Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers
Rogers in January 1997
Background information
Birth name	Kenneth Ray Rogers
Born	August 21 1938(1938-08-21) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died	March 20 2020 (aged 81) Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S.
Label(s)	Cue, Carlton, Mercury, United Artists, Giant, Reprise, Atlantic, Liberty, Curb, RCA, Dreamcatcher, Capitol, WEA, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	The Scholars, The Bobby Doyle Trio, The New Christy Minstrels, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Barry Gibb, Kim Carnes, David Foster, Lionel Richie, Mel Tillis
Website	Kenny Rogers
Notable instrument(s)
Vocals bass guitar

Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and entrepreneur. He was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres, and topped the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. Rogers' long and successful solo career included several successful collaborations, including duets with singers Dolly Parton and Sheena Easton, and a songwriting partnership with Lionel Richie. One of the best-selling music artists of all time, his fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country.

Rogers' signature song, 1978's The Gambler, was a cross-over hit that won him a Grammy Award in 1980 and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. He developed the Gambler persona into a character for a successful series of Emmy-nominated television films starting with Kenny Rogers as The Gambler. Remaining a popular entertainer around the world, he continued to tour regularly until his retirement in 2017, his legendary voice and character bringing joy to so many people for six decades.

Life

Kenneth Ray Rogers was born the fourth of eight children on August 21, 1938, in Houston, Texas. His parents were Lucille Lois (née Hester; 1910–1991), a nurse's assistant, and Edward Floyd Rogers (1904–1975), a carpenter. Rogers was said to be of Irish and Native American ancestry. He attended Wharton Elementary School, George Washington Junior High School, and in 1956 he graduated from Jefferson Davis High School (now Northside High School) where he was in a doo wop group, the Scholars. He later attended the University of Houston.

Rogers was married five times and had five children. His first marriage was to Janice Gordon on May 15, 1958; they divorced in April 1960 with one child, Carole Lynne. He married his second wife, Jean, in October 1960 and divorced her in 1963. His third marriage was to Margo Anderson in October 1964; they divorced in 1976 with one child. He married his fourth wife Marianne Gordon on October 1, 1977, and they divorced in 1993 with one son, Christopher Cody Rogers. His fifth marriage was to Wanda Miller on June 1, 1997. They had twin sons, Jordan and Justin, and were married for 22 years until his death.

On March 20, 2020, Rogers died from natural causes under hospice care at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was 81 years old.

Career

In a recording career dating back to the 1950s, Rogers moved from teenage rock and roll through psychedelic rock to become a country-pop crossover artist of the 1970s and 1980s. After a few solo releases, he joined several different groups before embarking on a long and successful solo career, which included several successful collaborations, including duets with singers Dolly Parton and Sheena Easton, and a songwriting partnership with Lionel Richie. Rogers sold over 120 million albums worldwide, with one Diamond album, 20 Platinum albums, and 11 Gold. He had hits in each of the seven decades of his long career, recording 24 No. 1 hits (including classics like The Gambler, Lady, Islands In The Stream, Lucille, She Believes In Me, and Through The Years), 12 No. 1 albums, and 25 Top 10 country albums. His music was featured in top-selling movie soundtracks, such as Convoy, Urban Cowboy, and The Big Lebowski.

Early career

Rogers began his recording career with the Houston-based teenage group the Scholars, who first released The Poor Little Doggie. He had a minor solo hit in 1957 called That Crazy Feeling. After sales slowed down, Rogers joined a jazz group called the Bobby Doyle Three, who were frequently hired by clubs due to their fan following. The group recorded for Columbia Records. They disbanded in 1965, and a 1966 jazzy rock single Rogers recorded for Mercury Records, called Here's That Rainy Day, failed. Rogers also worked as a producer, writer, and session musician for other performers, including country artists Mickey Gilley and Eddy Arnold. In 1966, he joined the New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player.

Feeling that the Minstrels were not offering the success they wanted, Rogers and fellow members Mike Settle, Terry Williams, and Thelma Camacho left the group.They formed the First Edition in 1967 (later renamed "Kenny Rogers and the First Edition"). They were later joined by Kin Vassy. They chalked up a string of hits on both the pop and country charts, including Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In), But You Know I Love You, Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town, Tell It All, Brother, Reuben James, and Something's Burning.

When the First Edition disbanded in 1976, Rogers launched his solo career. He soon developed a more middle-of-the-road sound that sold to both pop and country audiences.

