Kenny Rogers became one of the most enduring superstars in country music history, but he was a middle-aged man looking for an unlikely comeback when he scored his first No. 1 country hit in 1977.
What Were Kenny Rogers’ Early Days in Music Like?
Rogers was born in 1938, and he launched his career in 1958 with a minor single called “That Crazy Feeling.”
He went on to stints in a jazz band called the Bobby Doyle Three and a folk group called the New Christy Minstrels before splitting off to form the First Edition.
That group gave Rogers his first taste of mainstream success, scoring hits on both the rock and country charts with songs including “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),” “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” “Reuben James” and “Something’s Burning.”
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But by the time the group disbanded in 1976, Rogers was just a few years shy of 40 and left to start all over again as a solo artist.
How Did Kenny Rogers Launch His Solo Career?
He scored some smaller successes at country radio with his first solo album, Love Lifted Me, but it wasn’t until Rogers released his self-titled second album in 1977 that he established himself as a solo country star.
Rogers hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart on April 2, 1977, with “Lucille,” a plaintive barroom song about a man whose wife has left him with “four hungry children and a crop in the field.”
Recorded at Nashville’s American Studio on Aug. 5, 1976, “Lucille” also became one of Rogers’ biggest hits overseas, hitting No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart the week of June 18, 1977.
What Are Some of Kenny Rogers’ Biggest Hits?
He’d go on to become one of the breakout musical superstars of the ’70s and ’80s, landing a long string of country hits that included “Daytime Friends,” “The Gambler,” “She Believes in Me,” “Coward of the County,” “Lady,” “Islands in the Stream” and many more.
Rogers sustained his run of No. 1 hits all the way through 1999, scoring his final chart-topper with “Buy Me a Rose.”
Rogers retired from touring with a splashy all-star concert in Nashville in 2017, and he died on March 20, 2020, leaving behind one of the greatest legacies of any musician of his generation.
PICTURES: See Inside Kenny Rogers’ Staggering California Estate
Kenny Rogers developed a taste for fine living early in his success. His ultra-lavish mansion in Bel Air, Calif., an estate called Lionsgate, was opulent even by celebrity standards. The 11-bedroom, 17-bathroom home totals 23,988 square feet of space, and it sits on 1.63 acres of some of the most expensive real estate in California.
The lavish interior includes a master suite that encompasses more than 3,000 square feet, three separate living rooms, seven fireplaces, a billiards room, a formal study, a private 12-seat theater with leather seats, a climate-controlled wine room that opens onto a saltwater pool, three steam showers and a large dry sauna. The property also features an outdoor glass elevator that leads to a large ballroom party space with an attached guest suite and a professional-sized gym.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
