Country music legend and Grammy award-winning icon, Kenny Rogers, has passed away at the age of 81.
A statement from the family read: “The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night.
“Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.
About Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers popularly known as Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas on August 21, 1938. He was the fourth of eight children and is of Irish and Native American ancestry. His mother was Lucille Lois who was a nurse assistant, and his father was Edward Floyd Rogers who was a carpenter. Kenny grew up in poor circumstances in a federal housing project.
Kenny Rogers attended Wharton Elementary School and Jefferson Davis High School. He was the first member of his family to finish high school. It was that time when he decided to pursue a career in music.
He has recorded more than 120 hit singles of different music genres and capped the country and pop album charts in the United States alone for over 200 individual weeks. Aside from that, he has also sold more than a hundred million records worldwide which made him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Kenny Rogers was also voted by the USA Today and People magazine as the “Favorite Singer of All-Time” in 1986. He has also received a lot of awards such as the Grammys, ACMs, AMAs, and CMAs, and even a lifetime achievement award in 2003 for a career crossing six decades.
Rogers also acted in a variety of TV shows and movies and some of the popular ones were, Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, and the MacShayne series. He has also appeared on The Muppet Show. He is also a co-founder of the Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant chain.