Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, sometimes billed as The First Edition, was an eclectic rock band whose styles ranged from rock and roll to R&B, folk, and country. Its core members were Kenny Rogers (lead vocals and bass guitar), Mickey Jones (drums and percussion) and Terry Williams (guitar and vocals). The band formed in 1967, with folk musician Mike Settle (guitar and backing vocals) and the operatically-trained Thelma Camacho (lead vocals) completing the lineup. As the 1960s counterculture was heating up, The First Edition signed with Reprise Records in the summer of 1967 and had its first big hit in early 1968 with the pop-psychedelic single "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" (US No. 5). After only one more chart hit, "But You Know I Love You" (US No. 19), the group, newly billed as "Kenny Rogers and the First Edition", once again hit the top ten, this time in the summer of 1969 with the topical "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" (US No. 6, UK No.2). For the next six years, First Edition bounced between country rock, pop and psychedelic rock, enjoying worldwide success. By the mid 1970s, frontman Kenny Rogers would embark on a solo music career, becoming one of the top-selling country artists of all time.