The Gambler (song)

"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]

1. ↑ Reader's digest almanac and yearbook, 1981, p. 274
2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 298.
3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 207.
4. ↑ "National Recording Registry Reaches 500". Library of Congress. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.