TONY BROWN, LEGENDARY COUNTRY MUSIC PRODUCER, UNITES KENNY ROGERS AND DOLLY PARTON
TONY BROWN, LEGENDARY COUNTRY MUSIC PRODUCER, UNITES KENNY ROGERS AND DOLLY PARTON FOR LIFE IS LIKE A SONG ALBUM
Kenny Rogers 10-Song Collection Highlights Wisdom on Life, Love, Family, and Loss
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Award-winning country music producer Tony Brown produced four unreleased recordings on Kenny Rogers’ posthumous album, Life Is Like A Song. Performed by the late Country Music Hall of Famer, Kenny Rogers, the 10-song collection tells the story of life, love, loss, and faith. As a tribute to her late husband, the country icon's widow, Wanda Rogers, released studio rarities and never-before-heard recordings as the first non-Christmas studio album Rogers has released in ten years and the only album released on vinyl since 1991 that isn't a compilation.
The studio sessions with Brown showcase Rogers’ artistry and include the songs “Love Is A Drug,” co-written by Rogers’ former New Christy Minstrel bandmate and longtime musical partner Kim Carnes; “Am I Too Late,” written by Larry Keith and Jim Hurt; “Tell Me That You Love Me,” a duet with Rogers’ longtime friend and collaborator Dolly Parton; and “Goodbye,” written by Rogers' good friend and collaborator, Lionel Richie, which grew to be an emotional fan favorite as the lyric video was displayed at Rogers’ memorial service.
Dolly Parton shares, “Tony Brown is known as one of the greatest producers of all time and the production he did on ‘Tell Me That You Love Me’ is one of the best things I ever did with Kenny Rogers.”
Executive produced by Wanda Rogers, Life Is Like A Song, released on June 2 via UMe, features songs that deeply connected with Rogers. “I think the record is fabulous, and it is going to make Kenny so proud,” said Wanda Rogers. “These songs are such a beautiful reminder of his love ‘for the feelings a song can make’ for a person. He would often say that he wanted his songs to be ‘what every man wants to say, and every woman wants to hear.’ I think there are a lot of those moments on this album. This is a very special record to me and our family because it really tells the story of our life together, and I feel his fans will also relate to it in a big way because it walks the listener through the seasons of life that we all experience in one way or another. There is joy, there is love, there is family, there is uncertainty, there is pain, there is faith… It's emotional and real. This is the kind of music Kenny loved to make.”
Brown shares, "When we cut ‘Tell Me That You Love Me’ in 2009, I was reminded that it was one of the few rare times Kenny and Dolly teamed up for a duet since their chart-topping ‘Islands in the Stream’ in 1983. After being released on The First 50 Years compilation dedicated to Kenny, it seemed to go unnoticed, much to my disappointment.” Since being long out-of-print, a never-before-released, remixed version of the song is now available on digital platforms and vinyl for the very first time, as well as on CD for the first time in this form, continuing the life and legacy of Rogers. "I am happy it’s finally getting recognition and getting released on Life Is Like A Song because I was always really proud of the way it turned out. There was an air of excitement and anticipation about making history with Kenny and Dolly, and it felt perfect,” adds Tony.
Founder and Co-President of Vector Management and executive producer of the project, Ken Levitan, shares, "Tony is known for working with the best of the best. And Kenny Rogers is one of the very best of all time, so the two of them having worked together is perfect for this project."
Known as The King of Nashville, Brown, who got his start playing keys for Elvis Presley and went on to produce some of the most well-known names in country music, including George Strait, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Lyle Lovett, Vince Gill and more, continues to uphold his reputation as an unshakable pillar of country music spanning his 40-year career.
Alongside Wanda Rogers and Ken Levitan, Jason Henke, one of Kenny Rogers’ managers at Vector Management, served as executive producer on Life Is Like A Song. Henke shares, “Kenny was a fan of Tony’s work—from Elvis Presley to Vince Gill—so I’m happy they were able to record these amazing songs several years ago that just so happened to fit perfectly into the storyline of what we were trying to fulfill in honoring Kenny with Life Is Like A Song. What Kenny and Tony accomplished together in the studio speaks for itself and is such a big part of this very special project. Tony’s enthusiasm and excitement for these recordings was evident from our first conversation about the record, and he was great to work with throughout the process of putting this album together.”
The posthumous debut of Life Is Like A Song features songs that Rogers recorded between 2008 and 2011 and that were deeply personal to him and his family. Other producers on the project include Viktor Krauss, Kyle Lehning, and Brent Maher, as well as members of Rogers’ longtime band Bloodline: Randy Dorman, Steve Glassmeyer (on the deluxe edition), Warren Hartman, and Chuck Jacobs.
Over the course of Brown’s monumental career, he has yielded over 100 #1 singles and record levels of sales exceeding the $100 million mark, while simultaneously helping build the careers of a pantheon of stars unparalleled in music history.
Purchase Life Is Like A Song here: https://kennyrogers.lnk.to/LifeIsLikeASongPR.
Life Is Like a Song Track List:
1. Love Is A Drug
2. I Wish It Would Rain
3. Am I Too Late (with Kim Keyes)
4. Tell Me That You Love Me (with Dolly Parton)
5. Straight Into Love (with Jamie O’Neal)
6. Wonderful Tonight
7. Catchin’ Grasshoppers
8. That’s Love To Me
9. I Will Wait For You
10. Goodbye
To learn more about Tony Brown, please visit TonyBrownEnterprises.com.
To schedule an interview with Tony Brown or for more information, contact Dead Horse Branding at the following:
Danielle Reiss
Dead Horse Branding
Phone: (949) 421-9787
