New York - US country singer Kenny Rogers, whose hits like
Lucille and Lady capitulated him to the top of both pop and country
charts, turns 70 on Thursday.
His duets with Dolly Parton (Islands in the Stream) and with
Sheena Easton (We've Got Tonight) belong to the classics of American
music, and there's no sign that despite advancing age and white beard
that Rogers will hang up his guitar any time soon.
'I really, really love what I'm doing. People survive longer if
they love what they're doing. Because you just don't quit,' he said
in a recent interview.
He's also kept youthful by the twins delivered by his fifth wife
Wanda Miller five years ago. Rogers has three other children from
previous marriages.
Born August 21, 1938, in Houston, Texas, Rogers was one of eight
children in a poor Texas family. At age 13, he taught himself to play
guitar, then founded a series of bands starting in high school.
Nearing age 40, he had his first hit, Lucille. Typical of the
plaintive cowboy songs of ordinary people that he is known for, the
song told of a woman who walks out on her farmer husband, leaving him
in the lurch.
'You picked the fine time to leave me, Lucille,' the man sings.
'Four hungry children and a crop in the field.'
Rogers is modest about his success, despite the millions of
dollars he earns every year from his art.
'I've never considered myself a great singer, but I am a great
storyteller,' he said.
That approach gave him the crossover into the pop charts, such as
Lady and the duet with Kim Carnes, Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer.
He has brought out a series of new albums, including Water and
Bridges in 2006 and the single, I Can't Unlove You, which hit the US
Top 40 recently.
USA
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