0:00:15 > 0:00:21Las Vegas Spring 2014, and more than 50 years since he started out,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24country music legend Kenny Rogers is still on the road.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29# I wake up with this need again
0:00:29 > 0:00:33# But feel the love of the woman beside me... #
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Kenny Rogers' winning streak has netted an astonishing 120 million
0:00:39 > 0:00:45album sales worldwide and enough awards to fill the Grand Ol' Opry.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50# ..And listen to the rain fall on the roof... #
0:00:50 > 0:00:56Now 76, playing live is still where this American icon thrives.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00# Oh, I listen to her breathe and it makes me want to
0:01:00 > 0:01:04# Wake her up and tell her that I'm on fire... #
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Rogers' ear for a great song landed hits that broke down musical
0:01:07 > 0:01:10barriers and made him a global superstar.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14He's a full-on giver on stage,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17not to mention probably one of the greatest storytellers.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22There was no-one bigger in the music world in the 1980s.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27He was huge. I mean, he was a worldwide bona fide star.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Today Kenny's country music royalty,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33but an early brush with fame as an unlikely poster-boy
0:01:33 > 0:01:37for the psychedelic generation was a long way from Nashville.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41MUSIC PLAYS: Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In by The First Edition
0:01:41 > 0:01:46I did acid one time. I learned from that this is as far as I want to go.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Greater highs lay ahead,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51but the journey to the top almost ended before it began.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55He was a bit rudderless. He really didn't know what he was going to do.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58This course is yours for only 6.95 with the special TV offer.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01It was a gamble on a song that no-one else rated
0:02:01 > 0:02:05that eventually brought the 38-year-old Kenny Superstardom.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09# You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille. #
0:02:09 > 0:02:12The great thing about Kenny is he'll take a chance.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16I mean, he's had a career taking chances.
0:02:16 > 0:02:17I'm a gambler.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20MUSIC PLAYS: Lucille by Kenny Rogers
0:02:20 > 0:02:22By continuing to ride his luck,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25he's re-written the country music rule book.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27# Islands in the stream
0:02:27 > 0:02:29# That is what we are... #
0:02:29 > 0:02:30He's an amazing talent and a genius.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33You can't get any better than number one on the country charts
0:02:33 > 0:02:34and on the pop charts.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37# ..Sail away with me to another world... #
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Like the subject of a great country song,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44this is the story of a poor boy from Texas whose musical gambles
0:02:44 > 0:02:46took him to riches beyond his wildest dreams,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and whose unique voice
0:02:48 > 0:02:52has given us some of the most enduring sounds in pop history.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54CHEERING
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Ladies and gentlemen,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Kenny Rogers!
0:02:59 > 0:03:01My mom said it very well one day.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04She said, "That boy never worked a day in his life.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05"All he ever did was sing."
0:03:05 > 0:03:09CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:16 > 0:03:21Kenneth Ray Rogers was born in Houston Texas in 1939,
0:03:21 > 0:03:22the fourth of eight children
0:03:22 > 0:03:27born to hospital worker Lucille Lois and carpenter Edward Rogers,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30growing up in the poor San Felipe neighbourhood of the city.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35I was raised in the projects in Houston
0:03:35 > 0:03:38and, at the time, there were a lot of people in there,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40and it was really a great environment,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44because I had a hundred friends all within two blocks,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48and none of us had any money, but we didn't know the difference.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52You don't realise you don't have money until you see someone who does.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Kenny had grown up in abject poverty.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58You know, eight kids in one room at a time, a father who...
0:03:58 > 0:03:59I think Kenny told me
0:03:59 > 0:04:03the most he ever made in any one week was 65.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Living through depression-era America
0:04:05 > 0:04:09took its toll on Kenneth's father.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13He was an alcoholic and basically a very unhappy man,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17but music made him happy.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21When I was a young boy, we'd get into the back of the pick-up truck
0:04:21 > 0:04:23and we'd stand with our heads
0:04:23 > 0:04:26above the cab and the wind blowing in our hair,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28and we'd drive up to East Texas,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30where my grandfather and grandmother lived,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and my dad played fiddle,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35and all of his brothers and sisters played instruments,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and they played gospel music
0:04:37 > 0:04:40and all the kids would sit in the yard and listen.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42It just was a great feeling, you know,
0:04:42 > 0:04:47that moment of being there with your dad when he's doing something
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and seeing how much he loved it, and I loved that.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Despite the family's lack of money,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Kenny's childhood was rich in other ways.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01In the late '40s and early '50s,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04he would have been surrounded by a complete banquet
0:05:04 > 0:05:06of American music.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Houston was a huge blues town. Houston was a Hispanic town.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Houston was a country town.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Houston was a huge rock 'n' roll town.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14And that whole cauldron
0:05:14 > 0:05:18of American music was seething all around him.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20# Look out, baby I want to be your man
0:05:20 > 0:05:23# You got the kind of love that I understand
0:05:23 > 0:05:25# All right. #
0:05:25 > 0:05:27When I was about 12 or 13 years old,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31I went to see Ray Charles with my sister, Barbara.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33And I remember standing there and thinking
0:05:33 > 0:05:37"I mean, how cool is this? People laugh at everything he says.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41"They clap for everything he sings, and he's getting paid for it!"
0:05:41 > 0:05:45So Ray Charles was my inspiration to get into this business.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Motivated by the likes of Charles, Kenny's adolescence was soon
0:05:49 > 0:05:53revolving around music - singing in church choirs
0:05:53 > 0:05:55and the school glee club.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Next step was finding an instrument to play.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02There was a store downtown in Houston called H&H music
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and you could go in and you could
0:06:04 > 0:06:06pick a guitar off the shelf and see if you liked it,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and I would sit in there and every day at lunch
0:06:09 > 0:06:11guys who were much better players -
0:06:11 > 0:06:13"Hey, let me show you this chord."
