Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

I am completely obsessed with the beyond-sublime "What Are We Doin' In Love," Kenny Rogers and Dottie West's 1981 #1 country smash (#12 pop, Dottie's biggest ever), these days. I eschewed getting Kenny's new 21 Number Ones in favor of 42 Ultimate Hits (see sidebar), specifically because I wanted all of his big hit duets with Dottie. And do you have any idea what an awesome singer Kenny Rogers is? Yes, I'm totally serious. Listen to him, just listen: on a song like "We've Got Tonight," his vocal tone is as pure as it gets, and that's just for starters. Further reading (from me) on Kenny here. (Great bio of Kenny at Allmusic, here [though it gives far-too-short shrift to his recent work - he had a #1 country single in '99, for pete's sake!], and of course there's always this. As for Dottie info, start with her Wikipedia entry, and if you're feeling particularly adventurous, there's the fan-curated dottiewest.net.)