Kenny Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. He remade his career and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.
In the late 1950s, Rogers began his recording career with the Houston-based group the Scholars, who first released "The Poor Little Doggie". After some solo releases, including 1958's "That Crazy Feeling", Rogers then joined a group with the jazz singer Bobby Doyle. In 1966, he became a member of the folk ensemble the New Christy Minstrels, playing double bass and bass guitar as well as singing. In 1967, he and several members of the New Christy Minstrels left to found the group the First Edition, with whom he scored his first major hit, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", a psychedelic rock song which peaked at number five on the Billboard charts. As Rogers took an increased leadership role in the First Edition following the success of 1969's "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", the band gradually changed styles to a more country feel. The band broke up in 1975–76, and Rogers embarked on a long and successful solo career, which included several successful collaborations, including duets with singers Dottie West, Dolly Parton, and Sheena Easton, and a songwriting partnership with Lionel Richie. His signature song, 1978's "The Gambler", was a crossover hit that won him a Grammy Award in 1980 and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. He developed the Gambler persona into a character for a successful series of television films starting with 1980's Emmy-nominated Kenny Rogers as The Gambler.
Rogers's albums The Gambler and Kenny were featured in the About.com poll of "The 200 Most Influential Country Albums Ever". He was voted the "Favorite Singer of All Time" in a 1986 poll by readers of both USA Today and People. He received numerous awards, such as the AMAs, Grammys, ACMs, and CMAs, as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003. Later success included the 2006 album release Water & Bridges, an across-the-board hit that entered the top 5 in the Billboard Country Albums sales charts, also charting in the top 15 of the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, "I Can't Unlove You", was also a sizable chart hit. Remaining a popular entertainer around the world, he continued to tour regularly until his retirement in 2017.
Rogers had acting roles in movies and television shows, including the title roles in Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, the MacShayne series for The NBC Mystery Movie, and the 1982 feature film Six Pack. He was a co-founder of the restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters in collaboration with former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr. Although the stores closed in the United States, they are still a fixture in Asia.
Early life
Kenneth Ray Rogers was born the fourth of eight children on August 21, 1938, at St Joseph's Infirmary in Houston, Texas. His parents were Lucille Lois Rogers, a nurse's assistant, and Edward Floyd Rogers (1904–1975), a carpenter. Rogers was said to be of Irish and Native American ancestry. Rogers attended Wharton Elementary School,[9] George Washington Junior High School, and graduated from Jefferson Davis High School (now Northside High School) in 1956.
In 1949, Rogers won a talent show at the Texan Theater. He served as a busboy at the Rice Hotel and swept floors at a hat store for $9 a week. He later attended the University of Houston.
In 1986, on The Phil Donahue Show, Rogers told the audience that he was the first person in his family "as far back as we know" to graduate from high school. "We were broke. We lived in a federal housing project. I think the most money my father ever made was $75 a week. There were times as a child that, I don't think I was ever really hungry – I always had food to eat – but there's no question that our family were nutritionally-deprived at times. We'd eat peanut butter sandwiches, cause that's all there was. Quite honestly, when you're a kid, you don't know any better, you think that's how everyone eats."
2000–2015
In the 21st century (and at age 61), Rogers was back at No. 1 for the first time in more than a decade with the 2000 single "Buy Me a Rose". In doing so, he broke a 26-year-old record held by Hank Snow (who, in April 1974, was aged 59 when he scored with "Hello Love"). Rogers held the record until 2003, when then 70-year-old Willie Nelson became the oldest artist to have a No. 1 on the country charts with his duet with Toby Keith, "Beer for My Horses".
Although Rogers did not record new albums for a couple of years, he continued to have success in many countries with more greatest hits packages. In 2004 42 Ultimate Hits, which was the first hits collection to span his days with the First Edition to the present, reached Number 6 on the American country charts and went gold. It also featured two new songs, "My World Is Over" with Whitney Duncan and "We Are the Same". "My World Is Over" was released as a single and was a minor hit. In 2005, The Very Best of Kenny Rogers, a double album, sold well in Europe. It was the first new solo Rogers hits album to reach the United Kingdom for over a decade, despite many compilations there that were not true hits packages.
Rogers also signed with Capitol Records and had more success with the TV advertised release 21 Number Ones in January 2006. Although this CD did contain 21 chart-toppers as the title claims (recorded between 1976 and the present day), this was not a complete collection of Rogers's No. 1 singles, omitting such singles as "Crazy in Love" and "What About Me?"
Capitol followed 21 Number Ones with Rogers's new studio album, Water & Bridges, in March 2006 on the Capitol Nashville Records label. The first single from the album was "I Can't Unlove You", which peaked at No. 17 on the country charts, after spending over 6 months on the hit list, more than 50 years after he formed his first group and 38 years after his first major hit as leader of the First Edition; the song remains in recurrent airplay on some radio stations today. "I Can't Unlove You" was followed up with the second single from the album, "The Last Ten Years (Superman)", in September 2006. The third single, "Calling Me", which features Don Henley, became popular in early 2007, and was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Also in 2007, the 1977 Kenny Rogers album was re-issued as a double CD, also featuring the 1979 Kenny album and this once again put Rogers's name into the sales charts worldwide. The following year, another compilation album (A Love Song Collection) also charted.
