Kenny Rogers on his very first duet with Dolly: 'Once she came in and started singing the song was never the same. It took on a personality of its own.'
reigned for six weeks in 1980. At the time the song hit, Parton and Rogers were running somewhat parallel careers: Not only were they enjoying crossover success, but each had branched out into acting. Rogers starred in the 1982 movieand the beloved made-for-TV movies based on his hit"The Gambler.
"I finally said, 'Barry [Gibb], I don’t even like this song anymore' and he said, 'You know what we need? We need Dolly Parton,'" Rogers toldin 2017. Incredibly enough, Parton happened to be downstairs from Rogers in the same studio complex, he recalled.
for Rogers during this era. In 1978, he teamed up with country legend Dottie West for the duets album, whose title track topped the country charts. Rogers further expanded his sonic range with the Kim Carnes collaboration"Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer," a No. 4 Hot 100 hit in 1980. And in early 1983, Rogers and Sheena Easton teamed up for a cover of Bob Seger's"We've Got Tonight" that peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100.
, although he never lost sight of his strengths."I am a country singer with a tremendous amount of other influences. No matter what I do, it's always going to have a country influence to it. That's just where my heart is." That assessment proved prescient, as Rogers continued to enjoy major country success for the rest of the '80s, but"Islands in the Stream" would mark the end of his upper-echelon pop success.
However,"Islands in the Stream" cemented a decades-long association with Dolly Parton, which kept Rogers in the mainstream eye. The pair had another No. 1 country hit in 1985 with. Parton and Rogers also released a best-selling holiday album, 1984'sAnd"Islands in the Stream" has taken on a life of its own over the years.
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