Biography by David Vinopal & Stephen Thomas
Erlewine
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 writers
Roger Bowling and Hal Bynum, "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 number one), etc.,
etc., etc. And that's just the musical side of 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 during the '90s, when he
rarely charted, his name, face, and music were recognizable
in a series of concerts, television specials, films, and
even fast-food restaurants.
Like many country
superstars, Rogers came from humble roots. Born in Houston,
TX, Rogers and his seven siblings were raised in one of the
poorest sections of town. Nevertheless, he 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
Unusual Way, before Rogers left the group to play with the
Kirby Stone Four. He didn't stay long with Stone and 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
a year, leaving with several other bandmembers -- Mike
Settle, Terry Williams, and Thelma Lou Camacho -- in 1967 to
form the First Edition. Adding drummer Mickey 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 & 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 follow-up, "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 its own syndicated
television show, but sales were drying up. They left Reprise
the following year, signing to Rogers' 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, 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. Rogers also
began performing duets 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-TV
movies. Still, the lack of blockbuster records meant that
RCA failed to renew his contract when it expired in 1988.
Rogers 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, 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 fan base 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. A&E Live by Request appeared in
2001, followed by Back to the Well in 2003, Me & Bobby
McGee in 2004, and Water & Bridges in 2006.Content provided All Music Guide. Copyright 2008
All Media Guide, LLC.
