Every Friday around 11 a.m. Central, it’s time for Classic Americana on Radio Heartland. We pull a special track from the archives or from deep in the shelves to spotlight a particular artist or song.

This week’s Classic Americana featured artist, Don Schlitz, may not be a household name, but he is the writer of one of the most well-known lyrics in music: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em / Know when to fold ‘em.” 

In the mid-1970s, Don Schlitz was living in Nashville, Tennessee, trying to build a career as a songwriter while supporting himself by working overnight in the computer lab at Vanderbilt University. It was at that time that Kenny Rogers recorded his version of a song Schlitz had written, “The Gambler.” Rogers and his producers and studio musicians had added their own touches to the song, and it raced to No. 1 in the country charts; it also became a massive crossover hit, peaking at No. 3 in Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and at No. 16 in the Hot 100. We’ll hear Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler,” as our Classic Americana pick this week.

With that song, Don Schlitz was able to cement a career as a songwriter — and he’s been delivering hits ever since, with 50 top 10 singles and 24 No. 1 hits. Just to highlight some of his work, Schlitz, together with his friend and co-writer Paul Overstreet, helped advance the career of artist Randy Travis with such hits as “On The Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever Amen” and “Point of Light” — the last one having the distinction of being commissioned by a U.S. President, George H.W. Bush. Co-writing with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Schlitz helped craft the songs “He Thinks He'll Keep Her" and "I Feel Lucky,” both of which became top-five hits for Chapin Carpenter. And another song, “When You Say Nothing At All,” became a No. 1 hit in the U.K. in 1999 when Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating recorded a cover of it for the soundtrack to the film Notting Hill.

Don Schlitz’s work in music has brought him many honors, including two Grammy Awards and four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards, plus induction into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Plus, because Schlitz was born (Aug. 29, 1952) and raised in Durham, North Carolina, he was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

Beyond the accolades, Schlitz has shared his knowledge and talents with others. For example, singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith, who grew up in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, has cited Don Schlitz as a mentor. “When I moved to [Nashville],” Smith told The Current’s Jill Riley in 2020, “I met a songwriter by the name of Don Schlitz, and Don is a Hall of Fame songwriter. … Don took me under his wing and taught me about the craft of writing.” 

As Kenny Rogers put it when inducting Don Schlitz into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, “Don doesn’t just write songs, he writes careers.”

Watch Don Schlitz perform his own rendition of “The Gambler”:

Classic Americana Playlist

External Links

Don Schlitz – Songwriters Hall of Fame website