Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

Started by members of the folk group The New Christy Minstrels who wanted to explore a more varied sonic palette than the folk idiom would allow, The First Edition, later to be billed as Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, consisted primarily of the aforementioned singer Kenny Rogers, singer Thelma Camacho, percussionist Mickey Jones, guitarist Mike Settle and guitarist Terry Williams. They signed a record deal in 1967 and released their debut album, The First Edition and scored a number 5 hit with the psychedelic pop song “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” that sounded right at home on the radio during the Summer of Love. Proving their versatility, their next hit came the following year with the very different sounding, country-folk love song “But You Know I Love You”. By 1969 Rogers’ name had been tagged on the front of the band, and the title track of their album from that year, Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town was a number 6 pop hit and landed at 39 on the country chart. They netted three more top 40 hits in 1970 and became so popular that the group got their own musical variety show, Rollin’ on the River that ran from 1971 to 1973, during which time the band recorded a double album country rock opera, The Balled of Calico. Their domestic profile waned, though they remained huge stars in New Zealand, the only country where there 1974 album I’m Not Making Music for Money, was released. Williams left the group for a solo career in 1975 and within two years Rogers would become a global country superstar.

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