Rogers knows when to fold ‘em
Fans probably already know that Kenny Rogers ranks among the best-selling artists in country music history. They are also likely aware that he’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the recipient of several Grammys, CMAs and other major awards.
But here’s something that fans might not know about Rogers:
The Gambler doesn’t like to gamble.
“Personally, I found out that I can’t win enough to excite me,” said the 77-year-old Texan, whose best-known hit is “The Gambler.” “But I can lose enough to depress me. So, I kind of stay away from it.”
Rogers offered the revelation during a conference call in support of a farewell tour that touches down Wednesday at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. The trek is dubbed “The Gambler’s Last Deal,”: a highly appropriate moniker — even if it wasn’t the one Rogers originally wanted.
“I wanted to call the tour ‘The End of the Rainbow,’ because so few people get to see the end of the rainbow,” he said. “And I hopefully am going to be able to do that. And (people) said, ‘Well, you can’t have a farewell tour without insinuating farewell. (Fans) will think that is just another name for a tour.’ So, I was talked out of that, as always.”
Rogers is using the tour to look back at his amazing career, which has stretched 50-plus years and resulted in worldwide sales of more than 100 million albums. The set lists will reportedly blend his best-known hits — which means the likes of “Lucille,” “Coward of the County,” “Through the Years” and “You Decorated My Life” — with tunes that the star hasn’t played in years.
The tour also features Linda Davis, the Grammywinning artist known for the hit “Does He Love You.” Let’s hope she joins Rogers onstage for a few of the duets — such as the smash “Islands in the Stream,” which he recorded with Dolly Parton — that are a significant part of Rogers’ catalog.
“I have really enjoyed (singing duets),” he said. “I think everybody thinks they sing the best they can every night. And it’s like running the 100-yard dash. You run it as fast as you think you can (when you are alone). Then they put someone alongside you who runs faster. And you inevitably run faster. I think that happened with me. I think I found out I could sing a lot better when I was singing with someone else.”
Rogers is also a pretty good comedian, as he got to show again in the recent GEICO commercial in which he annoys his poker buddies by singing one of his own songs (you can probably guess which one). He also relies on humor in his live shows.
“I try to constantly entertain people — to make them laugh,” he said. “Even if people don’t like your music, I have found out that if they are laughing — at least they are having a good time. So, that’s always been kind of my ace in the hole — that I’ve been an entertainer before I was a singer.”
Rogers knows that he will someday miss hearing the laughs and seeing the smiles from the crowd. Yet, he still believes that the timing is right to begin the long goodbye.
“I’ve always said I would do this until I started embarrassing myself,” he said. “And I have a bad knee, and I have found it just drives me crazy not to be able to walk around and do the things I wanted to do. I can do some of it, but I can’t do all of it.”
His limited mobility, however, is only part of the equation. Rogers says that family is also an important factor behind the farewell tour.
“I have 11-year-old twin boys,” Rogers says. “I had other kids — and I didn’t spend time with them when they were young. I decided that now was the time, while I can still travel, to take them places. I’m really excited about taking them — so that someday they can say, ‘My dad took me there.’ That’s more important to me now than anything.”