“Buy Me a Rose” is a song written by Jim Funk and Erik Hickenlooper and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in October 1999 as the third single from his album She Rides Wild Horses and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in May 2000. The song made Rogers (who was 61 years old at the time) the oldest country singer to have a number one hit until Willie Nelson (at age 70) beat the record through a duet with Toby Keith on his 2003 single “Beer for My Horses”.
“Buy Me a Rose” was Rogers’ first number one hit since 1987’s “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine” (a duet with Ronnie Milsap) and his final charting top 40 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart since 1984’s “What About Me?”. It was also both Alison Krauss’ and Billy Dean’s only number one hit, as they received credit for performing background vocals on the song. “Buy Me a Rose” was also the first independently-released song to top the country charts since “Baby’s Got a New Baby” by S-K-O (Schuyler, Knoblock, and Overstreet) did so in 1987. The song also hit #13 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in 2004 for Luther Vandross.
The song’s impact on popular music
“Buy Me a Rose” is considered to be one of Kenny Rogers’ most important songs. It is a classic example of his countrypolitan sound and is considered to be one of the songs that helped to define his career. The song’s success helped to pave the way for other country music artists, and it is considered to be one of the songs that helped to popularize the genre. “Buy Me a Rose” is a timeless classic that continues to be enjoyed by fans of all ages.
Additional information:
- The song was written by Jim Funk and Erik Hickenlooper.
- It was released in October 1999 as the third single from Kenny Rogers’ album She Rides Wild Horses.
- The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in May 2000.
- It was Rogers’ first number one hit since 1987’s “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine” (a duet with Ronnie Milsap).
- It was also both Alison Krauss’ and Billy Dean’s only number one hit.
- The song was also the first independently-released song to top the country charts since “Baby’s Got a New Baby” by S-K-O (Schuyler, Knoblock, and Overstreet) did so in 1987.