0:06:13 > 0:06:15And that's how I learned to play.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Then when I got in high school,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20we would put a little group together called The Scholars.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23The whole idea was to go and play at all the high school proms,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25because someone told us
0:06:25 > 0:06:28that all the guys who sang in the groups got all of the girls.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29Wasn't necessarily true,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31but it was a good starting point.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34And we did some pretty cool stuff, and we cut some records.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39- # Beloved - Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
0:06:39 > 0:06:44- # My heart cries for you - Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh.- #
0:06:44 > 0:06:48The Scholars was where I first heard singing harmony,
0:06:48 > 0:06:49and I loved harmony.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51I never wanted to sing by myself.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53I never wanted to be a solo singer.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55I always wanted to sing harmony,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59because there's something that really ties you together.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Kenny is the harmony singer's harmony singer.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06If you're the lead vocal, he's going to shadow you like a dog.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08He is going to match you note for note,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11and he's going to hit every harmony note perfectly.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15# I never knew a kiss could thrill me so
0:07:15 > 0:07:18# She woke me up and baby now I know. #
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Kenny's time in the teenage band lasted little over a year,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25but he knew music was his future.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29# It's not just the way you say hello
0:07:29 > 0:07:33# Whenever we should meet... #
0:07:33 > 0:07:35In 1958, Kenny scored a minor hit
0:07:35 > 0:07:37with a song called "That Crazy Feeling".
0:07:39 > 0:07:43But his first stab at solo success was short-lived.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50I was singing songs for commercials, and then I met Bobby Doyle,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and this guy was blind, and he said,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54"I'm going to put together a jazz group.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57"And I'd like for you to come play bass with me."
0:07:57 > 0:07:59I said, "Well, Bobby, I don't even play bass."
0:07:59 > 0:08:01And he said, "I'll teach you how to play bass."
0:08:01 > 0:08:05# And if I want to sing throw my heart in the ring
0:08:05 > 0:08:08# It's a most unusual day
0:08:08 > 0:08:12# There are people meeting people
0:08:12 > 0:08:16# There is music everywhere
0:08:16 > 0:08:19# There are people greeting people
0:08:19 > 0:08:24# And a feeling's ringing in the air. #
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Joining the Bobby Doyle Three in 1959
0:08:27 > 0:08:30was a key step in Kenny's musical education.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33We did Broadway show songs.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36We did jazz, and it was very intricate stuff
0:08:36 > 0:08:40and he taught us all of this and we learned discipline through that.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42But, most importantly,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46it gave me an appreciation for other types of music.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49# Manic
0:08:49 > 0:08:50# Manic... #
0:08:50 > 0:08:54The debut Bobby Doyle Three album was released in 1962.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Although it failed to set the world alight,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59the group were in demand on the Houston live circuit.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04The Bobby Doyle Trio had tremendous impact on Kenny.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06He went on the road with them
0:09:06 > 0:09:10and he learned so much about the business at that point in time.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12We would rehearse seven or eight hours a day
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and then we would work seven or eight hours a night,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18so it was a full-time job.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25The trio also became a backing band for jazz singer Kirby Stone,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27who was instrumental in helping
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Kenny make his next musical leap forward.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Kirby called his friend who owned the New Christy Minstrels
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and said, "We have a guy that you should hire. He plays bass."
0:09:37 > 0:09:40And at the time, I could sing really high parts,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42and so I got on the telephone
0:09:42 > 0:09:48in a hotel lobby and auditioned for this part and they hired me.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51# I know where I'm going
0:09:51 > 0:09:55# And I know who's going with me... #
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Having passed his telephone audition,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02Kenny left Houston to join the LA-based New Christy Minstrels.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It was an interesting group for me, because I went from jazz,
0:10:05 > 0:10:10which was a very, very extreme form of music,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14to folk music, which was the ultimate in simplicity.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16# Green, green It's green they say
0:10:16 > 0:10:18# On the far side of the hill... #
0:10:18 > 0:10:20The Minstrels featured an
0:10:20 > 0:10:23ever-changing line-up of folk singers and musicians
0:10:23 > 0:10:26that included future stars Barry McGuire,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Gene Clarke of the Byrds and,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31when Kenny joined the band in 1966,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34a 20-year-old Kim Carnes.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38It was like school on the road.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41That's what it was, and I think everybody looked at it that way.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43It wasn't a for ever thing.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45# This land is your land
0:10:45 > 0:10:47# This land is my land... #
0:10:47 > 0:10:52I learned the beauty of a story song that had social significance.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55They did "Green, Green, This Land Is Your Land",
0:10:55 > 0:11:01and it was about songs with meaning other than just words.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05# As I went walking that ribbon of highway... #
0:11:05 > 0:11:08The Christys was a great learning curve,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12but their trad-folk sound was fast becoming out of date and in 1967,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Kenny and three fellow Minstrels
0:11:14 > 0:11:18took a gamble and formed their own band.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20# Reason
0:11:20 > 0:11:21# Got myself a reason
0:11:21 > 0:11:23# Reason
0:11:23 > 0:11:25# Got myself a reason
0:11:25 > 0:11:27# I used to walk the streets... #
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Hot off the press,
0:11:29 > 0:11:30The First Edition were snapped-up
0:11:30 > 0:11:32by Frank Sinatra's producer Jimmy Bowen.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36We left the Christys on a Friday,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38and went to Reprise Records on Monday,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and started an album a week later.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46Kenny grew a beard and swapped his upright bass for an electric.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Bob Dylan's former drummer Mickey Jones completed the line-up.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56The band were soon spotted by a man who was to become
0:11:56 > 0:11:59instrumental in shaping Kenny's future career.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I was producing a number one television show in America
0:12:03 > 0:12:06called the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and a lawyer who represented the Smothers kept calling me
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and saying, "There is a group appearing at this club.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14"You've got to go see them."
