Kenneth Ray Rogers (bornKenneth Donald Rogers; August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter. Rogers was particularly popular withcountry audiences, but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of thebest-selling music artists of all time.[1] His fame and career spanned multiple genres—jazz,folk, pop, rock, and country. He remade his career and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.[2] He was inducted into theCountry Music Hall of Fame in 2013.[3]
In the late 1950s, Rogers began his recording career with the Houston-based group the Scholars, who first released "The Poor Little Doggie". After some solo releases, including 1958's "That Crazy Feeling", Rogers then joined a group with jazz singerBobby Doyle. In 1966, he became a member of the folk ensemblethe New Christy Minstrels, playing double bass and bass guitar, as well as singing.[2] In 1967, several members of the New Christy Minstrels and he left to found the groupthe First Edition, with whom he scored his first major hit, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", apsychedelic rock song, which peaked at number five on theBillboard charts. As Rogers took an increased leadership role in the First Edition following the success of 1969's "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", the band gradually changed styles to a more country feel. The band broke up in 1975–76, and Rogers embarked on a long and successful solo career, which included several successful collaborations, including duets with singersDottie West,Dolly Parton, andSheena Easton, and a songwriting partnership withLionel Richie. His signature song, 1978's "The Gambler", was a crossover hit that won him aGrammy Award in 1980, and was selected in 2018 for preservation in theNational Recording Registry by theLibrary of Congress. He developed the Gambler persona into a character fora successful series of television films starting with 1980'sEmmy-nominatedKenny Rogers as The Gambler.[2]
Rogers's albumsThe Gambler andKenny were featured in theAbout.com poll of "The 200 Most Influential Country Albums Ever".[4] He was voted the "Favorite Singer of All Time" in a 1986 poll by readers of bothUSA Today andPeople.[5] He received numerous awards, such as theAmerican Music,Grammy,Academy of Country Music, andCountry Music Association awards, as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003.[6] His later successes included the 2006 album releaseWater & Bridges, an across-the-board hit that entered the top five in theBillboard Country Albums sales charts, also charting in the top 15 of theBillboard 200. The first single from the album, "I Can't Unlove You", was also a sizable chart hit. Remaining a popular entertainer around the world, he continued to tour regularly until his retirement in 2017.[2]
Rogers had acting roles in movies and television shows, including the title roles inKenny Rogers as The Gambler, the MacShayne series forThe NBC Mystery Movie, and the 1982 feature filmSix Pack. He was a co-founder of the restaurant chainKenny Rogers Roasters in collaboration with formerKFC CEOJohn Y. Brown Jr. Although the stores closed in the United States, they are still a fixture in Asia.
Kenneth Ray Rogers was born the fourth of eight children on August 21, 1938, atSt Joseph's Infirmary inHouston, Texas.[7] His parents were Lucille Lois Rogers, a nurse's assistant, and Edward Floyd Rogers, a carpenter. The family lived in theSan Felipe Courts public housing project.[8] Rogers was said to be ofIrish and Native American ancestry.[9] Rogers attendedWharton Elementary School,[10] George Washington Junior High School, and graduated from Jefferson Davis High School (nowNorthside High School) in 1956.[citation needed]
In 1949, Rogers won a talent show at the Texan Theatre. He served as a busboy at theRice Hotel and swept floors at a hat store for $9 a week. He later attended theUniversity of Houston.[11]
In 1986, onThe Phil Donahue Show, Rogers told the audience that he was the first person in his family "as far back as we know" to graduate from high school.
