Kenny Rogers became the first member of his family to graduate from high school. He took an interest in singing while quite young and as a teenager joined a doo-wop recording group who called themselves "The Scholars." At age 19, Kenny Rogers recorded "That Crazy Feeling" for a small Houston label, Carlton Records, and Kenny Rogers's career was off and running. Kenny joined the "New Christy Minstrels" in the mid-1960s, then splintered off with others in the popular group to form "The First Edition." Their first big soft-rock hit, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" hit #6 on the US charts, while later successes included "Something's Burning," "Just Dropped In," "Tell It All Brother" and "Reuben James." The husky-framed singer's ingratiating personality and sensual gravel tones soon took center stage and the group eventually renamed themselves "Kenny Rogers and the First Edition." They hosted a syndicated TV variety series from 1971 to 1973 called "Rollin' on the River" but the pressures of taping a weekly show caused extreme friction within the group and eventually took its toll.

After a couple of years of producing non-hit songs, the group disbanded in the mid-70s. Solo stardom seemed to be inevitable for Kenny Rogers and he began chalking up a string of country-tinged 'top 20' pop hits with "Lucille" (#5), "Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer" (#4, with Kim Carnes), "Through the Years" (#13), "We've Got Tonight" (#6, with Sheena Easton") and his two #1 hit sellers "Islands in the Stream" (with Dolly Parton) and "Lady." By the late 1970s he had sold over $100 million worth of records. The 1980s would tell a different story. Normally considered an easygoing talent, Kenny Rogers was unflatteringly dubbed the "overweight lightweight" by Rolling Stone Magazine, and the silvery-maned Kenny soon experienced a major slump. After charting lower and lower, Kenny Rogers wisely branched off into other successful areas. In 1980 he touched off a modest, but appealing acting career with the TV-movie "The Gambler," based on his 1979 song hit. This led to four equally popular sequels. Kenny Rogers also became a perennial star or co-star of TV seasonal specials. In addition, Kenny Rogers published several books on photography and opened a rotisserie-chicken fast-food franchise. Less and less visible in the ensuing years, Kenny Rogers produced the 1999 album "She Rides Wild Horses," which peaked at #6 on the country charts, his highest in 15 years, and included the #1 single "Buy Me a Rose." Spending a lot of time breeding Arabian horses and cattle on a 1,200-acre Georgia farm, Kenny's seems settled with fifth wife Wanda Miller, who he married in 1997. One of his sons, Kenny Rogers, Jr., once followed in his father's bootsteps, briefly launching his own singing career in 1989 with "Take Another Step Closer." He now is on the business end of entertainment providing music for TV and movies. Kenny's other two children are Carole and Christopher.