Gravel-voiced country singer became an unlikely success on the global pop charts

Kenny Rogers musician b August 21, 1938 d March 20, 2020

‘‘I’m like the Bionic Man now, I have no original moving parts.’’

Kenny Rogers on his extensive plastic surgery

Kenny Rogers, who has died aged 81, was the grizzled king of easy-going country & western music, a gravelvoiced charm-merchant who spoke of real things with just a hint of cheese, selling more than 150 million records along the way, including Lucille, The Gambler and, with Dolly Parton, Islands in the Stream.

Although referred to as ‘‘an overweight lightweight’’ by Rolling Stone magazine, Rogers, who once said ‘‘I have never taken my talent that seriously’’, proved that a country artist could conquer the pop market.

Success did not come easy. When Rogers’ group First Edition split up and he went solo in 1976, the several United producer Butler advised colleagues Butler was ignored Artists by Larry not to them. sign him, as he was widely seen as a has-been.

countries, The following and sold year, five Lucille million hit copies No 1 in 12 worldwide. The albums kept on coming, The Gambler (1978) and Kenny (1979) being particularly successful. After signing for the RCA label for a record-breaking US$20 million advance in 1983, Rogers released the album Eyes That See in the Dark (1983) from which came Islands in the Stream. The album was produced by Barry Gibb, whose band, the Bee Gees, had written the song, originally intending it to be sung by Diana Ross.

In 1986 a joint poll by readers of USA Today and People magazine declared Kenny Rogers to be ‘‘Favourite Singer of All Time’’, and, with not much left to prove, he graciously let the likes of Garth Brooks and Billy Ray Cyrus vie for the top spot in the field of soft country. He kept on recording and performing, but his point was proved.

Kenneth Donald Rogers was born in Houston, Texas, the fourth of eight children. His career in music began in the mid-1950s with a rockabilly band called the Scholars. They had some success but disbanded soon after when their lead singer (not Rogers) embarked on a solo career.

Rogers had a minor hit on his own in 1958 with That Crazy Feeling and then played bass with the jazz combo the Bobby Doyle Trio, and sang with the New Christy Minstrels. In 1967 he and three other Minstrels left to form First Edition. They became a successful outfit, with Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town, written by Mel Tillis, being their most prominent.

With First Edition, Rogers performed using a much smoother vocal style than the one for which he is most well-known, and also sported long hair, pink sunglasses and an earring. His later image (neatly clipped greying beard, twinkling eyes, lopsided smile) became so well known that a popular website was set up (menwholooklikekennyrogers.com), featuring hundreds of photographs of men who did indeed resemble Rogers, tips on how to resemble him, good places to spot Rogers lookalikes and a regular ‘‘Kenny of the Month’’ competition.

Many contributors to the site looked more like Rogers than he did: after extensive plastic surgery he declared: ‘‘I’m like the Bionic Man now, I have no original moving parts.’’

Rogers was always keen to explore other avenues, and in 1982 Six Pack ,a movie in which he played a racingcar driver, proved a considerable hit at the US box office. Several made-for-television movies were based around his hits, including The Gambler and Christmas in America, and he was an entrepreneur who, in partnership with a former chief of Kentucky Fried Chicken, began the Kenny Rogers Roasters chain in 1991.

The music kept on coming, and in the 1990s Rogers continued to score chart hits. In 1994 he released Timepiece, a collection of jazz standards from the 1930s and 1940s, the kind of music he played in his early days.

His success endured into this century, and when Buy Me A Rose reached No 1, Rogers became the oldest artist in the history of country music to hit the top. There were also at least 23 different greatest hits albums, most of which sold well.

In 2006 he released, with Capitol Nashville Records, 21 Number Ones and then Water and Bridges. In 2012 Rogers published Luck or Something Like it: A Memoir, and the following year a novel set in Nashville, What Are the Chances, written with Mike Blakely.

In 2015 he embarked on what was billed as his retirement tour, ‘‘The Gambler’s Last Deal’’. More dates were scheduled for 2018, but he was forced to cancel through ill health. His final appearance was in 2017 in Nashville, where he was joined by guests including Lionel Richie, Kris Kristofferson, and Dolly Parton, with whom he sang Islands in the Stream one last time.

He married first, in 1958, Janice Gordon; they had a child, but divorced in 1960. That year he married Jean Rogers, divorcing in 1963. The following year he married Margo Anderson. They had a child but divorced in 1976. In 1977 he married Marianne Gordon, with whom he had a child. They also divorced and in 1997 he married Wanda Miller, who was an identical twin; they had twin boys.