From WHAT ABOUT ME?
Written by Paul Gordon & Tom Keane
In the early Eighties, country superstar Kenny Rogers made the transition to the Pop/Adult Contemporary charts thanks to his collaborations with world-class music makers like Lionel Richie, The Bee Gees and David Foster.
The Canadian super-producer crafted important hits for the veteran superstar including his 1982 #1 duet “We’ve Got Tonight” with Sheena Easton and the elegant ballad, “What About Me?,” sung with James Ingram and Kim Carnes. In late 1984, “What About Me?” climbed the charts to #15 on Pop and #1 on Adult Contemporary charts. Both songs can be found in our archives. “What About Me?” was also the title track of Rogers’ 1984 album that became another platinum-plus seller for the singer. Foster produced three other tracks for What About Me?. “Crazy” was a gorgeous love song co-written by Rogers with Richard Marx that deserved to reach #1 on the Country chart and the Top Five on Adult Contemporary around year’s end. Foster mastered all the previously mentioned songs with his unique knack for grand, dramatic ballads showing, once again, that he was at the top of his game and could do no wrong. The Hitman basically owned the Adult Contemporary chart. The accomplishments he mined with Rogers are perfect examples of his musical art. The remaining two “Foster” songs on What About Me? may be lesser-known, but they were quite interesting for his aficionados. The catchy pop mid-tempo, “Somebody Took My Love,” was a Marx composition co-written with fellow singer/songwriter David Pomeranz. “The Night Goes On” was a blue-eyed soul ballad with echoes of Bobby Caldwell and co-written by Tom Keane and Paul Gordon who were fixtures in the Foster camp.
With “The Night Goes On,” the two gifted songwriters came up with a catchy melody that they put in Foster’s capable hands. The result was another winner. The super-producer perfectly crafted the track adding a nice R&B flavor to it and the arrangement is close to Foster’s high-tech work on monster sellers including Chicago 17. Rogers gave another top notch performance on this song with his warm baritone. The singer completed his transition from country star to elegant, all-around performer by handling the pop/adult contemporary material with extreme class and style.
Listen
[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Kenny-Rogers-The-Night-Goes-On-Remastered.mp3|titles=The Night Goes On|artists=Kenny Rogers]
Lead Vocals: Kenny Rogers
Keyboards & Synthesizers: David Foster & Tom Keane
Bass: Nathan East & Neil Stubenhaus
Drums: John Robinson
Guitars: Michael Landau & Paul Jackson, Jr.
Backing Vocals: Kenny Cetera, Terry Williams, Richard Marx & Portia Griffin
Produced & Arranged by David Foster
Lyrics
You and me walking on the land
But we can lose a stare from time in time
Cause we both get lonely
And it makes me more afraid
As the night goes on
How long will it take until we know
If we should pray and say I’ll let it go
Cause I feel the danger
That maybe we should try to take it slow
As the night goes on
And the night goes on
Keeping us waiting, keeping us holding on
‘Til we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on
Don’t let it shake us, just let it make us strong
So we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on
You and me keep talking heart to heart
But why don’t we stop talking and just start
Cause it makes me restless
Can’t you see it’s tearing us apart
As the night goes on
Keeping us waiting, keeping us holding on
‘Til we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on
Don’t let it shake us, just let it make us strong
So we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on
And the night goes on
Keeping us waiting, keeping us holding on
‘Til we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on
Don’t let it shake us, just let it make us strong
So we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on
I see myself when I look in your eyes
Staring back with a look of surprise
At what’s going on
Don’t turn back you can get away now
We’re just a step from ten feet off the ground
We’re alright where we belong
And nobody can say where we were wrong
And the night goes on
Keeping us waiting, keeping us holding on
‘Til we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on
Don’t let it shake us, just let it make us strong
So we’re not afraid of falling in love
And the night goes on…