RIP Kenny Rogers (the singer, not the pitcher)

And somewhere in the darkness
The gambler, he broke even

 

Eddie Rabbit was a natural showman cut from the same bolt as Garth Brooks. His shows were always fun.

Kenny Rogers was as pleasant as he was talented. He once rescued one of the handlers from a notoriously nasty group of artists after he'd told our office there was no need for an assistant from our pool. He saw how she was being treated and asked to "borrow" her and then had his assistant call my boss to let him know.

 

Crazy range on the dude, considering he went from psych rock to country-western stuff. He had an impact on pop culture even into the 90s, since I mostly know him from "Seinfeld" and "The Big Lebowski."

 

Very sad over this - the guy was a true legend.

 

My father, in a photo album somewhere, saved the ticket from when he saw Kenny and Dolly Parton in 1983. Yacht Rock was a staple in our ‘79 Pinto around that time period, and Kenny was a big part of that.

I’ve semi-joked to my wife that our 11-month-old daughter will be subjected to the same Kenny Rogers-Air Supply-Anne Murray lineup in the car that my brother and I were.

Wasn't Dottie West one of his main partners around that time? I wonder if she’s still alive.

 

I don't know if he was a country singer or country pop singer or a pop singer...Kenny was just great. One of my favorite concerts. A hell of an entertainer. Lionel Richie wrote "Lady" and he performed it especially well, but Kenny took ownership of that song. A special talent and his stuff holds up today. I believe he could've released The Gambler last week and it would still be a hit on some level.

 

If we had a "Random '80s Singers" thread, his would have been among the first names mentioned...

RIP

 

She was one of his singing partners and did a few songs with him. She died in 1991 in a car crash when her car wasn’t working, and she asked her elderly neighbor to drive. He was drunk at the time, and they crashed getting off a highway. He lived, she died.

Always liked this song:

 

Aw, Dolly...

La West died in '90? '91? Her daughter, Shelley, was getting respect for her own talent when she lost Mama and decided to retire from the industry.