands in the Stream,” and “Coward of the Country,” Rogers often found himself on the country charts. However, one time, he sought out a different type of sound, and the man that helped him was the iconic George Martin.
Like nearly every musician who lived through the ’60s, Kenny Rogers was a staunch and steadfast Beatles fan. Even though his music shares very few similarities with the group, Rogers was still very outspoken about the four-headed monster and particularly their song, “Eleanor Rigby.”
In his memoir Luck or Something Like It: A Memoir, Rogers stated, “Ballads have been a mainstay of traditional folk music since medieval minstrels went from village to village singing the adventures of Robin Hood.” “Many of the most memorable songs in both pop and country are ballads like this, from The Beatles,” added Rogers.
Thanks to his affinity for The Beatles, Kenny Rogers got the opportunity to work with the man who partially made them. The album they worked on was Rogers’ 1985 album, The Heart of the Matter. Regarding their collaboration, Rogers said, “It may be the highlight of my personal career” and “He brought a whole different touch to my life and my perspective on music. I’m only one of millions who will miss him greatly,” per Rolling Stone.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Peter Burditt
