The Life and Times of Kenny Rogers
Even though his beginnings were meager, Kenny Rogers’ love of music would serve him well in life, and his voice would become one of the best known in the music business.
As Kenny Rogers grew up, he attended school. He also learned to play the guitar and the fiddle. At the end of his years at Jefferson Davis High School, Rogers assembled a rockabilly band named “The Scholars.” “The Scholars” were managed by his older brother Lelan. Through a friendship Lelan Rogers had with a local disc jockey, the group was able to record three songs on the local “Cue” label. The singles enjoyed some local fame, but they didn’t catch on to a national crowd.
After graduating from high school, Kenny Rogers, who was now a solo act, recorded “That Crazy Feeling” for Carlton Records. The song was a hit around Houston, and Rogers was invited to perform it on American Bandstand. However, that was as far as the song got. So, Rogers started classes at the University of Texas in 1959.
College didn’t last long though. It got in the way of his love of music. Rogers left school and played with the Bobby Doyle Three. Then, he played with the Kirby Stone Four before he left them to go out solo again. He recorded one song, “Here’s That Rainy Day,” for Mercury Records.
After “Here’s That Rainy Day” flopped, Kenny Rogers left his hometown of Houston to become a member of the “New Christy Minstrel” group. After a tenure with them, Rogers again changed singing groups when he joined the “First Edition.” The group wore black and white costumes (which resembled a newspaper). Because the younger teenaged acts were the most popular, Rogers, who was now almost thirty years old, changed his appearance in order to look more “hip.” He let his hair grow longer, grew a beard, put an earring in one ear, and he got himself a pair of pink sunglasses.
The New Edition released their first album on the Reprise label in the end of 1967. One of the songs on the album, “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” reached the number five slot on the Billboard chart.
The New Edition became “Kenny Rogers & The First Edition”, and the song “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” reached number six in 1969. “Reuben James” followed in popularity by reaching the Top 20. The following year, the group recorded “Something’s Burning”, a number eleven song.
Even though Kenny Rogers and The New Edition had released some singles that hit the charts, they only managed to produce one gold album, their “Greatest Hits” cover in 1971.
Finally, in 1974, the singing group was in debt and not producing any chart hits. Rogers tried his luck at going solo again. Two years later, he released “Love Lifted Me.” He followed that with “Lucille,” and his career finally shot to the top! “Lucille” was a phenomenal hit that reached the number one spot on the charts in 1977. It also gained the “Country Music Association’s Single of the Year” award, and it even reached number five on the pop charts!
Kenny Rogers was almost forty years old, but his age didn’t affect his stardom. He continued to crank out Top Ten hits in the next several years. “The Gambler,” “She Believes in Me,” and “You Decorated My Life” were just three of those hits.
As the years went by, he continued to release his own singles, and he also paired up with Dottie West, Kim Carnes, and Dolly Parton on several hit songs too.
Singing hit singles wasn’t Rogers’ only talent, his fans found out, when he started acting in several television specials and made-for- television movies. The songs “The Gambler” and “Coward of the County” spawned two of these movies.
Finally, by 1988, the roller coaster ride to stardom that Rogers had been riding on started coasting down the other side. He had been recording with the RCA label. But RCA now refused to renew his contract. But Kenny Rogers wasn’t without other prospects. He remained busy building his fast-food chain called “Kenny Rogers’ Roasters”, performing concerts, appearing in additional movies, doing television specials, publishing three books, and also doing charity work.
Kenny Rogers has won a number of awards for his music career. In 2000, for example, he won the TNN Music Award for his Achievements. Then, in 2003, Rogers won the “Greatest Male Artist” award from CMT. In 2005, Rogers won the “Favorite All-Time Country Duet” award- and the the list goes on.
To date, Kenny Rogers has had more than sixty Top 40 hit singles. His recordings still sell millions of copies. His latest work in 2006, an album titled, “Water & Bridges”, has already spawned a chart hit single, “I Can’t Unlove You”.
