Biography of Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers was a star before he was Kenny Rogers. 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 with the rasp of mellow. If superstardom can be counted, then count 48 major music awards, one at a time, and he's still not done.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 music 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. In music and in television and in movies, Kenny Rogers puts the super back in superstar, enough so as to have his own private 18-hole golf course on his spread outside Nashville. ~ David Vinopal