History Music / KennyRogers

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Most of the First Edition's material was more psychedelic rock, most notably "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)". Kenny also played bass guitar in the band; he started as a jazz upright bassist before switching to electric in the Fifth Edition.

* TheSoCalledCoward: "Coward of the County" encapsulates the trope. Tommy lives by an oath to his dying father to turn the other cheek and avoid trouble, but is labeled a coward by everyone for his behavior. It takes an act of horrible violence on his girlfriend to cause him to break his vow.

* ToneShift: Hee went from being a rock musician singing about tripping on psychedelic drugs to being a country singer.

Rogers is also known for being prolific in the duet field, having cut several duets with Parton, as well as Dottie West, Sheena Easton, Kim Carnes, and James Ingram. He is also one of the highest-selling male country artists.

* ToneShift: Kenny Rogers went from being a psychedelic rocker to a country singer.

* DeadlyEuphemism: In "The Gambler":
-->"And somewhere in the darkness/The gambler he broke even..."
** Unusual example in that the gambler died of natural causes.

* ShoutOut: To Music/TheByrds' "Eight Miles High" in "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)":
-->I tripped on a cloud and fell-a eight miles high...

-->Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare,\\
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere...

* FakeShemp: He did his retirement tour in 2017 with longtime friend Linda Davis (best known for her duet vocals on Music/RebaMcEntire's "Does He Love You", and as the mother of Music/LadyAntebellum's Hillary Scott) singing the female vocals on "We've Got Tonight", "Islands in the Stream", and "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (which originally featured Sheena Easton, Music/DollyParton, and Dottie West respectively). Averted with "All I Ever Need Is You", also a duet with West, which instead used archival footage of her (she died in 1991).

* YourCheatingHeart: "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" is about a paralyzed veteran lamenting that his woman is going out to party and cheat on him rather than be there for him.

An ace that I could keep.

--> ''And somewhere in the darkness\\The Gambler, he broke even\\And in his final words I found\\An ace that I could keep.

----

A very prominent CountryMusic singer known for his string of crossover pop ballads. Kenneth Ray Rogers (born August 21, 1938 - March 20, 2020) got his start in the 1960s folk group The New Christy Minstrels. By 1967, he was part of the rock group The First Edition, which had major pop hits with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town". Rogers broke off in 1975 to start his own career, launching it with a cover of the gospel standard "Love Lifted Me". It wasn't until two years later that he broke through, sending a string of singles to the top of the charts and achieving consistent pop and adult contemporary airplay for each. Among his hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s were "Lucille", "The Gambler", "She Believes in Me", "Coward of the County", "Lady", and "Islands in the Stream", a duet with Music/DollyParton. The last two have the distinction of being among the only songs to top the country, pop, and AC charts.

Kenny Rogers passed on March 20th, 2020, from natural causes.

Rogers is also known for being prolific in the duet field, having cut several duets with Parton, as well as Dottie West, Kim Carnes, and James Ingram. He is also one of the highest-selling male country artists.

A very prominent CountryMusic singer known for his string of crossover pop ballads. Kenneth Ray Rogers (born August 21, 1938) got his start in the 1960s folk group The New Christy Minstrels. By 1967, he was part of the rock group The First Edition, which had major pop hits with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town". Rogers broke off in 1975 to start his own career, launching it with a cover of the gospel standard "Love Lifted Me". It wasn't until two years later that he broke through, sending a string of singles to the top of the charts and achieving consistent pop and adult contemporary airplay for each. Among his hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s were "Lucille", "The Gambler", "She Believes in Me", "Coward of the County", "Lady", and "Islands in the Stream", a duet with Music/DollyParton. The last two have the distinction of being among the only songs to top the country, pop, and AC charts.

!!Rogers and his music provide example of:

* FakeShemp: He did his retirement tour in 2017 with longtime friend Linda Davis (best known for her duet vocals on Music/RebaMcEntire's "Does He Love You", and as the mother of Music/LadyAntebellum's Hillary Scott) singing the female vocals on "We've Got Tonight", "Islands in the Stream", and "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (which originally featured Sheena Easton, Music/DollyParton, and Dottie West respectively). He also sang "All I Ever Need Is You" with archival video footage of Dottie West, who died in 1991.

* HeavyMeta: "Sweet Music Man".

* MurderBallad: "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" and "Tomb of the Unknown Love". He also covered Leon Ashley's "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)", which is written ambiguously enough that it can be about either a murder or a suicide.
* NarratorAllAlong: "Buy Me a Rose". The song is about a man who doesn't pay enough attention to his wife. It's set in third person until the last verse, when it changes to first person for TheReveal.

* SpaceWestern: "Planet Texas".

* TheGamblingAddict: One of the leads in "The Gambler".

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Implied to have been delivered to the Gatlin boys by Tommy in "Coward of the County", as none of them are standing when he leaves.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: In "Coward of the County", Tommy puts up with disrespect from pretty much everyone in town except his loved ones, because he promised his dying father that he would "turn the other cheek" instead of escalating matters when confronted (implied to be what got his father in prison). But when three brothers known as the Gatlin boys gang-rape Tommy's girlfriend, he finally snaps and beats all three of them nearly to death.

* TakeThat: A debatable example in "Coward of the County". The antagonists are named the "Gatlin boys", which many have seen as a reference to Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers (the group best known for "All the Gold in California"). However, one of the writers denied that this was the case, and Larry himself enjoyed the song. In addition, the Gatlins sang backing vocals on several of Rogers' later releases, so it's clear that they had no animosity.

* TheGamblingAddict and ProfessionalGambler: One of the leads in "The Gambler".

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: In "Coward of the County", Tommy puts up with disrepect from pretty much everyone in town except loved ones, because he promised his dying father that he would "turn the other cheek" instead of escalating matters (implied to be what got his father in prison). But when three brothers known as the Gatlin boys gang-rape Tommy's girlfriend, he finally snaps and beats all three of them nearly to death.

-->Twenty years of brawl\\

He let 'em have it all
* OhCrap: In "Coward of the County", this sets in for the people in the bar after Tommy confronts the Gatlins.

When Tommy stopped to lock the door.

* RapeAsDrama: The Gatlin boys' gang-rape of Tommy's girlfriend in "Coward of the County" is what finally drives him to break his vow to his father.

* BSide: "Buried Treasure", the B-side of "This Woman", made #3 on the country charts in 1984. The A-side did not make the country charts, but got to #23 pop and #2 AC.

* TakeThat: A debatable example in "Coward of the County". The antagonists are named the "Gatlin boys", which many have seen as a reference to Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers (the group best known for "All the Gold in California"). However, one of the writers denied that this was the case, and Larry himself enjoyed the song.

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