Solo career

After leaving the First Edition in 1976, after almost a decade with the group, Rogers signed a solo deal with United Artists. Producer Larry Butler and Rogers began a partnership that would last four years.

Rogers first outing for his new label was Love Lifted Me. The album charted and two singles, Love Lifted Me and While the Feeling's Good, were minor hits. Later in 1976, Rogers issued his second album, the self-titled Kenny Rogers, whose first single, Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got), was another solo hit.

The single Lucille (1977) was a major hit, reaching number one on the pop charts in 12 countries, selling over five million copies, and firmly establishing Rogers' post-First Edition career. On the strength of Lucille, the album Kenny Rogers reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart. More success was to follow, including the multi-platinum selling album The Gambler and another international Number 1 single, Coward of the County, taken from the equally successful album, Kenny. In 1980, the Rogers/Butler partnership came to an end, though they would occasionally reunite: in 1987 on the album I Prefer the Moonlight and again in 1993 on the album If Only My Heart Had a Voice.

In the late 1970s, Rogers teamed up with close friend and Country Music legend Dottie West for a series of albums and duets. Together the duo won two gold records (one of which later went platinum), two CMA Awards, an ACM nomination, two Grammy nominations and 1 Music City News Award for their two hit albums Every Time Two Fools Collide (No. 1) and Classics (No. 3), selling out stadiums and arenas while on tour for several years, as well as appearing on several network television specials which showcased them. Their hits together Every Time Two Fools Collide (No. 1), Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight (No. 2), What Are We Doin' in Love (No. 1), All I Ever Need Is You (No. 1), and Till I Can Make It On My Own (No. 3) all became Country standards. In 1995 he starred as himself, alongside Michele Lee as West, in the CBS biographical film Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story.

In 1980, a selection he recorded as a duet with Kim Carnes, "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer", became a hit. Earlier that year, he sang a duet of You and Me with Lynda Carter in her television music special Lynda Carter Special (Rogers originally recorded this with Dottie West for the Every Time Two Fools Collide album). Later in 1980 came his partnership with Lionel Richie who wrote and produced Rogers' No. 1 hit Lady. Richie went on to produce Rogers' 1981 album Share Your Love, a chart topper and commercial favorite featuring hits such as I Don't Need You (Pop No. 3), Through the Years (Pop No. 13), and Share Your Love with Me (Pop No. 14). In 1982, Rogers released the album Love Will Turn You Around. The album's title track reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the country and AC charts. It was the theme song of Rogers' 1982 film Six Pack. Shortly afterwards, he started working with producer David Foster in 1983, recording the smash Top 10 hit Bob Seger cover We've Got Tonight, a duet with Sheena Easton. Also a number 1 single on the Country charts in the United States, it reached the Top 30 on the British charts.

In 1981, Rogers bought the old ABC Dunhill building and built one of the most popular and state-of-the-art recording studios in Los Angeles. The song We Are the World was recorded there and at A & M Records.

Rogers went on to work with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees who produced his 1983 hit album Eyes That See in the Dark, featuring the title track and yet another No. 1 hit Islands in the Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton. Gibb, along with his brothers, Robin and Maurice, originally wrote the song for Marvin Gaye in an R&B style, only later to change it for Rogers' album.

Islands in the Stream, Rogers' duet with Dolly Parton, was the first single to be released from Eyes That See in the Dark in the United States, and it quickly went to No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, as well as topping Billboard's country and adult contemporary singles charts; it was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping two million copies in the United States. Rogers would reunite with Parton in 1984 for a holiday album, Once Upon a Christmas and TV special Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember (which resulted in a popular video of Christmas Without You), as well as a 1985 duet Real Love, which also topped the U.S. country singles chart. The two would continue to collaborate on occasional projects through subsequent years.

Shortly after came the album What About Me?, a hit whose title track—a trio performance with James Ingram and Kim Carnes—was nominated for a Grammy Award. David Foster was to work again with Rogers in his 1985 album The Heart of the Matter, although this time Foster was playing backing music rather than producing, a role given to George Martin. This album was another success, going to No. 1, with the title track making to the top ten category in the singles charts.

The next few years saw Rogers scoring several top country hits on a regular basis, including Twenty Years Ago, Morning Desire, Tomb of the Unknown Love, among others. On January 28, 1985, Rogers was one of the 45 artists who recorded the worldwide charity song We Are the World to support hunger victims in Africa.

