We remember him in the 70s and 80s with hits such as: “Every Which Way But Loose,” “Drivin’ My Life Away” and the ever-famous “I Love a Rainy Night,” but Eddie Rabbitt fans need not despair. Our “Jersey Boy” is alive and well performing in the new Nashville: Branson, Mo.

The “Taste of Branson” country concert happens Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum and will feature Rabbitt and the famed Country’s Reminisce Hitch, a nationally recognized team of Belgian horses. In addition, several Branson entertainers, including singers and dancers, will perform to complete the “Taste of Branson” night.

Rabbitt said the people of Branson said the “right things” to convince him to settle there. “We go where the money goes,” he said. “It’s nice to have a sit-down gig and let the audience come to you.”

Rabbitt’s 17 country albums have produced 26 number-one country hits and eight top-40 hits, yet Rabbitt never tires of singing his fans’ favorites. “You would think that one would, but once I start singing, before I can even get ‘rain’ out of my mouth,” the crowd goes wild, Rabbitt said. “The audience keeps it new.”

His hits have crossed over the country music boundaries into the Top-40 scene, but Rabbitt said he is a country singer at heart. “I started out in country music . . . Back in the mid-80s, [rock stations] played some of my music, but that wasn’t my determination,” Rabbitt said.

Rabbitt credits a “love of what I do” for his inspiration to keep churning out the hits. His latest album will be out in about six months.

Disenchanted with a lot of today’s sounds, Rabbitt said today’s music has lost heart. “Everything seems to be saying ‘let’s get in bed and do it.’ There’s no love. Music should be romantic,” Rabbitt said. “James Taylor said it best when he described today’s sound as ‘corporate rock.’

“That’s just what it is. The dirtier the better. The sexier the better, without caring about the children,” Rabbitt said. “Country music is still music, but not dirty or sexual.”

Even country music has fallen to the money-making tyrants of business, though. “The performers all sound and look alike. Hollywood is sucking the life out of country music.

“Country music is getting watered-down. Everyone wears hats and looks and sounds like Garth Brooks,” Rabbitt said.

The women’s magazine, Cosmopolitan, labeled Rabbitt as a “hunk of country,” but Rabbitt’s appeal goes beyond sexual. His new children’s album and kids’ TV show, “Rabbitt Land,” equipped with a computer generated magic forest hopes to someday give Disney a run for its money, Rabbitt said.

Shuffling gigs in Branson as a father of two with a new album and even a TV show in the works, Rabbitt still finds time for charitable causes. Rabbitt lends his name and talents to Jerry’s Kids, Safe Kids, Easter Seals, the Special Olympics and the Arthritis Foundation.

Ticket prices for the “Taste of Country” are $15, $25 and $35. A $2 discount is available for groups of 20 or more. They are available at the Iowa State Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

Country’s Reminisce Hitch will get a warm-up Saturday afternoon when they make a run during halftime of the Iowa State – Kansas football game.