We were broke. We lived in a federal housing project. I think the most money my father ever made was $75 a week. There were times as a child that, I don't think I was ever really hungry – I always had food to eat – but there's no question that our family was nutritionally deprived at times. We'd eat peanut butter sandwiches, 'cause that's all there was. Quite honestly, when you're a kid, you don't know any better, you think that's how everyone eats.[12]
In a recording career dating back to the 1950s, Rogers moved from teenager rock and roll through psychedelic rock to become a country-pop crossover artist of the 1970s and 1980s. He had a minor solo hit in 1957 called "That Crazy Feeling".[2][13][14] After sales slowed down, Rogers joined ajazz group calledthe Bobby Doyle Three, who were frequently hired by clubs due to their fan following. The group recorded forColumbia Records. They disbanded in 1965, and a 1966 jazzy rock single Rogers recorded forMercury Records, called "Here's That Rainy Day", failed. Rogers also worked as a producer, writer, and session musician for other performers, including country artistsMickey Gilley andEddy Arnold. In 1966, he joinedthe New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player.[2]
When the First Edition disbanded in 1976, Rogers launched his solo career.[2][15] He soon developed a more middle-of-the-road sound that sold to both pop and country audiences. He charted more than 60 top-40 hit singles (including two number ones—"Lady" and "Islands in the Stream"). His music has been featured in top-selling movie soundtracks, such asConvoy,Urban Cowboy, andThe Big Lebowski.[16][17]
As the First Edition was breaking up in 1975, Rogers was the face of a national commercial advertising the "Quick Pickin' Fun Strummin' Home Guitar Course",[18] but in 1976, Rogers signed a solo deal withUnited Artists.[2] ProducerLarry Butler and Rogers began a partnership that would last four years.[19]
Rogers's first outing for his new label wasLove Lifted Me. The album charted and two singles, "Love Lifted Me" and "While the Feeling's Good", were minor hits.[2] The song "Runaway Girl" was featured in the filmTrackdown (1976).[20] Later in 1976, Rogers issued his second album, the self-titledKenny Rogers, whose first single, "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)", was another solo hit.[21]
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's post-First Edition career.[22] On the strength of "Lucille", the albumKenny Rogers reached number one on theBillboard Country Album Chart.[23] More success was to follow, including the multiplatinum-selling albumThe Gambler and another international number one single, "Coward of the County", taken from the equally successful album,Kenny.[22] In 1980, the Rogers/Butler partnership came to an end, though they occasionally reunited, in 1987 on the albumI Prefer the Moonlight and again in 1993 on the albumIf Only My Heart Had a Voice.[2]
In the late 1970s, Rogers teamed up with close friendDottie 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 oneMusic City News award for their two hit albumsEvery Time Two Fools Collide (number one) andClassics (number three), 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" (number one), "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (number two), "What Are We Doin' in Love" (number one), "All I Ever Need Is You" (number one), and "Till I Can Make It On My Own" (number three), all became country standards. Of West, Rogers stated in a 1995TNN interview: "She, more than anybody else I ever worked with, sang with such emotion that you actually believed what she sang. A lot of people sing words, Dottie West sang emotions." In a 1978 press release for their albumEvery Time Two Fools Collide, Rogers credited West with further establishing and cementing his career with country music audiences. In the same release, West credited him with taking her career to new audiences. Rogers was with West only hours before she died at age 58 after sustaining injuries in a 1991 car accident, as discussed in his 2012 biographyLuck or Something Like It. In 1995, he starred as himself, alongsideMichele Lee as West, in theCBS biographical filmBig Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story.
