Kenny Rogers is a musical icon. He recently had a show in Salt Lake City, Utah followed by a tour date in Indiana, impressive for an individual who is nearing 80 years old.
I spoke with the musical legend about if he ever contemplated doing an R&B album since in the 70s him and Lionel Richie styles were so similar, to which he stated “we were always good buddies and I love his style more than anyone else and he represents what I would like to be, we never got around to recording and album together, but you can’t cry over spilt milk”.
I also asked him about his collaborations with Dolly Parton and stated “she’s a sweet lady, Dolly and I are closer than anyone else I’ve met in the business and it’s hard to find a friend like that in the business and the reason that we’ve been able to keep our friendship is because we never asked one another for something we wouldn’t do for the other”
He also talked about the changing tide in the music industry and how he felt that todays artist are at a disadvantage from when he came into the music industry because as he says “if you like a song you bought the whole album, and got to know what the artist was about, but now it’s just singles”.
He also mentioned being grateful for all the success he has had in his career, which includes selling over 165 million records and reminisced about growing up in the projects in Houston, Texas and hearing his song for the first time on the radio at seventeen years old with his sister. “We turned it up as high as it would go.”
Kenny Rogers is one of the last musical legends. A singer/songwriter that has made arguably one of the most iconic songs in music history, “The Gambler”. The fact that he is still touring is something that you have to put on your bucket list. He comes from an era where for the most part artists were being creative and weren’t entirely relying on pro tools to make up for their lack of talent/skill. I am astonished by Kenny Roger’s humility, and have interviewed artists that haven’t sold 1/10th of the records he has sold who are twice as conceited which is a testament to the class that Kenny Rogers has and his character.
To see upcoming tour dates: http://www.kennyrogers.com/#tour
Ryan Glover is a contributing writer for https://www.audiofuzz.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanDavisGlover, “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your google network.