In 1988, Rogers won a Grammy Award for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" with Ronnie Milsap—Make No Mistake, She's Mine. In the 1990s, Rogers continued to chart with singles such as The Factory and Crazy In Love. From 1991–1994, Rogers hosted The Real West on A&E, and on The History Channel since 1995 (Reruns only on The History Channel). From 1992–1995, Rogers co-owned and headlined Branson, Missouri's 4,000 seat Grand Palace Theatre. In 1994, Rogers released his "dream" album titled Timepiece on Atlantic Records. It consisted of 1930s/1940s jazz standards, the type of music he had performed in his early days with the Bobby Doyle Three in Houston.

In 1996, Rogers released an album Vote For Love where the public requested their favorite love songs and Rogers performed the songs. (Several of his own hits were in the final version.) The album, sold exclusively by QVC, was a huge success and was later issued in stores under a variety of different titles. It reached No. 1 in the UK country charts under the title Love Songs.

In 1999, Rogers scored with the single The Greatest, a song about life from a child's point of view (looked at through a baseball game) The song reached the top 40 of Billboard's Country singles chart and was a Country Music Television Number One video. It was on Rogers' album She Rides Wild Horses the following year (itself a top 10 success).

Although he used many session musicians to play instruments on his recordings, Rogers was backed on tours by the group Bloodline since beginning his solo career in 1976. The group originally started as a three-piece. In The Journey (a 2006 documentary about his career) Rogers said he did not understand singers who changed their touring band every year, and that he sticks with Bloodline as they already "know the songs." Members of Bloodline have included Steve Glassmeyer, Chuck Jacobs, Randy Dorman, Gene Golden, Bobby Daniels, Rick Harper, Edgar Struble, Lynn Hammann, Warren Hartman, Gene Sisk, Brian Franklin, Mike Zimmerman, and Amber Randall.

2000–2015

Rogers in 2004

In the twenty-first century (and at age 61), Rogers was back at No. 1 for the first time in more than a decade with the 2000 single Buy Me a Rose. In doing so, he broke a 26-year-old record held by Hank Snow (who, in April 1974, was aged 59 when he scored with Hello Love). Rogers held the record until 2003, when then 70-year-old Willie Nelson became the oldest artist to have a No. 1 on the country charts with his duet with Toby Keith, Beer for My Horses.

Although Rogers did not record new albums for a couple of years, he continued to have success in many countries with more greatest hits packages. In 2004 42 Ultimate Hits, which was the first hits collection to span his days with the First Edition to the present, reached Number 6 on the American country charts and went gold. It also featured two new songs, My World Is Over with Whitney Duncan and We Are the Same. In 2005, The Very Best of Kenny Rogers, a double album, sold well in Europe.

Rogers signed with Capitol Records and had more success with the TV advertised release 21 Number Ones in January 2006. Capitol followed this with Rogers' new studio album, Water & Bridges, in March 2006 on the Capitol Nashville Records label. The first single from the album was I Can't Unlove You, which peaked at No. 17 on the country charts, after spending over 6 months on the hit list, more than 50 years after he formed his first group and 38 years after his first major hit as leader of the First Edition; the song remains in recurrent airplay on some radio stations today. I Can't Unlove You was followed up with the second single from the album, "The Last Ten Years (Superman), in September 2006. The third single, Calling Me, which featured Don Henley, became popular in early 2007, and was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Also in 2007, the 1977 Kenny Rogers album was re-issued as a double CD, also featuring the 1979 Kenny album and this once again put Rogers' name into the sales charts worldwide. The following year, another compilation album (A Love Song Collection) also charted.

In 2007, the England national rugby union team adopted Rogers' song The Gambler as their unofficial 2007 Rugby World Cup anthem, after hearing prop Matt Stevens playing it in the team hotel. Before the semi-final against France and the final against South Africa, Rogers sent video messages of support to the team in light of them choosing his song.

On August 26, 2008, Rogers released 50 Years. The album includes some of Rogers' greatest hits, plus 3 new songs. The release was designed to celebrate Rogers' 50th year in the music business.

Rogers in 2012 at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia

On April 10, 2010, a TV special was taped, Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years. Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie were among those set to perform with Rogers during a show celebrating his contribution to country, blues, and pop music. It took place at the MGM Grand in Foxwoods.