In 1980, a selection he recorded as a duet withKim Carnes, "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer", became a hit.[24] Earlier that year, he sang a duet of "You and Me" withLynda Carter in her television music specialLynda Carter Special (Rogers originally recorded this with Dottie West for theEvery Time Two Fools Collide album). Later in 1980 came his partnership withLionel Richie, who wrote and produced Rogers's number-one hit "Lady".[3] Richie went on to produce Rogers's 1981 albumShare Your Love, a chart topper and commercial favorite featuring hits such as "I Don't Need You" (pop number three), "Through the Years" (pop number 13), and "Share Your Love with Me" (pop number 14). His first Christmas album was also released that same year. Rogers returned the favor by singing backing vocals on Richie's top-five hit "My Love". In 1982, Rogers released the albumLove Will Turn You Around. The album'sthe title track reached number 13 on theBillboard Hot 100 and topped the country and AC charts. It was the theme song of Rogers's 1982 filmSix Pack. Shortly afterwards, he started working with producerDavid Foster in 1983, recording the smash Top 10 hitBob Seger cover "We've Got Tonight", a duet withSheena Easton. Also a number-one single on the country charts in the United States, it reached the top 30 on the British charts.[2]
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, which he namedLion Share Studios. The song "We Are the World" was recorded there and atA&M Studios.[25]
Rogers went on to work withBarry Gibb of theBee Gees, who produced his 1983 hit albumEyes That See in the Dark, featuring the title track and yet another number-one hit "Islands in the Stream", a duet withDolly Parton. Gibb, along with his brothers, Robin and Maurice, originally wrote the song forDiana Ross in an R&B style, only later to change it for Rogers's album.[26]
"Islands in the Stream", Rogers's duet with Dolly Parton, was the first single to be released fromEyes That See in the Dark in the United States, and it quickly went to number one in theBillboard Hot 100 (it proved to be the last country single to reach number one on that chart until "Amazed" byLonestar did so in 2000), as well as toppingBillboard'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 reunited with Parton in 1984 for a holiday album,Once Upon a Christmas, and the TV specialKenny and 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 continued to collaborate on occasional projects through subsequent years, including a 2013 duet single "You Can't Make Old Friends".[2]
Despite the success of "Islands in the Stream", however,RCA Records insisted on releasingEyes' title track as the first UK single, and the song stalled at a disappointing number 61 there, although it did stay in the top 100 for several weeks. (When it was eventually released in the United States, it was more successful, charting high on the adult contemporary chart and making the country top 30). "Islands in the Stream" was issued as a follow-up single in Britain and sold well, making number seven. The album itself reached number one on the country charts on both sides of the Atlantic and enjoyed multimillion unit sales. "Buried Treasure", "This Woman", and "Evening Star"/"Midsummer Nights" were also all successful singles from the album.
Shortly after came the albumWhat About Me?, a hit whosetitle track—a trio performance withJames Ingram andKim Carnes—was nominated for a Grammy Award; the single "Crazy" (not to be confused with theWillie Nelson-pennedPatsy Cline hit), co-written withRichard Marx, topped the country charts. David Foster was to work again with Rogers in his 1985 albumThe Heart of the Matter, although this time Foster was playing backing music rather than producing, a role given toGeorge Martin. This album was another success, going to number one, with the title track making to the top-10 category in the singles charts.
The next few years had Rogers scoring several top country hits on a regular basis, including "Twenty Years Ago", "Morning Desire", and "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. The following year, he played at Giants Stadium.[27]
In 1988, Rogers won a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals withRonnie Milsap—"Make No Mistake, She's Mine". In the 1990s, Rogers continued to chart with singles such as "The Factory" and "Crazy in Love", another selection Kim Carnes provided him, "If You Want to Find Love", and "The Greatest". His second Christmas album,Christmas in America, was released in 1989 for Reprise Records. From 1991 to 1994, Rogers hostedThe Real West onA&E, and onthe History Channel since 1995 (reruns only on the History Channel). He visited Miller's during this time. From 1992 to 1995, Rogers co-owned and headlinedBranson, Missouri's 4,000-seat Grand Palace Theatre. In 1994, Rogers released his "dream" album titledTimepiece 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.[28]
In 1996, Rogers released an albumVote 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 was the first for the TV shopping channel QVC's record label, onQ Music. The album, sold exclusively byQVC, was a huge success and was later issued in stores under a variety of different titles. It reached number one in the UK country charts under the titleLove Songs (a title also used for various compilations) and also crossed over into the mainstream charts.
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).[22] The song reached the top 40 ofBillboard's Country Singles chart and was aCountry Music Television number-one video. It was on Rogers's albumShe Rides Wild Horses the following year (itself a top-10 success).[2] Also in 1999, Rogers produced a song, "We've Got It All", specifically for the series finale of the ABC showHome Improvement.
