Country Music Legend Kenny Rogers Dies at 81

Country music legend Kenny Rogers, the country musician behind such hits as “The Gambler” and “Lady” over a six-decade career, has breathed his last his family announced on Saturday.

According to a statement released by SKH, his music management company, Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of his hospice and family members.

Rogers family is planning a small private service due to the coronavirus outbreak, the family said in a statement.

https://twitter.com/_KennyRogers/status/1241244740957413376

Rogers is an internationally known musician revered for hits like “The Gambler,” “Lady,” “Islands in the Stream,” “Lucille,” “She Believes In Me,” and “Through the Years.”

Rogers and county music icon Dolly Parton were frequent collaborators and paired to make some of country music’s most enduring duets, including “Islands in the Stream,” “Love is Strange,” “Real Love,” and “You Can’t Make Old Friends.”

In 2005, Rogers announced plans to retire from the music industry after 50 eventful years that saw him rise to the pinnacle of country music.

“I’ve done this long enough, I want to spend more time with my children,” he said in an interview with NBC in 2015.

Rogers was inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. He was awarded the County Music Association’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

Born in Houston on Aug. 21, 1938, Rogers garnered national attention with “That Crazy Feeling.

Rogers would go on to more success with “Lucille,” “Love Or Something Like It,” “Sweet Music Man,” “The Gambler” and “Every Time Two Fools Collide,” as well as hits like “We’ve Got Tonight.” He recorded “Lady,” which was written by Lionel Richie, which saw success across different genres.

Rogers had 24 number-one hits over his career and is a six-time County Music Association winner. He also earned three Grammy awards and was nominated 19 times.

He moved beyond music to became the star of TV movies based on “The Gambler” and other songs, making him a superstar in the ’70s and ’80s.

Despite his crossover success, he always preferred to be thought of as a country singer.

“You either do what everyone else is doing and you do it better, or you do what no one else is doing and you don’t invite comparison,” Rogers told AP News in 2015.

“And I chose that way because I could never be better than Johnny Cash or Willie or Waylon at what they did. So I found something that I could do that didn’t invite comparison to them. And I think people thought it was my desire to change country music. But that was never my issue.” he added.

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