In 2012, Rogers re-recorded the hit song Lady, a duet with its songwriter Lionel Richie, on Richie's album Tuskegee. The pair also performed the song live at the 2012 ACM concert, "Lionel Richie & Friends."

On April 10, 2013, the CMA announced that Rogers would be a 2013 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Cowboy Jack Clement and Bobby Bare. In June 2013, he performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England in the Sunday afternoon 'Legends' slot.

In 2013, Rogers recorded a new album with the name You Can't Make Old Friends. This album included the title track, a new duet with Dolly Parton, which was his first single released in six years.

Retirement

In 2015, Rogers announced his farewell tour, titled The Gambler's Last Deal. He stated his intention to retire from touring at its completion, although he was considering the possibility of recording another studio album. Concert dates were scheduled through 2018 and included visits to the United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England, The Netherlands, and Switzerland. On April 5, 2018, it was announced that Rogers canceled his remaining tour as advised by doctors due to a series of health challenges.

Rogers' final concert in Nashville took place on October 25, 2017, at the Bridgestone Arena where he was joined by an array of guest artists including Linda Davis, Elle King, Little Big Town, Lionel Richie, Billy Currington, Lee Greenwood, the Flaming Lips, the Oak Ridge Boys, Justin Moore, Travis Tritt, the Judds, Kris Kristofferson, Alison Krauss, Chris Stapleton, Lady Antebellum, Idina Menzel, Crystal Gayle, Reba McEntire, and Jamey Johnson. The concert also included a special appearance by long-time friend Dolly Parton, who performed You Can't Make Old Friends and Islands in the Stream with Rogers for the final time.

Acting and other ventures

Rogers had acting roles in movies and television shows, including the title roles in Kenny Rogers as The Gambler and the MacShayne series for The NBC Mystery Movie, and the 1982 feature film Six Pack in which he played a race-car driver, took in more than $20 million at the United States box office. He also served as host and narrator for the A&E historical series The Real West.

Rogers said that photography was once his obsession, before it morphed into a passion. He authored the photo books Kenny Rogers' America (1986) and Your Friends and Mine (1987).

As an entrepreneur, he collaborated with former Kentucky Fried Chicken CEO John Y. Brown Jr. in 1991 to start up the restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters. The chicken and ribs chain was famously featured in an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld called "The Chicken Roaster."

Rogers put his name to the Gambler Chassis Co., a Sprint car racing manufacturer started by C.K. Spurlock in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The company used the name from Rogers' hit song The Gambler. During the 1980s and 1990s, Gambler was one of the fastest and widely used Sprintcars with such drivers as Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, and Doug Wolfgang driving the cars to victory in the World of Outlaws and the famous Knoxville Nationals. Gambler sprintcars were also successful in Australia with drivers such as Garry Rush and Steve Brazier using Gamblers to win multiple Australian Sprintcar Championships. Rush also used a Gambler chassis to win the UNOFFICIAL 1987 World Sprintcar Championship at the Claremont Speedway in Perth, Western Australia.

In October 2012, Rogers released a book Luck or Something Like it: A Memoir about his ups and downs in his musical career. He wrote a novel with Mike Blakely, entitled What Are the Chances, that was released in September, 2013.

In 2014, Rogers appeared as himself in a GEICO commercial, singing part of his song The Gambler a cappella while acting as the dealer in a card game.

Discography

Kenny Rogers recorded 39 studio albums, 43 compilation albums, and 80 singles, 21 of which reached Number One on the US country chart. His longest-lasting Number Ones on that chart are The Gambler and Coward of the County, at three weeks each. Two of his Number One country hits, Lady and Islands in the Stream, a duet with Dolly Parton, also reached Number One on the Billboard Hot 100; Lady spent six weeks at the top, making it his longest running Number One single on any Billboard chart. More than just a US phenomenon, he found an audience around the world with two of his biggest songs, Lucille and Coward of the County, both reaching Number One on the general sales chart in the UK. His albums The Gambler and Kenny each topped the country chart for at least 20 weeks, while his Greatest Hits was the only album by a solo country performer to top the Billboard 200 during the 1980s, reaching the summit in late 1980.

