Through The Years - Single Version

One of the most famous anthems of marital fidelity, "Through The Years" finds Rogers singing about a lifelong companion who has been his steadfast support. At the time, he was married to his fourth wife, the actress Marianne Gordon. They divorced in 1993.

This was written by the songwriters Steve Dorff and Marty Panzer. Dorff had written a number of songs for Anne Murray, including "I Just Fall in Love Again" and "You Set My Dreams To Music"; Panzer often co-write with Barry Manilow, including Manilow's hits "It's A Miracle" and "This One's For You." Panzer wrote the lyric, which he brought to Dorff's house, where they were having dinner. According to Dorff, they put the music to the song in just 15 minutes while they were waiting to eat.

Along with the rest of the Share Your Love album, the song was produced by Lionel Richie - they had previously teamed on Rogers' hit "Lady." Richie is the one who decided "Through The Years" was a good fit for Rogers. "Kenny was actually the third or fourth person that was approached with that song," co-writer Steve Dorff said in a Songfacts interview. "Barry Manilow and Mac Davis passed on it. Glen Campbell passed on it. Those were the notable ones. Lionel Richie had heard the song and loved it and played it for his people and that's how it happened. I got a phone call from Gene Page, that great arranger, who called me and said, 'Congratulations! We just cut your song with Kenny Rogers, and it sounds amazing.'"