Kenny Rogers Beyond the 1990s
 Kenny Rogers was the fourth of seven children born to Floyd Rogers, a carpenter, and his wife Lucille, a nurse. Rogers graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in Houston. According to the Texas birth records, his middle given name is Ray and he is sometimes credited in his film roles as Kenneth Ray Rogers.
His career began in the mid-1950s, when he recorded with a doo-wop group called The Scholars who had some success with a single called Poor Little Doggie. Rogers was not the lead singer of the group and after two more singles they disbanded when their leader went solo.
Now on his own, Kenneth Rogers (as he was billed then) followed the break up with his own single, a minor solo hit called That Crazy Feeling (1958). After sales slowed down, Rogers joined a jazz group called The Bobby Doyle Trio, who got a lot of work in clubs thanks to a reasonable fan following and also recorded for Columbia records. The group disbanded in 1965, and a 1966 jazzy rock single Rogers recorded for Mercury, called Here's That Rainy Day failed. In 1966 he joined the New Christy Minstrels.
Feeling that the Minstrels were not offering the success they wanted, Rogers left with fellow members Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Camacho. They formed The First Edition in 1967 (later renamed Kenny Rogers and The First Edition). They chalked up a string of hits on both the pop and country charts, including Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town, Reuben James and Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In). In his First Edition days, Rogers had something of a hippie image, with long brown hair, an earring, and pink sunglasses. Known affectionately in retrospect as Hippie Kenny, Rogers had a much smoother vocal style than in his later career.
When the group split in 1976, Rogers launched his solo career. Rogers soon developed a more middle of the road sound, with a somewhat rough but tuneful voiced style that sold to both pop and country audiences; to date, he has charted more than 60 top 40 hit singles (including upwards of 25 #1's) and 50 of his albums have charted. His music has also been featured in top selling movie soundtracks, such as Convoy, Urban Cowboy and The Big Lebowski.
Solo Artist
After leaving The First Edition in 1976, after almost a decade with the group, Rogers signed a solo deal with United Artists. Although producer Larry Butler had no doubts about Rogers' talent, he was advised by several colleagues not to sign Rogers, who some saw as a has-been. Nevertheless, Butler and Rogers began a partnership that would run for four consecutive years.
Rogers first outing for his new label was Love Lifted Me. The album charted and two singles Love Lifted Me and While The Feeling's Good were minor hits. The song Runaway Girl was featured in the motion picture Trackdown. Later in 1976, Rogers issued his second album, the self-titled Kenny Rogers, whose first single Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got), was another solo hit.
However, the single Lucille (1977) was a major hit, reaching number one on the pop charts in 12 countries, selling over five million copies, and firmly establishing Rogers' post-First Edition career. On the strength of Lucille, the album Kenny Rogers reached #1 in the Billboard Country Album Chart. More success was to follow, including the multi-million selling album The Gambler and another international Number 1 single, Coward of the County, taken from the equally successful album, Kenny. In 1980, the Rogers/Butler partnership came to an end, though they would occasionally reunite: in 1987 on the album I Prefer The Moonlight and again in 1993 on the album If Only My Heart Had A Voice.
In the late 1970s Kenny teamed up with close friend and country singer Dottie West for a series of albums and duets. Together the duo had three hit albums, selling out stadiums and arenas while on tour. Their hits together Every Time Two Fools Collide, Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight and What Are We Doin' In Love became Country standards. Of West, Kenny stated in a 1995 TNN interview She, more than anybody else I ever worked with sang with such emotion that you actually believed what she sang. Rogers was with West when she died after sustaining injuries in a 1991 car accident. In 1995 he starred opposite Michele Lee in the CBS biopic Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story.
Later in 1980 came his partnership with Lionel Richie who wrote and produced Rogers' #1 hit Lady. Richie went on to write and produce Rogers' 1981 album Share Your Love, a chart topper and commercial favorite featuring hits such as I Don't Need You and Through The Years.
He went on to work with the Bee Gees to record and produce his 1983 hit album Eyes That See in the Dark, featuring the title track and yet another #1 hit Islands in the Stream, a duet with Dolly Parton. The Bee Gees had originally written the song for Diana Ross [citation needed]. The partnership with Bee Gees only lasted one album, which was not a surprise considering that Rogers' original intentions were to work with Barry Gibb in only one song but Barry insisted on them doing the entire album.
Islands in the Stream, the first single to be released from Eyes That See in the Dark in the United States, quickly went to #1 in the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last country single to reach #1 on that chart until Amazed by Lonestar did so in 2000. However, RCA insisted on releasing the title track as the first UK single, and the song stalled at a disappointing #61 there, although it did stay in the top 100 for several weeks (when it was eventually released in the US, it was more successful, charting high on the Adult Contemporary chart). Islands in the Stream was issued as a follow up single in Britain and sold well, making #7. The album itself reached #1 on the country charts on both sides of the Atlantic and enjoyed multi-million sales.
Kenny Rogers started working with producer David Foster in 1983 recording the smash Bob Seger cover We've Got Tonight, a duet with Sheena Easton. Shortly afterwards came the album What About Me?, a hit whose title track, a trio performance featuring Rogers, James Ingram and Kim Carnes, was also a hit. David Foster was to work again with Kenny Rogers in his 1985 album The Heart of the Matter, although this time Foster was playing backing music rather than producing, a role given to George Martin. This album was another success, going to #1, with the title track making to the top ten category in the singles charts.
On 28 January 1985 Rogers was one of the 45 artists who recorded the worldwide charity song We Are the World to support hunger victims in Africa. On January 1987, Kenny Rogers co-hosted the American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Through 1988 to 1990, Kenny Rogers had reached the pinnacle of his career and new artists like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson were emerging with a frightening force. During that time, he released some albums but, while he still made the top 20, he was no longer the heavy hitter he had been previously.
Outside music
Rogers also had success as an actor. His 1982 movie Six Pack, in which he played a race-car driver, took more than $20 million at the US box office, while made-for-TV movies such as The Gambler, Christmas in America, and Coward of the County (based on hit songs of his) topped ratings lists. As an entrepreneur, he collaborated with former Kentucky Fried Chicken CEO John Y. Brown, Jr. in 1991 to start up the restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters. The chicken and ribs chain, which is similar to Boston Market, was famously featured in an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld called The Chicken Roaster,. On the November 27, 1997, broadcast of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Rogers could not pick his chicken out in a taste test, claiming he preferred greasy burgers.
Kenny Rogers and his restaurant were subjects of comedy from MADtv, especially the impersonation done by Will Sasso; the skit of the faux-Rogers hosting Jackass became popular on the Internet. Sasso had him making noises such as Ding Ding Ding Di da Ding Ding Ding and getting sloppily drunk.
Kenny is also the inspiration behind one of the most popular pop culture websites on the Internet, MenWhoLookLikeKennyRogers.com (see link at bottom of page). The site features close to a thousand photos of men who look like the real Kenny Rogers, as well as tips on how to look like Kenny, places to spot Kenny look-alikes, and even a Kenny of the Month and sells t-shirts and buttons. Kenny himself has even gone on the record with his favorite Kennys on the site (Hot Tub Kenny being his favorite) and the site has been featured in Time, People, Esquire, The National Enquirer, and many, many more.
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