In 1999, Kenny Rogers had what would become the final No. 1 hit of his career, with “Buy Me A Rose”, making history in the process. On his 23rd solo album, She Rides Wild Horses, the song is written by Jim Funk and Erik Hickenlooper. Rogers is joined on “Buy Me A Rose” by Alison Krauss and Billy Dean.
When “Buy Me A Rose” landed at the top of the charts, Rogers was 61 years old. The song made him the oldest artist at the time to have a No. 1 on the country charts.
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Not only is the No. 1 single significant, but it also came at a time when most likely thought Rogers’ best days as a country artist were behind him. It had been eight years since Rogers had a Top 20 single, with “If You Want To Find Love”, out in 1991. Even more significantly, his last No. 1 came in 1987, with “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine”.
“Buy Me A Rose” was nominated for Single of the Year at the CMA Awards.
What Kenny Rogers Said About “Buy Me A Rose”
“Buy Me A Rose” is a song about a woman not getting what she wants out of a relationship. The song says, “He works hard to give her all he thinks she wants / A three-car garage, her own credit cards / He pulls in late to wake her up with a kiss good night / If he could only read her mind, she’d say / ‘Buy me a rose, call me from work / Open a door for me, what would it hurt? / Show me you love me by the look in your eyes / These are the little things I need the most in my life.‘”
Rogers had released numerous singles in the 90s, with none of them even becoming Top 40 hits. Most people thought it unlikely that Rogers would have a big hit with “Buy Me A Rose”. But Rogers knew the song was special.
“I feel tremendous pride that we played by their rules and got back in,” Rogers said in 2000. “We won. Now we’re in the box again.”
Prior to releasing “Buy Me A Rose”, Rogers released “The Greatest”, which became a Top 30 single. Although Rogers never had another song go all the way to No. 1, he did have other Top 40 singles after “Buy Me A Rose”. “He Will, She Knows”, out in 2000, and “There You Go Again”, out in 2001, became moderate hits.
In 2005, Rogers had his final Top 20 single with “I Can’t Unlove You”.
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