Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald Rogers
BORN: August 21, 1938, Houston, TX
It took several tries before Kenny Rogers became a star. As a member of
the First Edition (and the New Christy Minstrels before that), he shared
in some million-sellers, among them "Reuben James" and "Ruby, Don't Take
Your Love to Town," an excellent Mel Tillis song about a disabled veteran.
But superstardom lay ahead for this Texan, and it arrived in the late '70s.
His experience with the two previous pop groups had prepared him well: he
knew the easy-listening audience was out there, and he supplied them with
well-done middle-of-the-road songs with a country flavor. Having gone solo,
in 1976 Rogers charted with "Love Lifted Me." But it was with an outstanding
song by writer Don Schlitz, "Lucille," that his star shot upward. The rest
(as they say) is history: award-winning duets with Dottie West and Dolly
Parton, 12 TV specials, another song-of-the-year with "The Gambler," "Daytime
Friends," "Coward of the County," "We've Got Tonight," "Crazy," "Lady" (his
first pop #1), etc., etc., etc. And that's just the musical side of Kenny
Rogers. In 1980, the made-for-TV movie The Gambler blasted the competition,
followed quickly by Coward of the County, then enough sequels to The Gambler
to get him to Roman numeral IV. Throughout the '80s, Rogers remained a celebrity,
even when his sales were declining. Even the '90s, when he rarely charted,
his name, face and music was recognizable in a series of concerts, television
specials, films and even fast food restraunts.
Like many country superstars, Kenny Rogers came from humble roots. Born
in Houston, Texas, Rogers and his seven siblings were raised in one of the
poorest sections of town. Nevertheless, Kenny progressed through high school,
all the while learning how to play guitar and fiddle. When he was a senior,
he played in a rockabilly band called the Scholars, who released three singles,
including "Kangewah," which was written by Louella Parsons. Following his
graduation, he released two singles, "We'll Always Fall in Love Again" and
"For You Alone," on the local independent label Carlton. The B-side of the
first single, "That Crazy Feeling," was popular enough to earn him a slot
on American Bandstand. In 1959, he briefly attended the University of Texas,
but he soon dropped out to play bass in the jazz combo the Bobby Doyle Three.
While he was with the group, Rogers continued to explore other musical venues,
and played bass on Mickey Gilley's 1960 single, "Is It Wrong." The Bobby Doyle
Three released one album, In a Most Unual Way, before Rogers left the group
to play with the Kirby Stone Four. He didn't stay long with Stone, and he
soon landed a solo record contract with Mercury.
Rogers released a handful of singles on Mercury, all of which failed. Once
Mercury dropped the singer, he joined the New Christy Minstrels in 1966. He
stayed with the folk group for year, leaving with several other band members
-- Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Lou Camacho -- in 1967 to form the
First Edition. Adding drummer Terry Jones, the First Edition signed with Reprise
and recorded the pop-psychedelic single "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition
My Condition Was In)." The single became a hit early in 1968, climbing to
number five. Within a year, the group was billed as Kenny Rogers and the
First Edition, and in the summer of 1969, they had their second and final
Top Ten hit, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." The country overtones of
the single hinted at the direction Rogers was taking, as did the minor hit
followup, "Ruben James." For the next two years, the First Edition bounced
between country, pop and mild psychedelia, scoring their last big hit with
Mac Davis' "Something's Burning" in early 1970. By the end of 1972, the group
had their own syndicated television show, but their sales were drying up.
They left Reprise the following year, signing to Kenny's new label, Jolly
Rogers. None of their singles became major hits, though a version of Merle
Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again" reached the lower regions of
the country charts late in 1973. Rogers left the group in 1974 and the band
broke up the following year.
At the time the band broke up, Kenny Rogers was severely in debt and Jolly
Rogers was out of business. In order to jump-start his career, he signed to
United Artists in 1975, and with the help of producer Larry Butler, he devised
an accessible, radio-ready and immaculately crafted take on country-pop that
leaned toward adult contemporary pop, not country. "Love Lifted Me," his
debut single for the label, was a minor hit early in 1976, but it took a
full year for Rogers to have a genuine breakthrough hit with "Lucille." Climbing
to number one early in 1977, "Lucille" not only was a major country hit,
earning the Country Music Association's single of the year award, but it
also was a huge crossover success, peaking at number five on the pop charts.