0:12:15 > 0:12:21- # It's not love at all but just practice for you.- #
0:12:21 > 0:12:24The lead in that group was a girl named Thelma Camacho
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and she was this gorgeous young woman that all the guys watching
0:12:28 > 0:12:32fell in love with, and she was the focal point along with a kid named
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Terry Williams, and Kenny just was the bass player.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37But I was knocked out by the group.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39And the next thing we knew we put them on the show,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41and we started managing them.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43With manager Ken Kraken's connections
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and their regular appearances on TV,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49the First Edition began to make waves.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51But the band needed a hit.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Kenny remembered a song that had been offered
0:12:53 > 0:12:56to the New Christy Minstrels.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58"Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In"
0:12:58 > 0:13:00had been too way out for them,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03but it felt perfect for his groovy new band.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I had no idea what it meant, but I knew it was weird enough
0:13:08 > 0:13:12to be successful, and I said, "I really want to do that."
0:13:13 > 0:13:16The record company gathered together a dream team to look after
0:13:16 > 0:13:20the band in the studio that included producer Mike Post
0:13:20 > 0:13:24and highly sought after session musician Glen Campbell.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Glen Campbell played a little lick
0:13:27 > 0:13:30and Mike Post was rewinding the tape,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33and he said, "Oh, I like it better that way,"
0:13:33 > 0:13:37so he played on and played the thing Glen played backwards.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39That's why it goes wah-wah-wah-wah.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41It was so ahead of its time
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and the subject matter was so 60s
0:13:43 > 0:13:46that everybody related to it.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50# Yeah, yeah, oh, yeah
0:13:50 > 0:13:55# What condition my condition was in
0:13:56 > 0:14:02# I woke up this morning with the sundown shining in... #
0:14:02 > 0:14:04With Kenny on lead vocals,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07his wager on the psychedelic song proved well-placed.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10It wryly reflected the hippy hedonism of the era
0:14:10 > 0:14:15and gave the band their first Top Ten Hit.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19It's an illustration of how Kenny would tap into the times,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22would tap into the zeitgeist of what
0:14:22 > 0:14:26particularly the young people at the time were thinking about.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29The song provides a flashback to Kenny's own brief flirtation
0:14:29 > 0:14:32with psychedelic substances.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37I did acid one-time and the first eight hours was phenomenal.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Then the second eight hours, you know, it was a little iffy
0:14:40 > 0:14:42and the third eight hours scared me to death.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46I mean, I learned from that, this is as far as I want to go.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51"Just Dropped In" found a new generation of fans,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53thanks to this Busby Berkley-inspired dream
0:14:53 > 0:14:58sequence from the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00# I couldn't unwind
0:15:00 > 0:15:03# I saw so much
0:15:03 > 0:15:05# I broke my mind
0:15:05 > 0:15:08# I just dropped in to see what condition... #
0:15:08 > 0:15:13It was a fun song, it got tremendous recognition for the group.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15And you still hear it to this day.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25The challenge now was how to follow Just Dropped In's success.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27They were struggling to complete their third LP -
0:15:27 > 0:15:29First Edition 69 -
0:15:29 > 0:15:33but Kenny's ear for a great song came to the rescue yet again
0:15:33 > 0:15:36with the idea to record one of their live favourites.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Kenneth piped up and he said, "You know,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43"we do a song in the show
0:15:43 > 0:15:45"that is huge.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47"It's a smash.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48"Every time we do it...
0:15:48 > 0:15:52"It's called Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town."
0:15:52 > 0:15:54# You've painted up your lips
0:15:54 > 0:15:56# And rolled and curled your tinted hair... #
0:15:56 > 0:15:59I went in and told the band what to do and I said,
0:15:59 > 0:16:00"Let's do it this way,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03"and we're going to sing it. We did it in 20 minutes."
0:16:03 > 0:16:07# ..Ruby, are you contemplating going out somewhere... #
0:16:07 > 0:16:10A world away from mind-bending psychedelia,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town
0:16:12 > 0:16:14told the tale of a paralysed Korean War veteran,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17agonising over his wife's infidelity.
0:16:17 > 0:16:24# ..Oh, Ruby...
0:16:24 > 0:16:27# Don't take your love to town... #
0:16:27 > 0:16:30It was a bold song to record at a time
0:16:30 > 0:16:33when the US involvement in Vietnam was dividing the nation.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Producer Jimmy Bowen had his doubts.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40He said, "You'll never get that played on the radio."
0:16:40 > 0:16:43I said, "Jimmy, if we do, it's going to be a huge record."
0:16:43 > 0:16:46When DJs started playing the track, the label conceded
0:16:46 > 0:16:48and released it as a single,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51along with an amendment to the band's name.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Ruby went through the roof, and that's what led to
0:16:54 > 0:16:58it ultimately becoming Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01With over a million sales by the end of 1970, the song's success
0:17:01 > 0:17:04made international stars of the First Edition
0:17:04 > 0:17:07and gave them with their first UK top 10 hit,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10while cementing Kenny's position as frontman.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Jimmy said, "Well, we can't get away from that,"
0:17:13 > 0:17:16so everything was called Kenny Rogers and the First Edition,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18not because I wanted it
0:17:18 > 0:17:20but that was the business.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Over the years, Ruby became a signature song for Kenny
0:17:24 > 0:17:26that he still does to this day in concert.
