Kenny Rogers – Love Will Turn You Around

About The Song

“Love Will Turn You Around” is a 1982 single by Kenny Rogers, released on Liberty Records as the lead track and title song of his album Love Will Turn You Around. Issued as a single on June 28, 1982, it also served as the theme song for Rogers’ racing-themed film Six Pack, released the same year. The record runs a little under four minutes and fits into the run of crossover hits that followed “Lady,” “I Don’t Need You” and the album Share Your Love, marking the start of a new album cycle while capitalizing on his growing movie profile.

The song was written by Kenny Rogers together with producer David Malloy and Nashville writers Thom Schuyler and Even Stevens. All four were already established on the country and pop charts: Malloy had co-written and produced hits for Eddie Rabbitt, while Schuyler and Stevens were part of the same early-1980s Nashville songwriting circle. Rogers co-produced the track with Malloy, continuing a pattern in which he took an active role in shaping the sound of his early-’80s records. Their version became the definitive recording and the commercial centerpiece of both the album and the film soundtrack.

Recording for the album took place in 1982 at Creative Workshop in Nashville and at Lion Share and Record One studios in Los Angeles. The parent LP, Love Will Turn You Around, was Rogers’ thirteenth studio album and mixed Nashville session players with West Coast pop musicians under a small group of producers, including Rogers, Malloy, Brent Maher, Randy Goodrum and Val Garay. The title track was positioned as the lead single and main promotional hook, released to radio ahead of the album and prominently used in trailers and marketing for Six Pack, where Rogers played a down-on-his-luck race-car driver who becomes guardian to a group of children.

In terms of sound, “Love Will Turn You Around” sits squarely in Rogers’ country-pop style of the period. The arrangement uses bright acoustic guitars, steady drums, bass, keyboards and light electric-guitar touches, with the tempo pushed just fast enough to give it an upbeat feel without becoming a straight rock track. Contemporary reviews noted that the blend of high-strung acoustic guitars and relaxed vocal phrasing recalled some of Rogers’ earlier work with The First Edition, while still fitting comfortably beside his smoother adult-contemporary ballads. The production leaves his voice clean and forward in the mix, aiming at country, pop and easy-listening radio at the same time.

The lyric encourages someone who has become guarded or discouraged to trust that love can change their direction. Verses talk about feeling boxed in, running in circles and being afraid to try again, while the chorus insists that if you “let your heart show you the way,” love can turn you around and “get you on your feet and rolling.” The imagery of turns, wheels and motion ties in neatly with the racing backdrop of Six Pack, but the message is broader: it frames love as a force that can pull a person out of fear or stagnation rather than just a romantic feeling.

Commercially, the single was a major success. In the United States it reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, confirming its crossover appeal, and it hit No. 1 on both the Hot Country Singles chart and the Adult Contemporary chart in 1982. Canadian charts show a similar pattern: the song topped the RPM country and adult-contemporary listings and climbed to No. 12 on the overall Top Singles chart. Year-end tallies from Billboard ranked it among the Top 20 adult-contemporary songs and Top 20 country singles of 1982, reflecting strong, sustained airplay across formats.

“Love Will Turn You Around” also drew critical recognition. It received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 23rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, underlining how strongly the recording was regarded within the industry. In later years the track has appeared on compilations such as 21 Number Ones and numerous “best of” collections, and it remains closely associated with both the Love Will Turn You Around album and the film Six Pack. Today it is often listed alongside “The Gambler,” “Coward of the County,” “Lady” and “I Don’t Need You” as one of the key singles that defined Kenny Rogers’ peak crossover period in the early 1980s.

Video

Lyric

You can run, you can hide
Never let it inside
Keep living your life in the dark
Sooner or later
That gentle persuader is gonna catch up with your heart
Make you a dreamer
Believer
Believing in love

Right when a man’s doing all that he planned
And he thinks he’s got just what he needs
Life will deliver a shot that will shiver him
Driving him down to his knees
Make him start giving
Living
Living again

Well, it’s your mind
That tricks you into leaving everytime
Love will turn you around, turn you around
Well, it’s your heart
That talks you into staying where you are
Love will turn you around
Turn you around

Out of the blue
She reaches for you
And you tell her you don’t have the time
So you move away fast
But you know it won’t last
Cause you can’t get her off of your mind
Thoughts are burning
Turning
They’re turning around

How do you know when to stay or to go
And how do you know when it’s real
You don’t need a sign to make up your mind
You got your heart at the wheel

You wanna start sharing
Caring
Caring again

Well, it’s your mind
That tricks you into leaving everytime
Love will turn you around
Turn you around
Well, it’s your heart
That talks you into staying where you are
Love will turn you around
Turn you around

Love will turn you around
Turn you around
Love will turn you around
Turn you around
Turn you around