Kenny Rogers

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 21 Mar 2020 3:31 am

According to the news, Rogers died of natural causes. He was 81 years old.

Larry Bressington · Post by **Larry Bressington** » 21 Mar 2020 7:10 am

A life well lived, what an incredible artist and human being, may Kenny rest easy.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 21 Mar 2020 9:13 am

He had an affected and stylized voice but I found him listenable. Perhaps not a great singer but an enjoyable one.

RIP, Kenny.

Lee Warren · Post by **Lee Warren** » 21 Mar 2020 11:13 am

As a member of Michelle Wright’s band, I was fortunate enough to open a lot of shows for him in the early 1990’s.
He was a great man and entertainer, who surrounded himself with a professional and loyal team, from musicians to crew.
He, and they, treated us with nothing but kindness, grace and respect.
Rest in peace, Kenny.
Lee

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 21 Mar 2020 12:00 pm

I thought he was a good singer and musician. The only time I ever saw him live was years ago in Buena Park, Calif at Knott's Berry Farm. He was in the First Edition then and I saw him at one of the food vendors and approached him to tell him how much I'd enjoyed his show. He invited me to sit down and we talked mostly about country music and I think he was a fan of it and pretty knowledgeable for a "Rocker". At the FE show he was the main singer but also did the bass guitar slot himself.... He was only one year older than me..........JH in Va.

Terry Wood · Post by **Terry Wood** » 21 Mar 2020 8:46 pm

Sorry to hear this! He was a very popular artist and had some great songs over the years. He was more of a cross over artist. He recorded some great duets with lady singers. His Duet with Dottie West titled "When Two Fools Collide," was a great song and had some nice Steel Guitar played by Pete Drake! Pete Drake also played on other songs that Kenny Rogers recorded. "The Gambler," was great song too! RIP Kenny Rogers

Godfrey Arthur · Post by **Godfrey Arthur** » 22 Mar 2020 7:52 am

Godspeed Kenny!

You filled a space for a long while that kept some integrity in heartfelt songs.

I liked Kenny since the First Edition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AULOC--qUOI

Lee Warren · Post by **Lee Warren** » 22 Mar 2020 9:36 am

... and he could really play the bass!

https://www.facebook.com/563071326/post ... 66327/?d=n

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 23 Mar 2020 7:55 am

Thanks for posting that one, Lee. Many big stars have hidden talents, and when they get a chance to reveal them, the reasons they got so big becomes more apparent. The Gambler certainly had a trick card or two up his sleeve.

joe long · Post by **joe long** » 25 Mar 2020 6:26 pm

The guy in the is Mikey Jones. We graduated from Sunset high school in Dallas in 1959. Mickey was a drummer and founding member of the First Edition.

Godfrey Arthur · Post by **Godfrey Arthur** » 25 Mar 2020 10:21 pm

joe long wrote:The guy in the is Mikey Jones. We graduated from Sunset high school in Dallas in 1959. Mickey was a drummer and founding member of the First Edition.

I like how many on the forum are associated with movers and shakers!

Sadly Mickey is not with us anymore and passed in 2018. He played with Dylan before founding the First Edition.

You might remember that Mickey was a mainstay on Tim Allen's Home Improvement show

Mickey was acting before joining Kenny in The First Edition and has a roster of films including Total Recall, M.A.S.H. Starman, Wild In The Streets. The list is pretty impressive.

He was that down-home lovable guy or the biker-guy.

When the band First Edition came out we were attracted to their sound. Just Dropped In was another feather in the cap of the psychedelic phenomenon and it added to the Strawberry Alarm Clock, JH Experience, Woodstock, Fever Tree, It's A Beautiful Day, The Doors and the slew of what became mainstream bands that lit up the counter culture (as planned) and of course Magical Mystery Tour.

Little did we know at the time that the whole genre was designed to produce the counter culture. Yeah waxing "conspiracy" as some want to target but in hindsight and research, letter agencies had a hand in producing and funding, even helping to write lyrics and songs to promote this 180 in the zeitgeist of the youth of the 60's. As was done for the Grateful Dead, The Beatles, The Doors.

Just Dropped In was written by Nashville Songwriter's Hall Of Famer Mickey Newberry and it was about "dropping acid" known to all as LSD as pushed by Tim Leary at the behest of the CIA.

A natural version would be psilocybin mushrooms.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 26 Mar 2020 6:14 am

He played with Dylan before founding the First Edition.

He replaced Levon Helm on the tour where he turned "electric". As his autobigrahy says: he couldn't stand the constant booing anmore.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 26 Mar 2020 6:58 am

The First Edition had some nice records, Condition perhaps foremost among them, but I always liked Ruby the best. Ruby was composed by Mel Tillis. Fun factoid: After their original "girl singer" Thelma left the band, among those who auditioned to replace her was a young Karen Carpenter, who didn't get the gig. Bad move, Kenny!