Kenny Rogers was born August 21, 1938 in Houston Texas. He was one of 8 children born to Edward and Lucille Rogers. In 1949 he won a talent show at the Texas Theatre. He also worked as a busboy at the Rice Hotel (now an apartment building called the Rice Lofts). The Rice Hotel is famous for being where President John F Kennedy spent his last night before the ill fated trip to Dallas. He also attended the University of Houston. In 1957, Kenny had a minor solo hit with That Crazy Feeling. He also worked as a studio musician for artists like Mickey Gilley who was a fellow Texan. In 1967 he and some members of his first group The New Christy Minstrels formed The New Edition.
Kenny launched his solo career in 1976 and began to appeal to not just country audiences but pop audiences as well. He had hits like Islands in the Stream (with Dolly Parton), Lady ( written by Lionel Richie), and She Believes In Me. Perhaps his most well known song is The Gambler. The Gambler was written by Don Schlitz in 1976 and was previously recorded by Bobby Bare and Johnny Cash. It was Kenny who made it a hit on both the country and pop charts.
In 1980 CBS aired the made for TV movie based on the song and starring Kenny Rogers. Kenny played a gambler by the name of Brady Hawkes who was heading to meet a son that he never knew. There were five total Gambler movies with Kenny in the title role. The Gambler movies weren’t his only acting gig. He also played himself in the movies The Dottie West Story and The Barbara Mandrell Story.
Kenny’s long music career also included duets with Sheena Easton, Dolly Parton, Kim Carnes, and Wynonna Judd to name a few. He also release Christmas and gospel albums. His album Eyes That See In The Dark was produced by Barry Gibb of Bee Gees fame. They were originally going to collaborate on one song Islands In the Stream but Gibb insisted on working on the whole album. In 2013 he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame joining fellow artists Hank Williams, Brooks and Dunn, Ray Stevens to name a few.
In 2015 he embarked on his farewell tour titled The Gambler’s Last Deal but had to cancel the remaining dates in 2018 due to his health. On March 20, 2020 Kenny passed away due to natural causes. As the line in the song says “and somewhere in the darkness, the gambler broke even”.