0:17:26 > 0:17:32# ..Ruby... #
0:17:32 > 0:17:35That kind of song never goes out of fashion.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38People love soap operas.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42They love stories. They love drama.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45So it was very shrewdly chosen by Kenny.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52I've always loved making a statement with the songs you do,
0:17:52 > 0:17:56because they're the ones that resonate the most, you know?
0:17:57 > 0:18:04# You lie in gentle sleep beside me... #
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Released in 1970, the single Something's Burning
0:18:08 > 0:18:12was another statement that almost proved too much for some.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16# ..Your warm and rhythmic breathing... #
0:18:16 > 0:18:19When the song was released, I must have gone to 30 radio stations
0:18:19 > 0:18:23and they said, "Well, we think it's a beautiful record
0:18:23 > 0:18:27"but it's a little too sexual for our radio station,"
0:18:27 > 0:18:30and I never heard a song called that before.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So I said, "OK." So they said no, they said no, they said no,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36and so then I flew to London,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38I did the Tom Jones television show,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42which aired in the United States and by the time I got back,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46all those same stations were playing Something Burning.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47# Feel it
0:18:47 > 0:18:49# Feel it
0:18:51 > 0:18:53# Fire
0:18:53 > 0:18:55# Fire
0:18:55 > 0:18:57# Something's burning
0:18:57 > 0:18:59# Something's burning
0:18:59 > 0:19:03# Something's burning
0:19:03 > 0:19:07# And I think it's love...
0:19:08 > 0:19:11# And I think it's love... #
0:19:11 > 0:19:13He had a feel for a hit song.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15He had great ears for a hit song.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17That is a talent unto itself,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19because there's a lot of great artists out there
0:19:19 > 0:19:21that come up with a lot of shit songs
0:19:21 > 0:19:24because they wouldn't know a hit song if it hit them in the face.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26A worldwide success,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28the song reached number eight in the UK charts
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and earned the band a spot on Top Of The Pops.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Kenny Rogers and the First Edition seemed destined for great things.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38# Day after day things kept going our way
0:19:38 > 0:19:42# And your song kept getting stronger... #
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Here we go.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46But Something's Burning marked the peak of their fame
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and was the last time one of their singles would chart
0:19:49 > 0:19:51so high in their native country.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55With record sales in steep decline,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59it seemed the First Edition had become yesterday's news.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05The band played their last gigs in Reno in the autumn of 1975.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09The night that we broke up, it was dead silence
0:20:09 > 0:20:11between all of us.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14And the next morning,
0:20:14 > 0:20:15we all went to the airport
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and nobody spoke to anybody.
0:20:18 > 0:20:25It was the most heartbreaking thing of my life.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28It absolutely killed me.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32The First Edition broke up around me.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33I never wanted to leave.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37They just finally said, "We can't do this any more."
0:20:37 > 0:20:39So I said, "Well, OK, what do I do now?"
0:20:39 > 0:20:42# Don't look so sad
0:20:44 > 0:20:47# I know it's over... #
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The break-up mirrored a crisis in Kenny's personal life.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56His drive to succeed had already led to the failure of two marriages
0:20:56 > 0:20:59and a costly divorce with his third wife was looming.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02When his father died that same year,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Kenny found himself in a dark place.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Kenny was somewhat lost.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11He was wandering in the wilderness, as it were.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14This course is yours for only 6.95 through this special TV offer.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17With debts mounting, Kenny was forced to take any work
0:21:17 > 0:21:19that was on offer.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Fun strumming.
0:21:22 > 0:21:23Home guitar course.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Still hungry to succeed in the music business,
0:21:27 > 0:21:3137-year-old Rogers took what seemed like one last roll of the dice.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33With the exception of Just Dropped In,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37everything we did was really country influenced.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39The only reference I had
0:21:39 > 0:21:42was that I had had some success in country music.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45# Six foot six he stood on the ground
0:21:45 > 0:21:48# He weighed 235 pounds
0:21:48 > 0:21:51# But I saw that giant of a man
0:21:51 > 0:21:54# Brought down to his knees by love... #
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Hoping to build on past success,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Kenny headed for the epicentre of country music - Nashville.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04# ..Look you in the eye and never back up... #
0:22:04 > 0:22:06It was there he met Larry Butler,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09producer of some of Johnny Cash's biggest hits
0:22:09 > 0:22:12and head of United Artists' Nashville division.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16He really believed in me.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19I was 37 years old when I signed a country music record deal
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and the president of the company said,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25"We don't hire people, we don't sign people that old."
0:22:25 > 0:22:29He said, "You signed who?" I said, "I signed Kenny Rogers."
0:22:29 > 0:22:32And he said, "Why? His career is over.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35"He's had a great run but it's over."
0:22:35 > 0:22:37I said, "No, I think it's just beginning.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40"With what I have in mind for him, this will be a whole new career."
0:22:40 > 0:22:43# I'll write myself a simple song
0:22:43 > 0:22:46# Get the whole world to sing along
0:22:46 > 0:22:48# I'll call it... #
0:22:48 > 0:22:51With Larry's strong musical direction,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54they set about recording songs for a new album at a frantic pace.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59Country artists would go in and do a whole album in two or three days.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01I mean, literally. Kenny did it.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03It was just crazy.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06But Larry had that kind of energy, and so did I.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12# ..I'll just sing love lifted me... #
0:23:12 > 0:23:17Despite their efforts, Kenny's first solo album sold poorly.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23The record company, who'd needed convincing before signing Kenny,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25weren't keen on a second album.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Kenny and Larry needed to find that elusive hit.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32They were fighting about it. "What are you doing?"
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Larry said, "Just let me do this.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38He would go find songs and bring them back to me.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41One of those songs was written by Hal Bynum.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46It was the last session and Kenny said,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49"Let's do that little beer-drinking song."
