Kenny Rogers, RIP

March 21, 2020

Country icon Kenny Rogers has passed away at the age of 81, his family confirms. They’ve posted a message:

March 21, 2020 – The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night at 10:25PM at the age of 81. Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.

In a career that spanned more than six decades, Kenny Rogers left an indelible mark on the history of American music. His songs have endeared music lovers and touched the lives of millions around the world. Chart-topping hits like “The Gambler,” “Lady,” “Islands In The Stream,” “Lucille,” “She Believes In Me,” and “Through the Years” are just a handful of Kenny Rogers’ songs that have inspired generations of artists and fans alike. Rogers, with twenty-four number-one hits, was a Country Music Hall of Fame member, six-time CMA Awards winner, three-time GRAMMY® Award winner, recipient of the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, CMT Artist of a Lifetime Award honoree in 2015 and has been voted the “Favorite Singer of All Time” in a joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People.

The family is planning a small private service at this time out of concern for the national COVID-19 emergency. They look forward to celebrating Kenny’s life publicly with his friends and fans at a later date.

After beginning his musical career in the late 1950s and early 60s in groups including the Bobby Doyle Three, the New Christy Minstrels, and First Edition, Rogers went solo in the mid-70s. He went on to release albums through the 2010s, dueted with Dolly Parton, Sheena Easton, Kim Carnes, Lynda Carter and others on collaborative tracks, and announced his farewell tour in 2015, the remaining dates of which he cancelled in 2018 due to “health challenges.” He also acted in movies and TV shows, including title roles in Dick Lowery’s 1980 western The Gambler (inspired by Rogers’ song), the MacShayne series for The NBC Mystery Movie, and Daniel Petrie’s 1982 film Six Pack.