MUSIC HISTORY 101 AUGUST 21, 1938 - Born on this day in Houston, Texas: Grammy Award winning actor/singer/songwriter/producer KENNY ROGERS Rogers has charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the US alone. He was voted the Favorite Singer of All-Time in a 1986 joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People. While his name was Kenneth Donald Rogers on his birth certificate, his family always called him Kenneth Ray. Rogers grew up poor, living with his parents and six siblings in a federal housing project. By high school, he knew that he wanted to pursue a music career. He bought himself a guitar, and started a group called the Scholars. The band had a rockabilly sound and scored a few local hits. Breaking out on his own, Rogers recorded the 1958 hit single, That Crazy Feeling, for the Carlton label. He even got to perform the song on the popular music program American Bandstand. Changing genres, Rogers then played bass with the Bobby Doyle Trio, a jazz group. Moving on to folk-pop style, Rogers was asked to join the New Christy Minstrels in 1966. He left after a year, along with a few other members of the group, to form the First Edition. Fusing folk, rock, and country, the group quickly scored a hit with the psychedelic Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In). The band soon became known as Kenny Rogers and the First Edition and landed their own syndicated music show. They scored a few more hits, such as Mel Tillis Ruby, Dont Take Your Love to Town. Mainstream Success In 1974, Rogers left the group to go solo again. He decided to focus his energy on country music and Love Lifted Me became his first solo top 20 country hit in 1975. Two years later, Rogers reached the top of the country charts with the mournful ballad Lucille, about a man being left by his wife. The song also did well on the pop charts, making it into the top 5. It also brought Rogers his first Grammy Award—this time for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Quickly following up this success, Rogers released The Gambler in 1978. The title track became another huge country and pop hit and gave Rogers his second Grammy Award. He also showed his tender side on the recording with the popular ballad She Believes in Me. Kenny (1979) featured such hits as Coward of the County and You Decorated My Life. Around this time, he wrote the advice book Making It With Music: Kenny Rogers Guide to the Music Business (1978). In addition to his solo work, Rogers recorded a series of hits with country legend Dottie West. The two reached the top of the country charts with Every Time Two Fools Collide (1978), All I Ever Need Is You (1979) and What Are We Doin In Love (1981). Also in 1981, Rogers held the No. 1 spot on the pop charts for six weeks with his version of Lionel Richies Lady. By this time, Rogers was a true crossover artist, enjoying enormous success on both the country and pop charts. He collaborated with such pop stars as Kim Carnes and Sheena Easton. Turning to acting, Rogers starred in several television movies inspired by his songs, including 1980s The Gambler, which spawned several sequels, and 1981s Coward of the County. On the big screen, he played a race car driver in the comedy Six Pack (1982). In 1983, Rogers scored one of his biggest hits: a duet with Dolly Parton called Islands in the Stream. Written by the Bee Gees, the song went to the top of both the country and pop charts. Rogers and Parton won the Academy of Country Music Award for Single of the Year for their efforts. After this, Rogers continued to thrive as a country music performer, but his ability to crossover to pop music success started to wane. Among the hits from this period is his duet with Ronnie Milsap, Make No Mistake, Shes Mine, which won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Duo Country Vocal Performance. READ MORE: gactv/gac/ar_az_kenny_rogers media.warnermusicnashville/kennyrogers/kennyrogerslifetime/ allmusic/artist/kenny-rogers-mn0000069986/biography cmt/artists/kenny-rogers/ gactv/gac/ar_az_kenny_rogers kennyrogerscenter.org/ https://facebook/KennyRogersOfficial
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 23:46:02 +0000