“They’ll Shut Me off Again”: Kenny Rogers Wanted To Change His Sound, but Feared Country Radio Would Reject Him

Kenny Rogers is remembered as a smooth-voiced country-pop icon with an early psych-rock side. He remains a beloved figure in music for his legendary albums and equally legendary duets with some incredible female singers. Would it be possible to imagine him doing anything else?

Surprisingly, in an interview from 2000, Rogers admitted he wanted to dabble in another genre. When asked if there was a genre he wanted to explore that was at odds with what he was known for, Rogers replied, “You mean, Is there music that I’m yearning to do, that I don’t think I can get away with?”

He then revealed, “I would love to do something like Babyface.” Rogers continued, “I have a really good R&B influence. But I have to be careful. Here I am, getting acceptance at country radio. The minute I start running down that path, they’ll shut me off again — so I can’t do it. I’m smart enough to play the game.”

Kenny Rogers Would Have Liked To Explore R&B, But Knew Country Radio Would Turn Away

Kenny Rogers knew what he was about, what his influences were, and what he could get away with trying. Unfortunately, the embrace of country radio ultimately limited him.

“Country music has a box, and there’s four corners to that box,” he explained. “You can be all the way out to any one of those corners and still get played. But the minute you step outside that box, you’re gonna get shut down.”

However, Rogers also knew how to game the system. He had pop-country crossover success after being in a psych-rock band in the 70s, so he was aware of how to make multiple genres work for him.

“The trick is to get in that box and become so successful that you can move the box,” Rogers continued. “I had ‘Lucille’ and ‘The Gambler,’ and then, when I got to the point that I could do what I wanted to do, I did ‘Lady,’ and some songs that were really much more pop.”

He managed to lean pop while in that box, but the world missed out on a Kenny Rogers R&B album. There was so much potential there, as Rogers had great respect for Black communities and their music. In the interview, he spoke about his upbringing, which had a poignant influence on his musical interests.

“I was raised in the projects, and there was a cyclone fence between me and the Black community,” he explained. “I used to listen to ’em sing songs in church every Sunday. They were the same songs we were doing — but, boy, they were different. And Ray Charles was my first influence. They are a people who have suffered more pain — and, on a daily basis, still suffer more pain than I will ever know.”

Featured Image by Mark Reinstein