Kenny Rogers was a Grammy Award-winning country music singer and songwriter. His best known songs include “The Gambler” and “Lucille“. He acted in several movies and television series. He owned a franchise of roast chicken restaurants called “Kenny Rogers Roasters“.
Early Life of Kenneth Rogers
Rogers was born the fourth of eight children on August 21, 1938, in Houston, Texas. His parents were Lucille Lois (née Hester; 1910–1991), a nurse’s assistant, and Edward Floyd Rogers (1904–1975), a carpenter. Rogers was said to be of Irish and Native American ancestry. Rogers attended Wharton Elementary School, George Washington Junior High School, and graduated from Jefferson Davis High School (now Northside High School) in 1956.
In 1949 Rogers won a talent show at the Texan Theatre. He served as a busboy at the Rice Hotel and swept floors at a hat store for $9 a week. He later attended the University of Houston.
Death of Kenneth Rogers
On March 20, 2020, Rogers died under hospice care in Sandy Springs, Georgia from natural causes, aged 81.
Profile of Kenneth Rogers
- Real Name: Kenneth Ray Donald Rogers
- Born: August 21, 1938 in Houston, Texas, USA
- Died: March 20, 2020 (age 81) in Sandy Springs, Georgia, USA
- Height: 5′ 10½” (1.79 m)
Spouse(s) of Kenneth Rogers
- Wanda Miller (1 June 1997 – 20 March 2020) ( his death) ( 2 children)
- Marianne Gordon (2 October 1977 – 1994) ( divorced) ( 1 child)
- Margo Gladys Anderson (22 October 1963 – 1975) ( divorced) ( 1 child)
- Jean Laverne Massey (8 October 1960 – 1963) ( divorced)
- Janice Gordon (15 May 1958 – 26 January 1960) ( divorced) ( 1 child)
Record labels
The following is a list of record labels to which Rogers signed:
- Cue (1957, with the band the Scholars and also as a solo singer)
- Carlton (1958, solo deal)
- KenLee (one single, label owned by Rogers and his brother Lelan)
- Columbia (1960s, with jazz combo, the Bobby Doyle Three)
- Reprise (1967, with the First Edition, all material recorded during this time has since been acquired by Universal Music Group)
- Jolly Rogers (1973, with the First Edition, label was owned by Rogers)
- United Artists (1975, solo deal)
- Liberty (1980, United Artists merged into EMI/Capitol in 1980; some pressings of albums were issued on Capitol’s imprint labels, EMI, EMI America, and EMI Manhattan.)
- RCA Records (1983, solo deal)
- Reprise (1989, solo deal)
- Giant (1993, one solo album)
- Atlantic (1994, one solo album)
- onQ Music (1996, one solo album; onQ Music was created by the QVC Network to release exclusive albums for sale only on QVC. The first onQ release was Rogers’ Vote for Love, a two-disc set that would later become available in standard retail stores.)
- Magnatone (1996, solo deal)
- Dreamcatcher (1998, solo deal; Dreamcatcher was owned and run by Rogers and Jim Mazza for the purpose of releasing Rogers albums and certain reissues of Rogers’ catalog. Other artists, such as Marshall Dyllon and Randy Dorman, were also released on Dreamcatcher Records. The label closed in 2004)
- Capitol Nashville (2004, solo deal)
External Links
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