From fstroupe@gmi.net Wed Feb 05 05:34:41 2003
Subject:Kenny Rogers

> Kenny Rogers was a member of a band called "The First Edition", and did a
song called JUST DROPPED IN (TO SEE WHAT CONDITION MY CONDITION WAS IN).
>
> I believe that's Hammond I hear toward the end of that song, and
son-of-a-gun a very young Kenny Rogers belting out psychedelic rock no less.

I love it when I hear of someone new discovering this song. Quite a
difference from "Coward of the County" huh?

The band was actually billed "Kenny Rogers and the First Edition" by the
time of their next hit called "Ruby". They had a string of I guess 6 pretty
big (but fairly negligable) hits from '68 to '74 or so, that, today,
excepting "Just Dropped In" you would think country, but actually, they were
in the rock genre, and were very different from what was going on in country
at the time.

I say "negligable", mainly in the historical sense...these guys were pretty
popular. They even had a syndicated TV show. They just didn't have the
chops of, say, CCR, and presented a more clean-cut image than the Dead.

"Just Dropped in" is a pretty much overlooked song...but look at what else
was going on in the rock world in 1968! Could be Hammond in it, but could
be Farfisa or Continental, just really can't tell. I do remember a B-3
being on the television show set, though, I would imagine they mimed like
most everyone else did...as a kid I couldn't tell...hell, I thought "The
Partridge Family" was really singing!

Unfortunitely (I guess), this is pretty much the only song of it's kind they
did. Most everything else sounded alot like what Kenny Rogers would do
later.

Frank