In 2000 (and at age 61), Rogers was back at number one for the first time in more than a decade with the single "Buy Me a Rose".[3] In doing so, he broke a 26-year-old record held byHank Snow (who, in April 1974, was 59 when he scored with "Hello Love"). Rogers held the record until 2003, when then-70-year-oldWillie Nelson became the oldest artist to have a number one on the country charts with his duet withToby Keith, "Beer for My Horses".
Although Rogers did not record new albums for a few years, he continued to have success in many countries with more greatest hits packages. In 2004's42 Ultimate Hits, which was the first hits collection to span his days with the First Edition to the present, reached number six on the American country charts and went gold. It also featured two new songs, "My World Is Over" withWhitney Duncan and "We Are the Same". The former was released as a single and was a minor hit. In 2005,The Very Best of Kenny Rogers, a double album, sold well in Europe. It was the first new solo Rogers hits album to reach the United Kingdom for over a decade, despite many compilations there that were not true hits packages.
Rogers also signed withCapitol Records and had more success with the TV-advertised release21 Number Ones in January 2006. Although this CD did contain 21 chart-toppers as the title claims (recorded between 1976 and the present day), this was not a complete collection of Rogers's number-one singles, omitting such singles as "Crazy in Love" and "What About Me?"
Capitol followed21 Number Ones with Rogers' new studio album,Water & Bridges, in March 2006 on theCapitol Nashville Records label. The first single from the album was "I Can't Unlove You", which peaked at number 17 on the country charts, after spending over six 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 featuresDon Henley, became popular in early 2007, and was nominated for a Grammy at the2007 Grammy Awards. Also in 2007, the 1977Kenny Rogers album was reissued as a double CD, also featuring the 1979Kenny album and this once again put Rogers's name into the sales charts worldwide. The following year, another compilation album (A Love Song Collection) also charted.[2]
On August 26, 2008, Rogers released50 Years[29] exclusively at Cracker Barrel stores. The album included some of Rogers's greatest hits, plus three new songs. The release was designed to celebrate Rogers's 50th year in the music business. In 2007, theEngland national rugby union team adopted Rogers' song "The Gambler" as their unofficial2007 Rugby World Cup anthem,[30] after hearing propMatt Stevens playing it in the team hotel. Before the semifinal against France and the final against South Africa, Rogers sent video messages of support to the team in light of them choosing his song.[31]
Rogers in 2012 at theState Theatre in Sydney, Australia
In 2008, Rogers toured with his Christmas Show. He split the show up, making the first half his "best of" and the second half his Christmas songs.[32] In 2009, Rogers embarked on his 50th Anniversary Tour.
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. The TV special was executive produced by Gabriel Gornell and Colleen Seldin and aired on GAC in North America and BBC worldwide.
On June 10, 2012, Rogers appeared on stage with the musical group Phish to perform his hit song "The Gambler" at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Also in 2012, Rogers re-recorded the hit song "Lady", a duet with its songwriter Lionel Richie, on Richie's albumTuskegee. The pair also performed the song live at the 2012 ACM concert, Lionel Richie and Friends.[33]
In 2013, Rogers recorded a new album with the nameYou Can't Make Old Friends. This album included the title track, a new duet withDolly Parton, which was his first single released in six years.[2]
Rogers recorded 65 albums and sold over 165 million records.[35][36]
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.[37] In announcing the tour, Rogers indicated at the time that his final tour appearance would be on NBC'sToday show.[38] Concert dates were scheduled through 2018 and included visits to the United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.[39] On April 5, 2018, though, Rogers canceled his remaining tour as advised by doctors due to a series of health problems.[40]