0:23:49 > 0:23:50So they did.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53# In a bar in Toledo
0:23:53 > 0:23:56# Across from the depot
0:23:56 > 0:23:59# On a bar stool she took off her ring... #
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Kenny sent me the songs that he'd recorded down there
0:24:02 > 0:24:05so we all sat down to listen to them and all of a sudden
0:24:05 > 0:24:07this song Lucille comes on.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09And we start laughing
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and we cannot believe this song.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14I said, "This is either the biggest hit or the biggest dud
0:24:14 > 0:24:17"you've ever seen, but one thing for sure,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20"people are going to talk about it," and we went to the record company
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and said, "You gotta release Lucille," and they said,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26"No, we're releasing..." some other song that never went anywhere,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28and Lucille ended up being a third release,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31and it was the one that really took off.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36# ..You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille
0:24:36 > 0:24:40# With four hungry children and a crop in the field... #
0:24:40 > 0:24:43It's got all the elements of a country hit.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45It touched all the nerves
0:24:45 > 0:24:46and it was simple and easy to follow
0:24:46 > 0:24:49and he delivered it just right.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51You couldn't hold that song back.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53The surprising thing about Lucille
0:24:53 > 0:24:55is not that it was a country hit,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58but that it was a pop hit
0:24:58 > 0:25:01and, furthermore, an international hit.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04It hit with a typhoon force. It was omnipresent.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06# ..After he left us I ordered more whisky
0:25:06 > 0:25:09# I thought how she'd made him look small
0:25:09 > 0:25:12# From the lights of the bar room... #
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Lucille reached number one in 12 countries in 1977,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19selling over five million copies worldwide.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22It remains one of Kenny's most popular hits.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25I still contend that if you start off with great songs,
0:25:25 > 0:25:26you've got to screw them up.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29And I tried hard not to screw them up.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Everybody in the back, you picked a fine time, really loud now.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35# You picked a fine time to leave me... #
0:25:35 > 0:25:37One last time, here we go.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41# ..You picked a fine time... #
0:25:41 > 0:25:44But there was one person who wasn't too happy about the song -
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Kenny's Mum.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Her name was Lucille, and she said,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52"I can't believe you would write a song about me and the family."
0:25:52 > 0:25:54First of all, I didn't write the song,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and secondly, it's not about you. And she was kind of hurt by that
0:25:58 > 0:26:01but I said, "Think about it. First of all, you have eight kids.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02"Why would I say four?"
0:26:02 > 0:26:05And so she got to where she was OK with it
0:26:05 > 0:26:08but she did not like it at first.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11# ..I've had some bad times
0:26:11 > 0:26:13# Lived through some sad times
0:26:13 > 0:26:18# This time your hurting won't heal... #
0:26:18 > 0:26:2118 months after nearly cashing in his chips,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Lucille gave Kenny credibility with Nashville's country music fraternity
0:26:25 > 0:26:28and a strong musical direction to follow.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31It grounded me.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Instead of flying all over the handle and doing all types of music,
0:26:35 > 0:26:40it kind of grounded me and gave me a base I could count on.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Once we found Lucille,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45that just busted everything wide open.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Then everything we touched was gold.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51# Doctor, can you find the cure?
0:26:51 > 0:26:55# Tell me, are you really sure? #
0:26:55 > 0:27:01With the success of Lucille, bookings began to flood in.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04We went from playing lounges in small places
0:27:04 > 0:27:06to 7,000- to 8,000-seat arenas,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I mean literally, it seemed, overnight.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Add water and, pff, here comes a career, like that.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I think it was a big adjustment for him.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21All of a sudden, he's got three security guards
0:27:21 > 0:27:23getting him too and from the places,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25he's got his own plane to fly around in, you know?
0:27:25 > 0:27:29And it was very, very fast.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33# Falling in love... #
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Kenny's career AND personal life were well and truly on the up.
0:27:37 > 0:27:43In October 1977, he married his fourth wife, Marianne.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49By 1978, Kenny's growing popularity meant that he was
0:27:49 > 0:27:51a magnet for songwriters.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55We all wanted a Kenny Rogers record.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00But since I'd grown up listening to Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03I'd heard the man's ability to tell a story,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and The Gambler, it was a Kenny Rogers song.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08It was a story that he could tell.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Kenny and Larry Butler made some changes.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15There was a wonderful guitar intro that was not mine.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19You hear the first notes and you know what song it's going to be.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21# On a warm summer's evening
0:28:21 > 0:28:24# On a train bound for nowhere
0:28:24 > 0:28:26# I met up with a gambler
0:28:26 > 0:28:29# We were both too tired to sleep... #
0:28:29 > 0:28:31It's hard to believe now,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35but at the time the odds were against The Gambler being a hit.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38# ..Boredom overtook us... #
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Previously recorded by Bobby Bare and Johnny Cash,
0:28:41 > 0:28:44neither version had made an impact.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46It didn't matter to him that it had been cut before
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and hadn't succeeded. He knew a good song.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50That's his genius.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55The Gambler, to me, is THE perfect country song.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58It starts in a little place and it sucks the listener in,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01you can't wait to hear what's going to happen next.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04# .. You've got to know when to hold 'em
0:29:04 > 0:29:07# Know when to fold 'em
0:29:07 > 0:29:10# Know when to walk away
0:29:10 > 0:29:12# And know when to run
0:29:12 > 0:29:15# You never count your money
0:29:15 > 0:29:17# When you're sitting at the table
0:29:17 > 0:29:20# There'll be time enough for counting
0:29:20 > 0:29:23# When the dealing's done... #
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em -
0:29:25 > 0:29:27those two lines right there
0:29:27 > 0:29:30probably quoted more than any country song in history.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33It's brilliantly crafted and made him a persona.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36It's like, "Oh, that grey-beard guy with the raspy voice?
