Kenny Rogers
(Photo : Reuters)

Country music legend Kenny Rogers died on Friday night at his home of natural causes at the age of 81 according to a post by his family.

The music and entertainment industry mourned following the death of the music legend and icon Kenny Rogers who is one of the pillars of the industry. He is best remembered for his hit songs "Lady" and "The Gambler."

Rogers was born on Aug.31, 1938 in Houston, Texas and was raised in public housing along with his seven siblings. His career and achievements in life are well-recognized by different artists from different generations.

CAREER OF KENNY ROGERS

Kenny Rogers started his career as a solo performer at the age of 20. He first released his first solo song in 1957 called "That Crazy Feeling" under the pseudonym Kenneth Rogers. 

When the sales of his first hit solo started to slow down, he joined the jazz group the Bobby Doyle Trio. But his career as a musician started to flourish when he was asked to join a folk group called New Christy Minstrels in 1966. 

The folk group was later on disbanded in 1947 but this did not hinder Kenny Rogers to stop achieving his dreams and goals in life. He pursued his career as a solo performer and his 1977 hit "Lucille" that crossed over to the pop charts helped him to earn his first Grammy.

Following this, he also released "The Gambler" where he became more popular. In fact, the song was later on developed into series and movies where he starred in. The music became the signature of the country music legend.

One of the songs that Kenny Rogers is best rememberedof is the "Lady." The song became the top chart for six straight weeks in 1980. Few of his hits were "You Decorated My Life," "Every Time Two Fools Collide" with Dottie West, "Don't Fall In Love with a Dreamer" with Kim Carnes, and "Coward of the County." 

COLLABORATION OF KENNY ROGERS

Kenny Roger's popularity has gone so far and with this many collaborated with him. In a recently published article, he collaborated with many female singers and one of his notable partners was Dolly Parton. The two teamed-up following the suggestion of Bee Gee's Barry Gibb.

During the one-on-one interview with Kenny Rogers in 2017 he said that Barry was producing a song for him and that song was "Islands in the Stream," Rogers shared "And I went and learned it and went into the studio and sang it for four days. And I finally looked at him and said, 'Barry, I don't even like this song anymore.' And he said, 'You know what we need? We need Dolly Parton.' I thought, 'Man, that guy is a visionary.'

Following their collaboration, they made different tours together leading the HBO concert special. They became more popular and they again released another song titled "You Can't Make Old Friends" in 2013. 

AWARDS OF KENNY ROGERS

Kenny Rogers was the winner of CMA's Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Awards and was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

His achievements include 10 awards from the Academy Country Music and have sold more than 47 million records just in the United States alone according to the Recording Industry Association of America. His career lasted for six decades before he decided to retire in 2017 at the age of 79.

HEALTH ISSUES OF KENNY ROGERS

It was reported that Kenny Rogers was admitted to a Georgia hospital last year because of dehydration and his overall health was also failing.

His health issues led him to cut off all his farewell tours in 2018. His management during that time said that "Kenny Rogers has been working through a series of health challenges and has been advised to cancel all performances through the end of the year to focus on recuperation."

Kenny Rogers will always be remembered in his music. Aside from that, he also owns the food chain Kenny Rogers Roasters and was also part of the riverboat in Branson, Missouri.