Kenny Rogers (1938–2020,) fully Kenneth Ray Rogers, was an American country and pop singer-songwriter and actor noted for his raspy voice and unpretentious narrative style. His career spanned six decades and included 24 number-one hits and more than 50 million albums sold in the United States alone.
Born in a poor housing project in Houston, Texas, Rogers became one of the most successful artists in modern music. Before joining the New Christy Minstrels, he began his jazz band career, and then launched his band, The First Edition, in a country-pop vein.
Rogers went solo in the mid-1970s and began a sequence of massive hits with the country song ‘Lucille;’ one, ‘The Gambler,’ was turned into a film, in which Rogers took the leading role. He collaborated with several other country singers, notably Dottie West and Dolly Parton. Rogers and Parton produced the number-one crossover hit “Islands in the Stream” (1983) and sang a duet of the title song for You Can’t Make Old Friends (2013.)
Rogers also recorded songs with pop musicians Kim Carnes and Sheena Easton. His collaboration with Ronnie Milsap on “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine” (1987) topped the country music charts. In 2011, Rogers branched out and recorded a gospel album, The Love of God (rereleased in 2012 as Amazing Grace.)
Rogers co-authored a self-help book, Making It with Music: Kenny Rogers’ Guide to the Music Business (1978.) His autobiography is Luck or Something Like It-A Memoir (2012.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Kenny Rogers
Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.
—Kenny Rogers
Topics: Ambition
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