For the next six years, Rogers had a steady string of Top Ten hits on both
the country and pop charts. His crossover success is important -- his lush,
easy-listening productions and smooth croons showed that country stars could
conquer the pop audience, if produced and marketed correctly. During the late
'70s and early '80s, much of country radio was dominated either by Urban Cowboy
or country-pop in the vein of Rogers' own singles. Between 1978 and 1980,
he had five straight number one country singles -- "Love or Something like
It," "The Gambler," "She Believes in Me," "You Decorated My Life," "Coward
of the County" -- most of which also reached the pop Top Ten. In addition
to his solo hits, he had a series of Top Ten duets with Dottie West, including
the number one hits "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (1978), "All I Ever Need
Is You" (1979) and "What Are We Doin' in Love" (1981). Not only did his singles
sell well, but so did his albums, with every record he released between 1976's
Kenny Rogers and 1984's Once Upon a Christmas going gold or platinum.
By the beginning of the '80s, Rogers' audience was as much pop as it was
country, and singles like his cover of Lionel Richie's "Lady" confirmed that
fact, spending six weeks at the top of the pop charts. Kenny also began duetting
with pop singers like Kim Carnes ("Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer," number
three country, number four pop, 1980) and Sheena Easton ("We've Got Tonight,"
number one country, number six pop, 1983). Rogers also began making inroads
into television and film, appearing in a number of TV specials and made-for-TV
movies, including 1982's Six Pack and two movies based on his songs "The Gambler"
and "Coward of the County." Late in 1983, he left United Artists/Liberty for
RCA Records, releasing a duet with Dolly Parton called "Islands in the Stream"
as his first single for the label. Written by the Bee Gees and produced by
Barry Gibb, the record became one of his biggest hits, spending two weeks
on the top of both the country and pop charts. Rogers stayed at RCA for five
years, during which time he alternated between MOR, adult contemporary pop
and slick country-pop. The hits didn't come as often as they used to, and
they were frequently competing with releases from Liberty's vaults, but he
managed to log five number one singles for the label, in addition to "Islands
in the Stream:" "Crazy" (1984), "Real Love" (1985), "Morning Desire" (1985),
"Tomb of the Unknown Love" (1986), and the Ronnie Milsap duet "Make No Mistake,
She's Mine" (1987). Despite his country successes, he no longer had pop crossover
hits. Nevertheless, Rogers' concerts continued to be popular, as did his made-for-television
movies. Still, the lack of blockbuster records meant that RCA failed to renew
his contract when it expired in 1988. Kenny returned to his first label,
Reprise, where he had one major hit -- 1989's Top Ten "The Vows Go Unbroken
(Always True to You)," taken from the gold album Something Inside So Strong
-- before his singles started charting in the lower half of the Top 40.
Throughout the late '80s and '90s, Kenny Rogers kept busy with charity work,
concerts, his fast-food chain Kenny Rogers' Roasters, television specials,
movies and photography, publishing no less than two books, Kenny Rogers' America
and Kenny Rogers: Your Friends and Mine, of his photos. Rogers continued to
record, releasing albums nearly every year, but they failed to break beyond
his large, devoted fanbase and only made a slight impact on the charts. With
1998's Christmas from the Heart, he established his own record label, Dreamcatcher;
She Rides Wild Horses followed a year later and There You Go Again was issued
in mid-2000. ~ David Vinopal and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Bearded, amiable American singer/actor Kenny Rogers launched his professional
career as a member of the New Christy Minstrels, then first rose to fame as
a member of the country-pop group the First Edition. After several years of
hits like "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" (as well as popular syndicated
TV series Rollin' on the River), the First Edition broke up in 1974. Rogers
had some lean years immediately after the split, at one point making ends
meet by promoting a correspondence school guitar course. The outlook became
brighter in 1976 when Rogers recorded his first solo hit, "Love Lifted Me,"
which he followed up with the even more popular ballad "Lucille." He regained
his following with a dozen TV specials and several duets with equally renowned
female country artists. In 1980, Rogers made his TV-movie debut with The Gambler
(1980), an agreeable Western based on one of his more successful songs ("You
gotta know when to hold 'em/know when to fold 'em...etc."). The Gambler scored
an immediate ratings coup, inspiring sequels over the next decade, the best
of which was The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991), which had
the added drawing card of guest appearances by several popular TV cowboy
stars of days gone by. Rogers also pleased the crowd with the made-for-TV
Coward of the County (1981), a dramatized elaboration of another of his top-selling
songs. Less successful was Kenny Rogers' starring theatrical feature, Six
Pack (1982), which proves that having six cute kids onscreen doesn't make
you a Disney-quality hit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide