Born on This Day in 1938, the Psychedelic Rocker Turned Country Grammy Winner Who Dominated the 70s & 80s

On this day in 1938, Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas, the fourth of eight children of Lucille and Edward Rogers. He discovered his passion for music as a child and pursued it across multiple genres, ultimately finding stardom in the country music world. After embarking on his solo career, Rogers topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart 21 times with classic songs like “The Gambler” and “Islands in the Stream,” his timeless duet with Dolly Parton.

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Rogers first found success with his band The First Edition. The band’s sound combined psychedelic rock, pop, jazz, and country. In 1967, the band proved there was a market for their sound when “Just Dropped in (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” went to No. 5 on the Hot 100. The song would later famously appear in the 1998 cult classic film, The Big Lebowski.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1976, Kenny Rogers Recorded a Major Hit That Earned Him an Angry Phone Call from His Mom]

Three years later, the band changed its name to Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. Then, in 1975, Rogers kicked off his solo career with “Love Lifted Me,” the lead single and title track from his 1976 debut solo album. He found his first No. 1 on the country chart with “Lucille,” the first single from his self-titled sophomore album in 1977. It kicked off a string of 18 top 10 hits, 11 of which topped the chart.

Kenny Rogers Releases Two Classic Songs

Kenny Rogers released several hit songs throughout his career. However, two of them stand out from the rest. “The Gambler” topped the Hot Country Songs chart for three weeks in 1978. It became his signature song and the inspiration for a made-for-TV movie franchise of the same name. In 1983, he released “Islands in the Stream” with Dolly Parton. It was a smash hit, topping the country, adult contemporary, and Hot 100 charts in the US.

According to Songfacts, Don Schlitz wrote “The Gambler” and shopped it around Nashville for two years before anyone chose to record it. Bobby Bare was the first to cut the song. Then, Johnny Cash put his spin on it. Rogers, though, was the first to make the song a hit. It became a cornerstone of his career and helped establish Schlitz as an in-demand songwriter.

In 1980, Rogers starred in The Gambler. It was the first of five made-for-TV movies in which the hitmaker portrayed seasoned gambler Brady Hawkes.

The Bee Gees penned “Islands in the Stream” as an R&B song. They hoped to get soul legend Marvin Gaye to record it, but he turned it down. Barry Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees, also produced Rogers’ album Eyes That See in the Dark, and pitched the song to Rogers.

Rogers couldn’t get the vocal right and, after days of trying, he and Gibb decided to record it as a duet. Fortunately, Dolly Parton and Rogers were signed to the same label, and she happened to be in the studio. She agreed to sing on the track, and the Bee Gees added backing vocals. The result was a Platinum-selling, timeless hit.

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