Kenny Rogers, the Houston, Texas-born country star known for singing, You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run, is an icon in his musical genre. Known as “The Gambler,” his song of the same name was a crossover hit in the late 1970s and was later sampled in a popular hip-hop song with Wyclef Jean some 25 years later.
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But given all this success, one might wonder what the late singer, who passed away on March 20, 2020, had to say outside of his popular songs and lyrics. What were his thoughts on life and love, his craft and more? Well, here below are the 20 best Kenny Rogers quotes.
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1. “Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the great.”
2. “I’ve always said music should make you laugh, make you cry or make you think.”
3. “There is a trade-off—as you grow older you gain wisdom but you lose spontaneity.”
4. “I just hope I can spread some of the happiness that’s been coming my way.”
5. “You know, when you’re poor and you have a bunch of kids in your family, you don’t know that everybody’s not poor.”
6. “My mom loved to sing—and I’ll go on record and say she was the worst singer ever. I’d get up and move away from her!”
7. “I have awards right now that I do not remember walking on stage to get.”
8. “I think when you’re in the public eye, you feel a pressure to stay younger looking.”
9. “You know, I think the greatest gift in the world is a good employee, you know, or people who can do your work for you and do it well the way you’d like to have it done. And I’ve always been able to surround myself with really good people.”
10. “Well, I don’t think everything necessarily that I touch turns to gold, but I think I get great joy out of it regardless of whether it is successful or not.”
11. “My music was my life, and it played a large part in my inability to sustain relationships.”
12. “If you want people to know what your message is, just sing it.”
13. “Growing older is not upsetting; being perceived as old is.”
14. “I’ve always said that gray hair looks good on everybody but yourself. To me, it makes me look old.”
15. “There has to be chemistry in a duet, but if you go beyond the point of friendship and attraction, you lose something.”
16. “Here’s what I’ve learned about raising boys… if you keep ’em busy, they’re fine. You let ’em get bored, they’ll dismantle your house board by board.”
17. “There’s a new hit rock group or singer every five minutes, but with country music, you have one hit and those people love you forever.”
18. “You know, I’ve always said, I’ve never felt I was a particularly good singer, but I’ve always thought I had a great knack for picking hit songs.”
19. “People will clap to be nice. They will not laugh to be nice.”
20. “I’m much more comfortable singing than talking.”
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