In his native U.S., he continues to play huge amphitheatres on a regular basis, and so powerful is his cult appeal that he manages to play arenas even in countries that aren’t known for their love of country back in 2009, a rare lap of the UK saw him playing to huge crowds at the likes of Manchester’s MEN Arena and Birmingham’s NIA. His career has now spanned more than half a century, with an apparently endless stream of hits in that time including ‘Islands in the Stream’ ‘We’ve Got Tonight’ and ‘Love Will Turn You Around’. Like so many of his country contemporaries, Kenny Rogers is a bona fide icon in the United States, where he remains one of the most successful artists amongst a hugely popular genre the fact that country is largely a niche style elsewhere in the world certainly won’t make much difference to him, either, given that he can fall back on global album sales of in excess of one hundred and sixty five million, and being voted the ‘favourite singer of all time’ by readers of both USA Today and People magaizine in the eighties.
He recently collected the Willie Nelson Lifetime Award and was also inducted into the Country Hall of Fame in 2013 for his contributions to music, which further established his legendary status within the genre and the music industry as a whole. Since the 1970’s he has recorded 32 studio albums and registered 30 number one singles worldwide, including the international smash hit “Islands In The Stream” which featured fellow country megastar Dolly Parton. Kenny Roger’s distinctive traditional country sound and prolific ability to write a hit song are elements of his near unrivalled staying power in the music industry.
Rogers didn’t rest on his laurels however, going on to release various collaborative albums with country singer Dottie West and more hit solo material including the album anyone should listen to before a trip to Las Vegas, “The Gambler”. His first album was reasonably successful but it was his second LP, “Kenny Rogers” that founded his status as a bonafide country star, with single “Lucille” leading the album to over five million sales worldwide. When the band split for various reasons in 1976, Rogers decided to ditch his moderately hippy image, cutting his long hair short and removing his earring, giving himself a more mainstream appeal in a bid to launch his solo career. The First Edition was Rogers first taste of success, as the band had a number of chart topping country, pop and hippie influenced psychedelic rock hits that saw them tour the world for the next ten years.
Rogers first tried his hand at music in the 1950’s, often taking the role of lead singer in a variety of bands including Rockabilly group The Scholars and folk band The New Christy Minstrels, before forming Kenny Rodgers and The First Edition in 1967. Born Kenneth Donald Rogers, the now legendary country musician had a difficult upbringing, growing up in a housing project in the south, with his six siblings and parents.