"The Gambler" is a song written by Don Schlitz, recorded by several artists, most famously by American country music singer Kenny Rogers.
Don Schlitz wrote this song in August 1976 when he was 23 years old. Kenny Rogers who made the song a success. His version was a No. 1 Country hit and made its way to the Pop charts at a time when Country songs rarely crossed over. It won him the Grammy award for best male country vocal performance in 1980.[1]
It was one of five consecutive songs by Rogers to hit No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts.[2] On the pop chart, the song made it No. 16 and No. 3 on the Easy Listening chart.[3] It's become one of Rogers's most known hits and a signature song.
In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."[4]
References
- ↑ Reader's digest almanac and yearbook, 1981, p. 274
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 298.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 207.
- ↑ "National Recording Registry Reaches 500". Library of Congress. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
Grammy Award for Best Country Song |
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| 1960s |
- "Dang Me" – Roger Miller (songwriter) (1964)
- "King of the Road" – Roger Miller (songwriter) (1965)
- "Almost Persuaded" – Billy Sherrill & Glenn Sutton (songwriters) (1966)
- "Gentle on My Mind" – John Hartford (songwriter) (1967)
- "Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (songwriter) (1968)
- "A Boy Named Sue" – Shel Silverstein (songwriter) (1969)
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| 1970s |
- "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" – Marty Robbins (songwriter) (1970)
- "Help Me Make It Through the Night" – Kris Kristofferson (songwriter) (1971)
- "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" – Ben Peters (songwriter) (1972)
- "Behind Closed Doors" – Kenny O'Dell (songwriter) (1973)
- "A Very Special Love Song" – Norro Wilson & Billy Sherrill (songwriters) (1974)
- "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" – Chips Moman & Larry Butler (songwriters) (1975)
- "Broken Lady" – Larry Gatlin (songwriter) (1976)
- "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" – Richard Leigh (songwriter) (1977)
- "The Gambler" – Don Schlitz (songwriter) (1978)
- "You Decorated My Life" – Debbie Hupp & Bob Morrison (songwriters) (1979)
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| 1980s |
- "On the Road Again" – Willie Nelson (songwriter) (1980)
- "9 to 5" – Dolly Parton (songwriter) (1981)
- "Always on My Mind" – Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher & Mark James (songwriters) (1982)
- "Stranger in My House" – Mike Reid (songwriter) (1983)
- "City of New Orleans" – Steve Goodman (songwriter) (1984)
- "Highwayman" – Jimmy Webb (songwriter) (1985)
- "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)" – Jamie O'Hara (songwriter) (1986)
- "Forever and Ever, Amen" – Paul Overstreet & Don Schlitz (songwriters) (1987)
- "Hold Me" – K. T. Oslin (songwriter) (1988)
- "After All This Time" – Rodney Crowell (songwriter) (1989)
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| 1990s |
- "Where've You Been" – Don Henry & Jon Vezner (songwriters) (1990)
- "Love Can Build a Bridge" – John Barlow Jarvis, Naomi Judd & Paul Overstreet (songwriters) (1991)
- "I Still Believe in You" – Vince Gill & John Barlow Jarvis (songwriters) (1992)
- "Passionate Kisses" – Lucinda Williams (songwriter) (1993)
- "I Swear" – Gary Baker & Frank J. Myers (songwriters) (1994)
- "Go Rest High on That Mountain" – Vince Gill (songwriter) (1995)
- "Blue" – Bill Mack (songwriter) (1996)
- "Butterfly Kisses" – Bob Carlisle & Randy Thomas (songwriters) (1997)
- "You're Still the One" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (songwriters) (1998)
- "Come On Over" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (songwriters) (1999)
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| 2000s |
- "I Hope You Dance" – Mark D. Sanders & Tia Sillers (songwriters) (2000)
- "The Lucky One" – Robert Lee Castleman (songwriter) (2001)
- "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" – Alan Jackson (songwriter) (2002)
- "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" – Jim "Moose" Brown & Don Rollins (songwriters) (2003)
- "Live Like You Were Dying" – Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman (songwriters) (2004)
- "Bless the Broken Road" – Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna, & Marcus Hummon (songwriters) (2005)
- "Jesus, Take the Wheel" – Hillary Lindsey, Brett James & Gordie Sampson (songwriters) (2006)
- "Before He Cheats" – Chris Tompkins & Josh Kear (songwriters) (2007)
- "Stay" – Jennifer Nettles (songwriter) (2008)
- "White Horse" – Liz Rose & Taylor Swift (songwriters) (2009)
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| 2010s |
- "Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2010)
- "Mean" – Taylor Swift (songwriter) (2011)
- "Blown Away" – Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins (songwriters) (2012)
- "Merry Go 'Round" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (songwriters) (2013)
- "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" – Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond (songwriters) (2014)
- "Girl Crush" – Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, & Liz Rose (songwriters) (2015)
- "Humble and Kind" – Lori McKenna (songwriter) (2016)
- "Broken Halos" – Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton (songwriters) (2017)
- "Space Cowboy" – Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, & Kacey Musgraves (songwriters) (2018)
- "Bring My Flowers Now" – Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth, & Tanya Tucker (songwriters) (2019)
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| 2020s |
- "Crowded Table" – Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna (songwriters) (2020)
- "Cold" – Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon & Chris Stapleton (songwriters) (2021)
- "'Til You Can't" – Matt Rogers & Ben Stennis (songwriters) (2022)
- "White Horse" – Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2023)
- "The Architect" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (songwriters) (2024)
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