0:29:36 > 0:29:38"He's The Gambler."
0:29:38 > 0:29:41You might not know his name but you know he's The Gambler.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44# ..The gambler, he broke even
0:29:44 > 0:29:46# But in his final words
0:29:46 > 0:29:49# I found an ace that I could keep... #
0:29:49 > 0:29:51With the success of The Gambler,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53it appeared Kenny had played his trump card,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57but the artwork for the accompanying album led to Kenny's career
0:29:57 > 0:30:00taking a surprising new direction.
0:30:00 > 0:30:01It was a terrific picture,
0:30:01 > 0:30:07and I had a huge poster of it made, like a movie-sized poster, you know?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10And he walked up to the heads of... I guess it was CBS,
0:30:10 > 0:30:11he walked on by and he said...
0:30:11 > 0:30:13"I want to make a Movie of the Week."
0:30:13 > 0:30:15And they looked at the picture,
0:30:15 > 0:30:17and they went, "Sold."
0:30:18 > 0:30:20# On a warm summer's evening... #
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Inspired by the character in the song,
0:30:22 > 0:30:27The Gambler TV movie starred Kenny in the lead role of Brady Hawkes.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29'He was not an action hero.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32'He had a limp, he walked with a cane.'
0:30:32 > 0:30:34He had some bumps on him, you know,
0:30:34 > 0:30:35which was great for Kenny.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38SLURRED: Would you like to have a drink?
0:30:40 > 0:30:42YELLING
0:30:46 > 0:30:47That's an ugly beard.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Would you like me to part it for you real neatly
0:30:50 > 0:30:51with this little derringer?
0:30:51 > 0:30:54'He was a reluctant hero, you know?'
0:30:54 > 0:30:55He could do it if he had to,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59but he'd just as soon turn the corner and get away from it.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Just leave me alone, Mr Stobridge.
0:31:02 > 0:31:03I still insist.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08'He's the personality of Kenny Rogers'
0:31:08 > 0:31:11brought to a character back in the 1800s in the West.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14'I'm really good at being myself'
0:31:14 > 0:31:16in different clothes. That's all I can do.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22CRASHING
0:31:24 > 0:31:26GUNSHOTS
0:31:26 > 0:31:29'I mean, I was in good physical shape at the time,
0:31:29 > 0:31:33'and I did a lot of my own stunts. It was a moment in time,'
0:31:33 > 0:31:38and we were just capitalising on everything that came about.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44'I remember getting those phone calls after the ratings came in,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48'and Ken Kragen, who's a very enthusiastic guy to begin with,'
0:31:48 > 0:31:51had a lot to be enthusiastic about. It was through the roof.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57'The highest-rated TV movie of all time, at that point.'
0:31:58 > 0:32:01'Broke every record, had a share that,'
0:32:01 > 0:32:04you know, the Super Bowl gets nowadays.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06GUNSHOT
0:32:06 > 0:32:07MUSIC STARTS
0:32:07 > 0:32:09THEY LAUGH
0:32:09 > 0:32:11The Gambler movie was watched by
0:32:11 > 0:32:14more than half of all TV viewers in America.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Kenny Rogers cleaned up.
0:32:17 > 0:32:18I'm a gambler.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22He became a regular fixture on US TV,
0:32:22 > 0:32:26with a series of sequels and spin-offs over the next two decades.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30# Everyone considered him
0:32:30 > 0:32:32# The coward of the county
0:32:34 > 0:32:36# He'd never stood one single time
0:32:36 > 0:32:39# To prove the county wrong... #
0:32:39 > 0:32:43'We would pile success and activity on top of activity.'
0:32:43 > 0:32:46We were creating momentum that just carried us right through to
0:32:46 > 0:32:49the next project, the next record, the next movie, whatever.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Kenny's 1980 LP Gideon was another bold move.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58He approached his old friend from the New Christy Minstrels Kim Carnes
0:32:58 > 0:33:03and her husband David Ellingson to write and produce a concept album
0:33:03 > 0:33:06about a cowboy looking back on his life.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10# Excuse me, ma'am I'd like your daughter's hand
0:33:10 > 0:33:11# For the evenin'... #
0:33:11 > 0:33:13'This was just...'
0:33:13 > 0:33:17"Wow." He's so huge as an artist,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and the fact that we had the opportunity to write ten songs
0:33:20 > 0:33:22was just phenomenal.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24# ..used to be my neighbour
0:33:24 > 0:33:26# And he'd never slept a day in his life... #
0:33:26 > 0:33:28'His voice and his phrasing'
0:33:28 > 0:33:32was the inspiration for how we wrote every song.
0:33:32 > 0:33:38I had to hear him singing it to know, how would he phrase this?
0:33:38 > 0:33:39What would he say?
0:33:39 > 0:33:44# Don't fall in love with a dreamer... #
0:33:44 > 0:33:46The song Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer
0:33:46 > 0:33:50features Kenny's unique vocal style in a duet with Kim.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52# ..just when you think... #
0:33:52 > 0:33:55'I had to up my game, because I'm singing with Kenny,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57'I don't want to screw up!'
0:33:57 > 0:34:00What you get doing that live is the adrenaline.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03And I can hear the adrenaline in our vocals to this day.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07# Don't fall in love
0:34:07 > 0:34:10# With a dreamer
0:34:10 > 0:34:17# Cos he'll break you every time
0:34:17 > 0:34:20# Oh, no, no
0:34:20 > 0:34:23# Just hold on
0:34:23 > 0:34:28# Before we say goodbye. #
0:34:28 > 0:34:30'Kim and I sound good together'
0:34:30 > 0:34:32cos we sound like we're haemorrhaging.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Both of us were just full-out.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36I don't like that description!
