KENNY ROGERS (1938 - 2020)

Kenny Rogers, a gifted musician who found his greatest success as a country singer who crossed over to the pop charts throughout the 1980's, has passed away on March 21st at the age of eighty-one. "The Gambler", the song which would become Rogers' signature tune, was written by Don Schlitz and had shopped it around for an artist to record it. After several singers taking a stab (including Johnny Cash), it would be Rogers's version that would became a worldwide smash in 1978. It would reach number one on the country chart, crossed over to the pop chart and would win the singer a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Even a series of television movies starring Rogers was inspired by the character of this song.

Rogers was born in Houston, TX, the fourth of eight children to Edward and Lucille Rogers. He learned to play the bass guitar and formed his first band as a teen in high school with a doo-wop group called the Scholars. Rogers found his first taste of commercial success in 1957 with the single, "That Crazy Feeling", a minor solo hit, with him making an appearance on the television show, American Bandstand. With not much happening for him after that, he would join the jazz outfit, the Bobby Doyle Three playing bass and later became a part of the folk group, The New Christy Minstrels in 1966.

Not content with his place in this band, Rogers, along with several other members, Mike Settle, Terry Williams, and Thelma Camacho left to form, the First Edition the following year. The band's sound merged country, rock and pop and scored their first hit, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", a psychedelic pop song with Rogers singing lead vocals that reached number five on the pop chart. More hits followed including "Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town", "Reuben James", "Something’s Burning" and "Tell It All Brother" until The First Edition ended in 1976. After going to work again as a solo artist, Rogers had his first major commercial success with "Lucille" which reached number one on the country chart and number five on the US pop chart in 1977.

Following "The Gambler, Rogers became one of the hottest artists of the '80's with hits on the pop and country charts. Some of his popular songs include "Coward of the County", "Through The Years", "She Believes In Me", "You Decorated My Life" and "Lady", the singer's only number one song on the pop chart as a solo artist which was written and produced by Lionel Ritchie. He also had crossover hits with duets with Dolly Parton ("Island In The Stream", written and produced by the Bee Gees), Kim Carnes ("Don't Fall In Love With a Dreamer") and Sheena Easton (a cover of Bob Seger's, "We've Got Tonight").

While Rogers' career did slow down in the 1990's, he did reach the top of the country charts for a final time in 2000 with "Buy Me a Rose". He recorded his last studio album, "You Can't Make Old Friends" in 2013 with the title track, a duet with Dolly Parton, earning a Grammy Award nomination.

TAKE TWO: KIM CARNES

With sunny California girl looks but a singing voice like sandpaper, Kim Carnes didn't come across how you would expect. Her music career didn't travel down an obvious path either. Carnes first became noticed as a songwriter and wrote music in all genres that brought her great acclaim. When she achieved fame as a singer, it was with an unusual, new-wave sounding song about a deceptive woman with eyes like a movie star.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kim Carnes wrote songs and performed locally as a teen before eventually deciding to get in to music professionally. In the early 1970's, Carnes, along with her musician husband, Dave Ellingson, got her first break with teen heartthrob, David Cassidy, star of the hit television show, "The Partridge Family". In addition to writing songs for his albums, Carnes and Ellingson opened for Cassidy during his world tour. This exposure lead to Carnes getting her own record deal and releasing her debut album, "Rest On Me" in 1972.

Although Carnes didn't have much initial success as a recording artist, her work as a songwriter continued to open doors for the fledgling musician. Some of her compositions won a few prizes which lead to them being recorded by none other than Barbra Streisand. "Love Comes from Unexpected Places" was on "Streisand Superman" in 1977 and "Stay Away" appeared on "Songbird" the following year. In 1980, country music star, Kenny Rogers had Carnes and Ellingson write a concept record for him. That album, "Gideon" featured "Don't Fall In Love With a Dreamer", a duet with Kim, that reached the top ten on the pop and country charts. Also that year, Carnes released a remake of the Smokey Robinson and The Miracles classic, "More Love" from her album, "Romance Dance". This became her first solo top ten pop hit.

For her next album, "Mistaken Identity", Carnes's first single was a cover of an obscure song co-written by 60's pop singer, Jackie DeShannon ("What The World Needs Now"). "Bette Davis Eyes" became a massive smash, spending nine weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song went on to win two Grammy Awards for Song of The Year and Record of The Year and became the biggest single of 1981.

Kim Carnes never reached these heights again but continued to make music with varied success. She released her last studio album, "Chasin' Wild Trains" in 2004. Carnes is still married to Dave Ellingson and have been together for forty-seven years. They have two sons, Collin and Ry who have followed in the family business as musicians.

These are two of my favorite tunes from Kim Carnes:





As a bonus, here is the very 1980's music video for "Bette Davis Eyes". This eerie clip is notable for being directed by future filmmaker, Russell Mulcahy, best known for "Highlander" and currently directing episodes of the MTV series, "Teen Wolf":