Having this once in a lifetime opportunity of sitting in on an intimate conversation with the legendary entertainer Kenny Rogers, I was overjoyed. With Kenny's career dating back to the late sixties, his music has always been a part of my life. The session began with a video segment detailing his life's work. It showed us glimpses of his career from the beginning all the way up to the much anticipated release of a new CD this March called, Water and Bridges.
Gerry House, the legendary morning guy from Nashville's own WSIX was the perfect choice for moderating this session. His very first interview with Kenny back in '68 was when Kenny was the lead singer of First Edition. Gerry comically stated that he wanted to bring along that interview to be played but decided against it when he listened to it and thought that Kenny's voice hadn't changed one bit but his own sounded like Billy Gilman's.
As Kenny was introduced the audience got to their feet and showed their respect for this incredible long lasting entertainer. Gerry's first official question to Kenny after the normal welcome greeting was why are you still doing this after all this time and success. Kenny responded with how great his love for Country Music is. He had very fond memories of Country Music being a force that pulled his father's dysfunctional side of the family together on weekends when nothing else could. He said it was a little like the movie Deliverance with the family all sitting out on the front porch playing instruments and singing. He had taken so much from Country Music and just wanted to give some of it back.
Being deeply inspired by Ray Charles, Kenny spoke of Ray's ability to relate his life's pain through emphasizing certain words in song and allowing people to feel what he was trying to say. Kenny chose this career because that's what he wanted to be able to do.
Being asked about Lionel Richie writing the song "Lady" in Las Vegas for Kenny, Gerry wanted to know if Lionel was prepared when Kenny showed up to record the song. Kenny said Lionel is never prepared and the true story was that as they were in the recording studio, Kenny was working on the first verse while Lionel was in the toilet writing the next verse. The audience erupted into laughter but Kenny spoke very highly of Lionel and went on to comment about how Lionel works best by being under extreme pressure to finish something.
When Gerry touched on all the duets Kenny had done, Kenny spoke of how greatly he misses Dottie West. Their history together began when poor scheduling had Dottie running late and Kenny showing up early at a recording booth. Dottie was working on "Every Time Two Fools Collide" and told Kenny how much she had always wanted to sing with him. Kenny replied by saying he thought he knew that very song and so was the beginning of a very long and dear friendship.
When Kenny was working with Barry Gibb on "Islands In The Stream," Kenny had been working on it for three days and finally told Barry that he just didn't like the song and thought it was stupid. Barry said they needed Dolly Parton. Being in Los Angeles herself, Dolly was called and showed up a mere 45 minutes later. Walking through the door, Dolly brought with her the magic the song needed and the rest is history.
Gerry went on to ask about the Gambler movies Kenny had starred in. With five having been done, Kenny says he has been offered a sixth script, but in order for him to do it, in the opening scenes, someone was gonna have to shoot him in the left leg and the right shoulder and then he could be anything they wanted him to be as long as he could play to his limps. He said if they don't hurry, they are gonna have to put him in a wheelchair and roll him down that street. All kidding aside, he said it was a really interesting script and he would love to do it.
With a ton of laughs, and so much warmth and openness, the session lasted for over an hour. A few audience members were allowed to ask questions of Kenny and he did a wonderful job of responding to each as though he had always known them. I couldn't help but to walk away from this session with a re-kindled admiration for this legendary entertainer.