0:34:40 > 0:34:43'He's definitely got a really distinctive voice.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47'You hear him on the radio and there's no mistaking who it is.'
0:34:47 > 0:34:51# And if you knew what I was thinkin', girl
0:34:51 > 0:34:53# I'd turn around now... #
0:34:53 > 0:34:56'It is an astounding instrument.'
0:34:56 > 0:35:01It has all of that furry, rough, gruff quality,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04and yet it has enormous range.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09# Don't fall in love with a dreamer... #
0:35:09 > 0:35:11'There's something very special'
0:35:11 > 0:35:14about that voice, and that's what's made him a superstar.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17'What really set his career off was this thing where'
0:35:17 > 0:35:20his voice would go huh-huh-huh-huh-huh.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24And I don't know how he got that, or learned it, or why he did it.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27'It became like a trademark for him, you know?'
0:35:27 > 0:35:32# Good-bye-y-y-y-y-y-y. #
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Their gravelly-voiced duet went top ten
0:35:35 > 0:35:37in the US Billboard and Country charts.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42But as a new decade dawned, Kenny was beginning to feel constrained
0:35:42 > 0:35:44by his country-oriented repertoire.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48He now took the biggest gamble of his musical career.
0:35:48 > 0:35:49'The problem was,'
0:35:49 > 0:35:53Larry and I were cutting the same songs over again,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55just new titles.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59And I wanted to kind of step out. I remembered the Ray Charles album
0:35:59 > 0:36:02where he sang country songs R&B,
0:36:02 > 0:36:06and I said, "What if I take R&B songs and sing 'em country?"
0:36:06 > 0:36:09So that's when I called Lionel,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12and I said, "Lionel, I'd love for you to write me a song.'
0:36:12 > 0:36:18# Sail on, honey... #
0:36:18 > 0:36:20Lionel Richie was songwriter and frontman
0:36:20 > 0:36:22with the funk-soul band The Commodores,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25but for a country singer like Kenny,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27working with a soul star like Lionel had its risks.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Lionel presented him with the bare bones of a new tune.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36'The Commodores, you don't finish the song,
0:36:36 > 0:36:38'because, you know, you bring in'
0:36:38 > 0:36:41ten songs, you go "da da da" - "No, next."
0:36:41 > 0:36:42"Da da da..." "Next."
0:36:42 > 0:36:44So you don't finish it,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46otherwise you just wasted a lot of time
0:36:46 > 0:36:48writing a song they're going to throw away.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50So he comes over and I was backstage,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53I was working at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55And he sits down and he had a little upright piano.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57And he plays, # Lady...
0:36:57 > 0:37:00# I'm your knight in shining armour and I love you
0:37:00 > 0:37:03# Ba ba ba ba ba ba
0:37:03 > 0:37:04# Ba ba ba... #
0:37:04 > 0:37:06"Do you like that song?"
0:37:06 > 0:37:09I said, "Actually, I like it, I like the way it sounds."
0:37:09 > 0:37:11So he went back home and he wrote the first verse.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14# Lady
0:37:15 > 0:37:19# I'm your knight in shining armour
0:37:19 > 0:37:21# And I love you
0:37:22 > 0:37:25# You have made me what I am
0:37:25 > 0:37:30# And I am yours... #
0:37:30 > 0:37:32With Kenny's seal of approval,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35they recorded the song a week later at his LA studio.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38# My love
0:37:38 > 0:37:42# There's so many ways I want to say
0:37:42 > 0:37:44# I love you... #
0:37:44 > 0:37:45'I'm singing the first verse'
0:37:45 > 0:37:48and I realise there is no second verse!
0:37:48 > 0:37:52So I turned to some people and I said, "Where's Lionel?"
0:37:52 > 0:37:55I went to the bathroom to finish the second verse.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Cos I didn't have it!
0:37:57 > 0:37:59He has to have that kind of pressure.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01He has to do it now, or it doesn't work.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04It's all true. I would love to tell you...
0:38:04 > 0:38:08I didn't go TO the bathroom, I went to the bathroom.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11To write the second verse to the song.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14# Lady
0:38:14 > 0:38:17# For so many years I thought
0:38:17 > 0:38:20# I'd never find you... #
0:38:20 > 0:38:22The session resulted in both of them
0:38:22 > 0:38:25learning different ways of doing things.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28'Kenny was used to going and doing an album in three or four days.'
0:38:28 > 0:38:31With Lionel, he would sing a note
0:38:31 > 0:38:34and he'd stop you and say, "Let's redo that note."
0:38:34 > 0:38:35I did it the Commodore way.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38"OK, Kenny, you were a little sharp on that. Start again.
0:38:38 > 0:38:39Kenny couldn't believe it.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42I mean, it was not the way Kenny was used to recording.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44It was a whole different approach.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46He said, "What are you stopping for?"
0:38:46 > 0:38:48I said, "Your voice is cracking."
0:38:48 > 0:38:51He said, "No, no, no, no. I'm trying to crack."
0:38:51 > 0:38:53I said, "Explain that to me."
0:38:53 > 0:38:57He said, "Lionel, in the pop world, the righter the note,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00"the righter it is. In country music,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03"the note that's wrong is the right note.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05"Why? Because it's believable."
0:39:05 > 0:39:08"Thank you, Kenny, and let's go back and finish the song."
0:39:08 > 0:39:11# In my eyes
0:39:12 > 0:39:16# I see no-one else but you
0:39:17 > 0:39:22# There's no other love like our love
0:39:23 > 0:39:26# And yeah... #
0:39:26 > 0:39:29'The marriage was perfect between artist and song.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33'There's a vulnerable side to KR'
0:39:33 > 0:39:37that comes out in that song.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Here's a guy who wanted to surrender to the love of his life.