Following is a selection:

• Love Lifted Me (1976)
• Kenny Rogers (1976)
• Daytime Friends (1977)
• Every Time Two Fools Collide (with Dottie West) (1978)
• Love or Something Like It (1978)
• The Gambler (1978)
• Classics (with Dottie West) (1979)
• Kenny (1979)
• Gideon (1980)
• Share Your Love (1981)
• Christmas (1981)
• Love Will Turn You Around (1982)
• We've Got Tonight (1983)
• Eyes That See in the Dark (1983)
• What About Me? (1984)
• Once Upon a Christmas (with Dolly Parton) (1984)
• The Heart of the Matter (1985)
• They Don't Make Them Like They Used To (1986)
• I Prefer the Moonlight (1987)
• Something Inside So Strong (1989)
• Christmas in America (1989)
• Love Is Strange (1990)
• Back Home Again (1991)
• If Only My Heart Had a Voice (1993)
• Timepiece (with David Foster) (1994)
• Vote for Love (1996)
• The Gift (1996)
• Across My Heart (1997)
• Christmas from the Heart (1998)
• She Rides Wild Horses (1999)
• There You Go Again (2000)
• Back to the Well (2003)
• Water & Bridges (2006)
• The Love of God (2011)
• You Can't Make Old Friends (2013)
• Once Again It's Christmas (2015)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director
1982	Six Pack	Brewster Baker	Daniel Petrie
2001	Longshot	Pilot	Lionel C. Martin

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Saga of Sonora	Balladeer	Made-for-TV film directed by Marty Pasetta
1975	The Dream Makers	Earl	Made-for-TV film directed by Boris Sagal
1980	Kenny Rogers as The Gambler	Brady Hawkes	Made-for-TV film directed by Dick Lowry
1981	Coward of the County	Uncle Matthew
1983	Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues	Brady Hawkes
1985	Wild Horses	Matt Cooper
1987	Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues	Brady Hawkes
1990	Christmas in America	Frank Morgan	Made-for-TV film directed by Eric Till
1991	The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw	Brady Hawkes	Made-for-TV film directed by Dick Lowry
1992	The Real West	Host/narrator	Television documentary
1993	Rio Diablo	Quentin Leech	Made-for-TV film directed by Rod Hardy
1994	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Daniel Watkins	Episode: "Portraits" (S 1:EP 17)
	The Gambler V: Playing for Keeps	Brady Hawks	Made-for-TV film directed by Jack Bender
	MacShayne: Winner Takes All	John J. 'Jack' MacShayne	Made-for-TV film directed by E. W. Swackhamer
	MacShayne: The Final Roll of the Dice	John J. 'Jack' MacShayne
1995	Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story	Himself	Made-for-TV film directed by Bill D'Elia
1996	Cybill	Himself (Uncredited)	Episode: "A Who's Who for What's His Name" (S 2:Ep 16)
1997	Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story	Himself	Made-for-TV film directed by Jerry London
2000	Touched by an Angel	Denny Blye	Episode: "Buy Me a Rose" (S 6:Ep 14)
2003	Reno 911!	Himself	Episode: "Security for Kenny Rogers" (S 2:EP 8)
2009	How I Met Your Mother	Kindly Book Narrator (voice)	Episode: "Duel Citizenship" (S 5:EP 5)

Legacy

Kenny Rogers sold more than 165 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. He was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time:

Few artists of the past 30 years have enjoyed the across–the–board recognizability of Kenny Rogers. His celebrity landed him on more television shows and magazine covers than any other singer of his day, and for a long time, you couldn't punch a radio button without hearing his teddy–bear baritone. If he wasn't singing on TV, he was hosting an awards show or schmoozing with some other superstar.

His signature song, The Gambler, was a cross-over hit that won him a Grammy Award in 1980 and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. He developed the Gambler persona into a character for a successful series of television films, starting with the Emmy-nominated Kenny Rogers as The Gambler (1980).

Awards and honors

Rogers received numerous awards such as the AMAs, Grammys, ACMs, and CMAs, as well as the Willie Nelson lifetime achievement award.

He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (2013), the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame (2017).

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Brode, Douglas. Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present. University of Texas Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0292718494
• Rogers, Kenny. Luck or Something Like It. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2013. ISBN 978-0062071613
• Rogers, Kenny, and Mike Blakely. What Are the Chances. Forge Books, 2013. ISBN 978-0765323859

External links

All links retrieved October 5, 2022.

• Kenny Rogers Find-A-Grave
• Official website
• Kenny Rogers at the Internet Movie Database
• Rogers Kenny Rogers at Discogs

Credits

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