On August 26, 2008, Rogers released 50 Years exclusively at Cracker Barrel stores. The album included some of Rogers's greatest hits, plus three new songs. The release is designed to celebrate Rogers's 50th year in the music business. In 2007, the England national rugby union team adopted Rogers song "The Gambler" as their unofficial 2007 Rugby World Cup anthem, after hearing prop Matt Stevens playing it in the team hotel. Before the semi-final against France and the final against South Africa, Rogers sent video messages of support to the team in light of them choosing his song.
Personal life
At Beaver Dam Farms, a former estate in Colbert, Georgia, Rogers kept a pet goat named Smitty. He originally acquired the animal from a friend in 2008. According to Rogers, the goat was "(his) center", providing a calming influence after long and stressful touring schedules.
Marriages
Rogers was married five times and had five children. His first marriage was to Janice Gordon on May 15, 1958; they divorced in April 1960 with one child, Carole Lynne. He married his second wife, Jean, in October 1960 and divorced her in 1963. His third marriage was to Margo Anderson in October 1963; they divorced in 1975, with one child. He married his fourth wife, actress Marianne Gordon, on October 1, 1977, and they divorced in 1993, with one son, Christopher. His fifth marriage was to Wanda Miller on June 1, 1997. They had twin sons and were married for 22 years until his death.
Health decline and death
Rogers's seven-decade career wound down in 2017, as he encountered health problems that included a diagnosis of bladder cancer. On March 20, 2020, Rogers died at the age of 81, while under hospice care at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was interred in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta.
If you want to read a whole lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Rogers
- SERVES
- 6
- COOK TIME
- 40 Min
We've got good news! You can stop worrying about what you're having for dinner tonight, because this Classic Scalloped Chicken is the best thing on the menu. There's no need to get jittery because this easy casserole recipe is ready in no time, and totally willing to be a part of your weeknight dinner plans. Get ready for something hot and delicious everyone will love!
- 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) butter, melted
- 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 (12-ounce) jar chicken gravy
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
- 1 1/2 cup instant rice
- Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter; sauté chicken 6 to 8 minutes or until no longer pink.
- Remove from heat and add broth, gravy, mushrooms, peas, pimientos, and rice; mix well. Pour into baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, uncover, and stir well. Bake, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes, or until rice is tender. Serve immediately.
1947 – Cheryl Tiegs, American model
1951 – Mark Hamill, American actor
1952 – Christopher Reeve, American actor (d. 2004)
1961 – Heather Locklear, American actress and model
1969 – Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress
National Lobster Day on September 25th takes a taste of a seafood favorite.
The simplest way to enjoy Lobster is boiled then dipped in melted butter. A couple of favorite lobster recipes include Lobster Newberg and Lobster Thermidor. It is also the main ingredient in soup, bisque, lobster rolls and salads.
Large lobsters are estimated to be 50 years old.
These marine crustaceans live at the bottom of the ocean. If they avoid the lobster pot, some can live up to 100 years old. Even though we consider them a delicacy today, that wasn’t always the case. In colonial times, the lobster received very little culinary credit. In fact, the pigs and goats ate more lobster than the well-to-do.
While lobsters arrive at our tables bright red, they don’t start out that way. In the ocean, they come in many colors. Some are yellow, green or even blue.
Now that lobsters rank higher on the menu, consider these nutrition facts.
- Lobsters contain no carbohydrates and 27.55 grams of protein per 1 cup serving.
- In that same 1 cup serving, there’s 129 calories and 1.25 grams of fat.
- Eating lobster offers an excellent source of selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and calcium.
We’ve found several delicious recipes to try. Let us know which one you like best!
Did you know there’s even a Lobster Newburg Day? Check out this recipe for Lobster Newburg.
According to the Guinness World Records, the largest lobster ever caught was in Nova Scotia, Canada, weighing 44.4 lbs.
NATIONAL LOBSTER DAY HISTORY
In 2014, Senators Angus King and Susan Collins of Maine drafted a joint resolution designating September 25th as National Lobster Day. The proclamation recognizes the men and women in an industry as well as the long and rich heritage, from sea to table.
National Lobster Day on September 25th takes a taste of a seafood favorite.
The simplest way to enjoy Lobster is boiled then dipped in melted butter. A couple of favorite lobster recipes include Lobster Newberg and Lobster Thermidor. It is also the main ingredient in soup, bisque, lobster rolls and salads.
Large lobsters are estimated to be 50 years old.
These marine crustaceans live at the bottom of the ocean. If they avoid the lobster pot, some can live up to 100 years old. Even though we consider them a delicacy today, that wasn’t always the case. In colonial times, the lobster received very little culinary credit. In fact, the pigs and goats ate more lobster than the well-to-do.
While lobsters arrive at our tables bright red, they don’t start out that way. In the ocean, they come in many colors. Some are yellow, green or even blue.
Now that lobsters rank higher on the menu, consider these nutrition facts.
- Lobsters contain no carbohydrates and 27.55 grams of protein per 1 cup serving.
- In that same 1 cup serving, there’s 129 calories and 1.25 grams of fat.
- Eating lobster offers an excellent source of selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and calcium.
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