Farewell to Kenny, the charmer of the county
Pop songs are often a soundtrack to one’s life, so it was sad to hear about the death last week of country legend Kenny Rogers.
I remember, as a schoolgirl, singing the chorus to Lucille on the coach to sports when it came on the radio. I also remember an exboyfriend jokingly singing Islands In The Stream to me while at university.
And I remember Kenny himself giving me a flirty glance as I cycled along Somerset Road in Wimbledon in the 1980s and briefly paused to let him cross the road to enter the tennis championships. Farewell, Kenny. You created so many happy memories. Diane Silva,
Bournemouth
In your tribute to Kenny Rogers last week, you quoted him as saying that Barry Gibb was a ‘visionary’ for suggesting Dolly Parton duet with Rogers on Islands In The Stream. Barry had written the song along with his brothers Maurice and Robin.
How true. As well as helping to create one of Rogers’s best songs, the Bee Gees also penned classics for stars such as Diana Ross (Chain
Reaction), Barbra Streisand (Woman In Love), Frankie Valli (Grease), Yvonne Elliman (If I Can’t Have You), Dionne Warwick (Heartbreaker). And this is on top of all the hits they had themselves, songs which were always melodically complex but still catchy.
Abba have cornered the market in being remembered for the songs of the 1970s, but I feel one day the Bee Gees’ time will come. And I’d love to see a jukebox musical with Islands In The Stream included. R. Barry,
London