Kenny Is Writing Down Information He Reads in His Own Words. Kenny Is
"Through the years, you've never permit me downward," Kenny Rogers sang on his 1981 single "Through the Years."
The ballad — virtually a longtime couple who've stuck together through thick and thin — became one of Rogers' career-defining songs.
"You turned my life effectually/ the sweetest days I've found, I've found with you/ through the years."
Those lines came from the pen of songwriter Marty Panzer. When he went over to collaborator Steve Dorff's house for dinner, he showed Dorff the lyrics in progress. They rushed over to the piano, and the rest is history.
Dorff shared the story behind the song to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International.
Bart Herbison: Through the years, we've all laughed and cried and enjoyed the soundtrack to our lives that y'all wrote. Just that'southward the story behind the vocal this week for The Tennessean, the great Kenny Rogers hit. You wrote it with Marty Panzer. Take u.s. back. Do you remember the day?
Steve Dorff: I remember it similar it was yesterday. Considering all these songs have not bad stories, and the fine line betwixt incredible success and dismal failure, which I've experienced a lot of. Merely (with) "Through the Years" — true story — Marty and I had just met and we had written possibly two songs together. We invited him over for dinner i night. He came over and had a petty chocolate-brown envelope. I said, "What's in the envelope?" He says, "A new lyric I wanted to show you."
I yelled to my wife at the time, Nancy, "How long till dinner?" And she said, "Oh, about fifteen minutes." I said, "Oh cool, let me run across it." And he pulls this thing out.
As Marty always does, he reads me the lyric earlier he gives it to me. ... He's similar acting it out similar a Shakespearean actor. As he's reading me the chorus, I'm hearing the melody. Then I ripped it out of his hands, I said, "Great."
We get to the piano. I wrote it in 15 minutes.
BH: Before dinner. Seriously?
SD: Yep. ... We had a couple of big artists pass on it earlier Kenny got ahold of it. And that'due south a whole 'nother story.
BH: Well, let's hear that story.
SD: Well, the way information technology'south been told to me, by two different people, I've heard four unlike versions. But I'll tell y'all my version that's in my book. Lionel Richie had heard the song from the president, Jim Mazza, of then Liberty Records. And Lionel loved the vocal and wanted to cut it. He was also producing Kenny Rogers. They had just come up off "Lady," which was arguably one of the biggest monster hits of that year. Kenny was arguably one of the biggest artists on the planet. ... Mazza tells me that he pitched the song to Kenny and Kenny passed. Lionel told me that they were having a vocal meeting and Kenny was not earthworks annihilation that they were being played that day. And Lionel said, "Let me play something that I'g gonna record, and if y'all similar it, at least I'll have a better management of where to go."
He started to play my demo, "Through the Years." Kenny's wife at the time was coming through the room at Kenny's house, and she heard the chorus and walked over to Kenny and said, "Yous're recording that 1."
And they did.
BH: I can only imagine the people that have come to you through the years maxim how that song touched them.
SD: I was at some kind of an result and I played "Through the Years." I airtight my show with it. There was a cocktail hour afterwards and a woman came over to me and she said, "Can I tell you how much that vocal ways to me?" I said, "Oh, thank you." She said, "No, no, you don't understand. My mother, who nosotros recently lost, that was her favorite, favorite song of all time. She used to sing it every day to us." And the lyric is on her gravestone. I grabbed ii glasses of red wine off the waiter that was passing by. I said, "Let's drink to mom."
About the series
In partnership with Nashville Songwriters Association International, the "Story Behind the Song" video interview serial features Nashville-connected songwriters discussing i of their compositions. For full video interviews with all of our subjects, visit www.tennessean.com/music.
Kenny Is Writing Down Information He Reads in His Own Words. Kenny Is
Source: https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/story-behind-the-song/2020/01/24/kenny-rogers-through-years-story-behind-song-steve-dorff-marty-panzer/4489344002/
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