“No one bridged the gap between country and pop more often and better than K.R.' Musicians Billy Ray Cyrus, Tanya Tucker, Don Henley and others pay tribute to Grammy-winning balladeer Kenny Rogers, who has died at 81.
FILE - This Feb. 20, 1978 file photo shows Kenny Rogers at his home in Brentwood, Calif. Rogers, who embodied “The Gambler” persona and whose musical career spanned jazz, folk, country and pop, has died at 81. A representative says Rogers died at home in Georgia on Friday, March 20, 2020.
“In addition to his tremendous talent, Kenny was a generous and caring man, a wise mentor to so many of us. He loved his friends, his family, his fellow musicians and his fans, and they loved him, right back. Fifty years ago, The Gambler took a gamble on me and my first band from small-town Texas, and his big-hearted support launched many careers, including mine.
“I loved Kenny with all my heart and my heart is broken and a big ole chunk of it is gone with him today.” — Dolly Parton “Going back to the late 70s and early 80s, we played a lot of dates together. He was one of the first artists to have a stage in the round, in the middle of the arena. He was also an accomplished photographer, and he shot some portraits of Howard and me. We really got to know Kenny through the years and are thankful for the memories. Love and prayers to his family.
“Kenny was one of those legendary smoky tenors. I was fortunate to have him be a mentor on ‘American Idol.’ He had such wise words for another aspiring whiskey tenor. Thanks Kenny for ‘Believing in me.’ My condolences to his family, Ken Jr and also the Butlers for helping him create such great music.” — Taylor Hicks
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