Although Rogers used many session musicians to play instruments on his recordings, he was backed on tours by the group Bloodline since 1976. The group originally started as three pieces.[2] InThe Journey (a 2006 documentary about his career), Rogers said he did not understand singers who changed their touring band every year, and that he stuck 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.[43]
Rogers also had success as an actor. His 1982 movieSix Pack, in which he played a race-car driver, took in more than $20 million at the United States box office, while made-for-TV movies such asThe Gambler series,Christmas in America, andCoward of the County (based on hit songs of his) topped ratings lists. He also served as host and narrator for theA&E historical seriesThe Real West.[44][45]
Rogers said that photography was once his obsession, before it morphed into a passion. He authored the photo booksKenny Rogers' America (1986) andYour Friends and Mine (1987).[46]
As an entrepreneur, he collaborated with former Kentucky Fried Chicken CEO John Y. Brown Jr. in 1991 to start up the restaurant chainKenny Rogers Roasters. The chicken andribs chain, which is similar toBoston Market, featured in an episode of theNBC sitcomSeinfeld called "The Chicken Roaster". Season four of the TV seriesFresh Off the Boat depicts the chain as owning a share of Louis Huang's Cattleman's Ranch restaurant and then filing for bankruptcy. Rogers is shown from the back, but played by Jeff Pomerantz in the episode "Let Me Go, Bro".[47]
Rogers put his name to the Gambler Chassis Co., asprint-car racing manufacturer started by C. K. Spurlock inHendersonville, Tennessee. The company used the name from Rogers's hit song "The Gambler". During the 1980s and 1990s, Gambler was one of the fastest and widely used sprint cars, with such drivers asSteve Kinser,Sammy Swindell, and Doug Wolfgang driving the cars to victory in theWorld of Outlaws and the famousKnoxville Nationals. Gambler sprint cars were also successful in Australia, with drivers such as Garry Rush and Steve Brazier using Gamblers to win multipleAustralian Sprintcar Championships. Rush also used a Gambler chassis to win the unofficial 1987 World Sprintcar Championship at theClaremont Speedway inPerth, Western Australia.
In October 2012, Rogers released the bookLuck or Something Like It: A Memoir about the ups and downs in his musical career.[48]
In 2014, Rogers appeared as himself in aGEICO commercial, singing part of his song "The Gambler"a cappella while acting as the dealer in a card game.[49]
At Beaver Dam Farms, a former estate inColbert, Georgia, Rogers kept a pet goat named Smitty.[50] He originally acquired the animal from a friend in 2008. According to Rogers, the goat was "(his) center", providing a calming influence after long and stressful touring schedules.[51]
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.[52] He married his second wife, Jean, in October 1960 and divorced her in 1963. His third marriage was to Margo Anderson in October 1963; they divorced in 1975, with one child.[53] He married his fourth wife, actressMarianne Gordon, on October 1, 1977, and they divorced in 1993, with one son, Christopher.[53] His fifth marriage was to Wanda Miller on June 1, 1997. They had twin sons and were married for 22 years until his death.[54]
Rogers's seven-decade career wound down in 2017, as he encountered health problems that included a diagnosis ofbladder cancer.[55] On March 20, 2020, Rogers died at the age of 81, while under hospice care at his home inSandy Springs, Georgia.[56][57] He was interred inOakland Cemetery inAtlanta.[58]
Liberty (1980, United Artists merged into EMI/Capitol in 1980; some pressings of albums were issued on Capitol's imprint labels,EMI,EMI America, andEMI Manhattan.)
onQ Music (1996, one solo album; onQ Music was created by the QVC Network to release exclusive albums for sale only on QVC. The first onQ release was Rogers'sVote for Love, a two-disc set that would later become available in standard retail stores.)
Dreamcatcher (1998, solo deal; Dreamcatcher was owned and run by Rogers and Jim Mazza for the purpose of releasing Rogers's albums and certain reissues of Rogers's catalog. Other artists, such as Marshall Dyllon and Randy Dorman, were also released on Dreamcatcher Records. The label closed in 2004.)[80]
^abcdefghijklmnopqrsDeYoung, Bill (May 27, 2014)."[Article 60] The rise and fall of Kenny Rogers".Bill DeYoung.com. Archived fromthe original on February 15, 2016. RetrievedMay 15, 2018.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.
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