Kenny Rogers Biography; Early Life, Career, Discography, Family and More
26 March 2020
by Kabura Ng'ang'a
Early Life
Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas. He was the fourth of 8 children to a mother nurse and a father carpenter. His government name was Kenneth Donald Rogers. He schooled in Houston and attended University of Houston after graduating from High school in 1958.
Career
In the 1950s, Kenny Rogers joined a Houston-based group the Scholars and performed with them for a while. In 1966, he joined the folk group The New Christy Minstrels where he played the double bass, bass guitar and vocals. This is when they and he branched into country music. In 1967, many members of the Christy Minstrels branched off and formed the group The First Edition. The First Edition broke up in 1975-1976.
In 1976, Kenny Rogers decided to take on a solo career by creating duets with artists such as Dolly Parton and working with artists such as Lionel Richie. It was after this moment that he gained much success in country music with songs such as Lucille and The Gambler.
In 1980, two years after the release, The Gambler won a Grammy and Kenny went on to put together a TV series ‘Kenny Rogers as the Gambler’ which got him Emmy Nominations.
He later on went to buy ABC Dunhill in LA and switched it up for a State-of-the-Art recording studio where ‘We are the World’ was recorded.
Kenny went on to top the charts oscillating between the pop and country genres by spending over 200 individual weeks in the Billboard Album Charts. He also continued to collaborate with artists in these two genres; James Ingram, Lionel Richie, Kim Carnes, Dolly Parton and more.
In 2015, Kenny Rogers announced his retirement but left it open for the possibility of recording a new album. He did a final tour dubbed ‘The Gambler’s Last Deal’. His final Nashville show took place on the 25th of October 2017. The concert had appearances from Lionel Richie, Elle King, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum and many more. Dolly Parton also made an appearance to perform their chart-topping duets for the final time.
Discography/Albums
Kenny Rogers has 39 studio albums; solo albums and some duets and collaborations with artists and producers.
He has 42 compilation albums to his name.
He has 80 singles.
Awards
Kenny Rogers remains one of the most decorated country artists of all time with more than 3 Grammys, more than 10 American Music Awards, 7 Academy of Country Music Awards and many more.
In 2013, he was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Family
He was married 5 different times;
Janice Gordon ((1958 – 1960); one child, Carole Lynne
Jean (1960 – 1963)
Margo Anderson (1964 – 1976); one child
Marianne Gordon (1977 – 1993); one child
Wanda Miller (1997 – 2020); twin sons.
Death
Kenny Rogers passed on at 81 on the 20th of March 2020 at his home under hospice care.
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