Stars paying tribute to Rogers
COVID- 19 survivor Rita Wilson will host a TV benefit special in honour of late country music star Kenny Rogers.
The ongoing coronavirus chaos has prevented the star’s famous friends and peers from celebrating his life in person after his death at age 81 on March 20.
But stars including Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and Lady Antebellum are getting together virtually to honour his legacy with the CMT GIANTS Kenny Rogers: A Benefit For Musicares event, which is to be hosted by Wilson, the singer/actress wife of actor Tom Hanks.
“Kenny Rogers introduced so many to country music. His songs crossed over into many genres,” Wilson said. “I’ll never forget the evocative angst in Kenny’s voice on Ruby, the unmistakable hooks and his unique, authentic ability to tell a story in The Gambler, and of course, the perfection of his duet with Dolly Parton, Islands in the Stream. Kenny’s impact has been indelible.
“It’s an honour to be hosting CMT GIANTS Kenny Rogers,” Wilson said, “and to share in an evening of Kenny’s songs with so many iconic artists.”
Vince Gill, Gavin Degraw, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Jennifer Nettles, Michael Mcdonald, Randy Houser, and Rascal Flatts will also participate in the special, which is raising money for the Musicares COVID-19 Relief Fund, for those in the music community affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
All the stars will be filmed from their respective homes and be used alongside archival photos, interviews and performances, with film clips and commentary from the late Rogers himself.
After her battle with coronavirus, alongside Hanks, Wilson will also release the single Hip Hop Hooray ( Remix,) in collaboration with hip- hop stars Naughty By Nature, with profits to be donated to the non-profit.
CMT GIANTS Kenny Rogers: A Benefit For Musicares will première on U. S. cable network CMT on Wednesday, with Hip Hop Hooray (Remix) available on Friday.
After working with several bands — most notably The First Edition ( their biggest hit was Just Dropped In ( To See What Condition My Condition Was In) — Rogers went solo and scored his first hit with Love Lifted Me in 1975. He followed that up with the tender ballad Lucille before scoring a No. 1 hit in 1978 with The Gambler. That song brought him his first Grammy, for best country vocal performance by a male. By the early 1980s, Rogers was a true crossover artist.