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Born in Texas, the fourth of eight children, singer Kenny Rogers grew up in a poor area of Houston where his father worked in a shipyard and his mother in a hospital. He 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 recorded "That Crazy Feeling" for a small Houston label, Carlton Records, and his 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" (1971) 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 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, he 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, he wisely branched off into other successful areas. In 1980, he touched off a modest, but appealing acting career with the TV-movie Kenny Rogers as The Gambler (1980) (TV), based on his 1979 song hit. This led to four equally popular sequels. He also became a perennial star or co-star of TV seasonal specials. In addition, he published several books on photography and opened a rotisserie-chicken fast-food franchise. Less and less visible in the ensuing years, Kenny 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 his fifth wife Wanda Miller, who he married in 1997. One of his sons, Kenny Rogers Jr., once followed in his father's boot steps, 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.

Worldwide success
His success is worldwide. He has played many well-attended concerts in Europe and the Far East, where he has charted numerous singles and albums from the 1970s through to the present day. New Zealand was a big stronghold during his First Edition days. Rogers 1985 greatest-hits package, The Kenny Rogers Story, reached #1 on the UK country chart and four years later (in 1989), was still at #2. He also charted internationally during that time with a series of studio albums.

In 1983, Rogers signed to RCA Records for a record breaking US$20 million advance. Although, following the success of his label debut, the Bee Gees produced Eyes That See in the Dark album, Rogers wasn't doing as well as in previous years. Nonetheless, he was still among the world's top stars. Between 1983 and 1990 alone he charted no less than 23 top 40 singles and 10 top 40 albums.

Although in the 1990s with the emergence of Garth Brooks, it was noted that this new talent was selling records like no one else had ever in country music, Rogers was nonetheless a dominant force in mainstream music and at his height, was charting singles (and albums) which were racing up the top 40 on the pop charts around the world, songs like "Lucille", "Coward of the County", "The Gambler" and "Lady" became favorites and have remained such, making Rogers one of the most popular entertainers on the touring circuit.

In India he was known as 'The Whistler'

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