''We've Got Tonight'' is the fourteenth studio album by

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

, released in 1983. It is also his last with

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

before signing with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Overview

The title cut, a duet with

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

, was the debut single and became one of Rogers' signature hits, soaring to No. 1 on the country charts and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart, reaching No. 6 on the Hot 100 chart. There were two other singles: "All My Life", which peaked at No. 13 on the country charts, though it fared at No. 3 in Canada, and "Scarlet Fever", which is lesser-known but still reached No. 5 and No. 4 in the US. and Canada, respectively. The title of the album comes from its signature track, written by

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

and originating from his album, '' Stranger in Town''. By comparison with Rogers' version, Seger's only reached No. 13 on the Hot 100, making Rogers' version a higher-seller (at the time), five years after it was written. One song on the album that never became a single but still became one of Rogers' signature songs is the powerful "

You Are So Beautiful "You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher that was first released in 1974 on Preston's ninth studio album, ''The Kids & Me''. It was also the B-side of his single "Struttin'". Later that same year, English singer ...

". This track was placed at the end of the album as a tribute to his legions of female fans, and stands today as one of the songs that Kenny is known for. The song was written by

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

and Bruce Fisher and originally appears on the 1974 Preston album '' The Kids and Me''.

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

, who by now had been contributing a reasonable number of songs to Rogers, submitted the track "How Long" to this album. The album hit No. 3 on the country chart and No. 18 on the main

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

album chart. It attained

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

status in both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Kenny Rogers – lead vocals, backing vocals (4, 5) *

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

– keyboards (1, 6), backing vocals (6) * John Hobbs – keyboards (2, 5, 10) *

Randy Goodrum Charles Randolph Goodrum (born July 7, 1947) is an American songwriter, pianist, and producer. Goodrum has written number one songs in each of the four decades since his first number one hit, 1978's "You Needed Me". Goodrum's songs have appeare ...

– keyboards (4), backing vocals (4) *

Shane Keister Shane Keister is an American musician. He is known for his work as a studio musician, writer, arranger and producer. He plays synthesizer, piano, Hammond B3, Synclavier, Fairlight CMI, Fender Rhodes, and others. History Keister was born in Hunti ...

– keyboards (4) * Robbie Buchanan – synthesizers (7, 9) * Michael Lang – keyboards (7, 9) *

Clarence McDonald Clarence "Mac" McDonald (1944 or 1945 – July 21, 2021) was a Los Angeles-based American pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. McDonald was known for his musical diversity, enduring melodies and signature groove. His most famous composition ...

– keyboards (7, 9) * Reginald "Sonny" Burke –keyboards (8) *

Marty Walsh Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...

– guitar (1) * Timothy May – guitar (2, 7, 9) *

Fred Tackett Fred Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat. In addition to his work with Little F ...

– guitar (2, 10) *

Kin Vassy Charles Kindred Vassy (August 16, 1943 – June 23, 1994) was a singer-songwriter, who in addition to his solo recordings also recorded with other artists, most notably Kenny Rogers, Frank Zappa and Elvis Presley. In the 1960s, Vassy was a mem ...

– guitar (2, 3), backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10) *

Billy Joe Walker Jr. Billy Joe Walker Jr. (February 29, 1952 – July 25, 2017) was an American songwriter, record producer and recording artist. He composed singles for Eddie Rabbitt, including " I Wanna Dance with You", " That's Why I Fell in Love with You" and " ...

– guitar (3) *

Richie Zito Richie Zito (born August 21, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of ...

– guitar (3, 5) * Jon Goin – guitar (4) *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

– guitar (6) * Carlos Rios – guitar (7, 9) * Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (8, 9) * David T. Walker – guitar (8) *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass (1, 8) *

Joe Chemay Joe Chemay is an American bassist and background singer, known for his recording session work. Biography Chemay started out working as a session and touring support musician in Los Angeles, but moved to Nashville in 1989. Chemay has worked wi ...

– bass (2, 5, 6, 7, 9), backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 6) * Trey Thompson – bass (3) * Jack Williams – bass (4) *

Emory Gordy Jr. Emory Lee Gordy Jr. (born December 25, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom ...

– bass (10) *

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...

– drums (1, 6) *

Paul Leim Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

– drums (2, 5, 7, 9, 10), percussion (2) * Ress Williams – drums (3) *

Kenny Malone Kenny Malone (August 4, 1938 – August 26, 2021) was an American drummer and percussionist. Life and career Malone was born in Denver, Colorado. From the 1970s onwards, he was a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoustic ...

– drums (4) *

Leon "Ndugu" Chancler Leon "Ndugu" Chancler ( ; July 1, 1952 – February 3, 2018) was an American pop, funk, and jazz drummer. He was also a composer, producer, and university professor. Biography Early life Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 1, 1952, Leon C ...

– drums (8) * Gary Herbig –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

(10) *

Jeremy Lubbock Jeremy Michael Lubbock (4 June 1931 – 29 January 2021) was a Grammy-winning English pianist, conductor, orchestrator, music producer, arranger, composer, and songwriter. Life and career Born in Berkshire, he learned piano as a child, and ...

– string arrangements and conductor (1, 6) * Bergen White – string arrangements (4) * Sheldon Kurland – strings (4) *

– lead vocals (1) * Terry Williams – backing vocals (2-8, 10), guitar (3) * Dorothy Newton – backing vocals (5) * Juanice Charmaine – backing vocals (7, 8) *

– backing vocals (7) * Cindy Fee – backing vocals (10)

Production

* Producers – Kenny Rogers (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10); David Foster (Tracks 1 & 6); Brent Maher (Track 4); Randy Goodrum (Track 4); James Carmichael (Track 7, 8 & 9); Lionel Richie (Tracks 7 & 8). * Engineers –

Humberto Gatica Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inter ...

(Tracks 1, 6 & 9);

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and other ...

(Tracks 1, 6, 8, 9 & 10); Reggie Dozier (Tracks 2, 3, 5, 8 & 10); Stephen Schmitt (Track 3); Brent Maher (Track 4); Calvin Harris (Tracks 7 & 9); Bob Bullock (Track 9). * Second Engineer – Stephen Schmitt (Tracks 1, 4, 5 & 10); Larry Ferguson (Track 2). * Mixing – Humberto Gatica (Track 1); Bob Bullock (Track 2); Al Schmitt (Track 3); Reggie Dozier (Track 5); Calvin Harris (Track 7). * Tracks 1, 2, 3 & 5-10 recorded at Lion Share Recording (Los Angeles, CA); Track 4 recorded at Creative Workshop (Nashville, TN); Tracks 7 & 9 recorded at Hitsville Studios (Los Angeles, CA). * Strings on Tracks 1 & 6 recorded at

Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...

(Los Angeles, CA). * Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 & 10 mixed at Lion Share Recording; Track 4 mixed at Creative Workshop; Tracks 7 & 9 mixed at Hitsville Studios. * Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA). * Art Direction – Henry Marquez and Roy R. Guzman * Design – Roy R. Guzman * Photography –

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...

* Management – Ken Kragen

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

* We've Got Tonight album page at Allmusic {{Authority control Kenny Rogers albums 1983 albums Albums produced by David Foster Albums produced by Brent Maher Albums produced by Lionel Richie Liberty Records albums