Actor, singer, ‘The Gambler’: Kenny Rogers dies at 81
Actor-singer Kenny Rogers, the smooth, Grammy-winning balladeer who spanned jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” and embraced his persona as “The Gambler” on record and on TV died Friday night. He was 81. He died at home in Sandy Springs, Georgia, representative Keith Hagan told The Associated Press. He was under hospice care and died of natural causes, Hagan said.
The Houston-born performer with the husky voice and silver beard sold tens of millions of records, won three Grammys and was the star of TV movies based on “The Gambler” and other songs, making him a superstar in the ‘70s and ’80s. Rogers thrived for some 60 years before retired from touring in 2017 at age 79. Despite his crossover success, he always preferred to be thought of as a country singer.
“You either do what everyone else is doing and you do it better, or you do what no one else is doing and you don’t invite comparison,” Rogers told The Associated Press in 2015. “And I chose that way because I could never be better than Johnny Cash or Willie or Waylon at what they did. So I found something that I could do that didn’t invite comparison to them. And I think people thought it was my desire to change country music. But that was never my issue.” More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/ac ... r-BB11uDUH
Very sad news. He was a big part of my childhood. Thanks for the memories.
Absolutely! My mom's copy of Greatest Hits was / is burned into my memory. Loved that album. And First Edition's Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In), stone-cold classic of psychedelic pop nuggetry. RIP.
Liked his First Edition stuff, some really good tunes there, less so his later solo country. Remember watching their early 70s syndicated TV show. Great googa mooga, I just discovered Karen Carpenter auditioned for The First Edition in mid 1968, and they turned her down !!
Never got used to his new plastic surgery look, I prefer to think he was abducted by aliens and replaced, a la "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
I always enjoyed his music, particularly "The Gambler," "Love Will Turn You Around," and the great duets he did with Dolly Parton ("Islands in the Stream"), Dottie West ("What Are We Doing in Love"), and Sheena Easton ("We've Got Tonight"). I'll have to check out First Edition. Rest in peace, Mr. Rogers.
My Kenny Rogers story: Summer, 1986, Beverly Hills. My wife, Joanne, and I are stopped at a red light. Kenny pulls up next to us in a nice convertible. Joanne waves and he waves back. We drive on and we stop at the next red light. Joanne looks over and Kenny is there again. She smiles and he smiles back. We drive on. Third red light. We stop. Kenny stops too, but he does so about one car length behind us. Rest easy, Kenny.
My Kenny Rogers story: Summer, 1986, Beverly Hills. My wife, Joanne, and I are stopped at a red light. Kenny pulls up next to us in a nice convertible. Joanne waves and he waves back. We drive on and we stop at the next red light. Joanne looks over and Kenny is there again. She smiles and he smiles back. We drive on. Third red light. We stop. Kenny stops too, but he does so about one car length behind us. Rest easy, Kenny.
Great story!
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Rest easy, Kenny.