Kenny Rogers to Release Inspirational ‘For the Love of God’

Legendary entertainer Kenny Rogers is set to release an inspirational album next year, accompanied by a book of photos. The album will be a mix of gospel standards that were favorites of Kenny's parents, as well as new material. The project will also include an 18-month calendar featuring pictures of churches from around the world taken by Kenny during his extensive travels.

"This is my fourth book," Kenny tells Gannett.com. "It's not gospel -- it's more inspirational. It's all songs about people's personal relationship with God and what He means to them. It's been very inspiring for me to do it. We found some great old songs that my mom and dad used to listen to, like 'In the Sweet By and By,' and 'Amazing Grace,' and we found some new songs that no one's ever heard before that I think are incredibly touching."

Also incredible are the churches Kenny has photographed through the years, which he's now sharing with fans through this project. "The whole concept is called 'For the Love of God,' so the calendar is things people will do for the love of God. Some of the churches are from Prague or Czechoslovakia, and they're just unbelievably dynamic. Then some are little churches that sit out in the field."

Kenny explains that he began taking pictures as a way to pass the time during the days while on tour, capturing life through his camera lens as he traveled. "We travel by bus most of the time, unless it's cross-country, and we pull a jeep with us. We jump in the jeep in the morning and drive around and look for things to shoot. The interesting thing is, we've realized that even if we don't find pictures, we get to see parts of the world we'd never see otherwise."

Kenny is currently touring the country on his annual Christmas and Hits tour, which he's done for nearly three decades. When he finally gets home for Christmas, however, he jokes that he's likely to find the place decorated for Valentine's Day!

"Our house is always one holiday ahead," says Kenny. "Like for Halloween, they were already decorating for Thanksgiving. Now they had Christmas decorations up three weeks before it was time to have Christmas up!"

Kenny released his first live Christmas album earlier this season. There's no word yet on when 'For the Love of God' will be released.