0:39:40 > 0:39:41It was magical.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44# Lady... #
0:39:44 > 0:39:46But would Kenny's punt on a soulful love song
0:39:46 > 0:39:50alienate an audience he'd worked hard to establish?
0:39:50 > 0:39:52# ..Only love I need... #
0:39:52 > 0:39:55The tricky part was, how were the country people
0:39:55 > 0:39:56going to feel about it?
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Because they were quite uppity about what's country and what isn't.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04You were either country or you were pop or you were a rock band.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07He took some blows with that, because it became,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09"Well, Kenny's not quite country."
0:40:09 > 0:40:12# Cos my love... #
0:40:12 > 0:40:15'It was a bit of a risk to do it,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18'but my goal was to get a bigger audience'
0:40:18 > 0:40:23and do something that I felt more qualified to do than other people,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25because I'd come through the Bobby Doyle era
0:40:25 > 0:40:28and the folk stuff in the first edition.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30'It wasn't out of my comfort zone.'
0:40:30 > 0:40:33# You're my lady... #
0:40:33 > 0:40:36He's one of the few artists that can pull that off.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Usually your audience won't let you do it as an artist.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43But for some reason, people just followed him.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47The end result was a huge, huge hit record in all genres,
0:40:47 > 0:40:51not just R & B, it was a hit record in every area.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53To this day, really, one of the biggest of all
0:40:53 > 0:40:55Kenny Rogers' records ever.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Kenny and Lionel had created a monster crossover hit
0:41:00 > 0:41:02that scored big around the world.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05# I'm your knight in shining armour
0:41:05 > 0:41:07# And I love you... #
0:41:08 > 0:41:11The song appeared on Kenny's 1980 Greatest Hits album,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14helping it sell over 12 million copies in the US alone.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18He could pull any arena he wanted to go to -
0:41:18 > 0:41:21going to go to Denver today, San Antonio tomorrow.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Find a venue and then they would take the show,
0:41:23 > 0:41:25because everybody knew it was going to be a sell-out.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Seats were selling out in four hours.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31It was really a good time for him touring wise and everything.
0:41:31 > 0:41:32# Show me a bar
0:41:32 > 0:41:35# With a good-looking woman
0:41:35 > 0:41:37# Then just get out of my way... #
0:41:37 > 0:41:40'We did some of the most incredible production.'
0:41:40 > 0:41:41I just loved it.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44It was one of those things that we couldn't do
0:41:44 > 0:41:45anything wrong at the time.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51The period saw Kenny enter the celebrity stratosphere,
0:41:51 > 0:41:53living the good life with Marianne
0:41:53 > 0:41:56in their 13 million Bel-Air mansion.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Less than five years earlier, he'd been virtually bankrupt.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09He was an American icon at that point. There was no-one bigger.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Black people, White people, everybody knew him.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17He was huge. He was a worldwide bonafide star.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21That was really the prime of my career.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24It just catapulted me to a whole different stage.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Kenny's hold on his audience now extended way beyond country pop,
0:42:32 > 0:42:37and in 1983 he moved in a soft rock direction.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Kenny had this great idea to cover the Bob Seger song
0:42:41 > 0:42:43We've Got Tonight.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Then he had another brilliant idea
0:42:45 > 0:42:48to get probably one of the hottest girls at the time in the business
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Sheena Easton and put the two of them together.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53# I've been so lonely... #
0:42:53 > 0:42:57Sheena had shot to fame after winning a BBC TV talent competition
0:42:57 > 0:43:00and had recorded the Bond theme For Your Eyes Only.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04# I've longed for love... #
0:43:04 > 0:43:07I loved working with Sheena Easton, but, you know,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10when you sing duets with people, you start with the song.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13'Then you say, "Who could do this well?"'
0:43:13 > 0:43:17I think that's what I've been best at - picking partners.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20# So there it is, girl... #
0:43:20 > 0:43:22He really new knew how to craft duets.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24I would say now, after all the duets I've written in my life,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26I go back to that moment.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29It was a great learning moment for me.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32I was so mesmerised by his talent.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36BOTH: # We've got tonight
0:43:36 > 0:43:40# Who needs tomorrow?
0:43:40 > 0:43:42# We've got tonight, babe... #
0:43:42 > 0:43:45We've Got Tonight gave Kenny and Sheena
0:43:45 > 0:43:48a worldwide hit single in 1983.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:43:57 > 0:44:00That same year he began working on a new album
0:44:00 > 0:44:03written and produced by Bee Gee Barry Gibb.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06On it was a tricky song called Islands In The Stream.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09What makes his music so contagious -
0:44:09 > 0:44:12everything is written on the upbeat instead of the downbeat.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14# Baby, when I met... #
0:44:14 > 0:44:17And you go, "Oh, my God." It took me for ever to learn that.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22So we go in the studio and I'd sing Islands In The Stream for four days.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25I finally said, "Barry, I don't even like this song anymore."
0:44:25 > 0:44:28He said, "You know what we need? We need Dolly Parton."
0:44:28 > 0:44:31I had met Dolly, but I didn't really know her.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34My manager says, "I just saw her downstairs." I said,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38"Well, go get her." She came in there, that song was never the same
0:44:38 > 0:44:40once she started singing it.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42# No more will you cry
0:44:42 > 0:44:45# Baby, I will hurt you never
0:44:45 > 0:44:47BOTH: # We start and end as one
0:44:47 > 0:44:49# In love for ever
0:44:49 > 0:44:53# We can ride it together Ah-hah
0:44:53 > 0:44:57# Making love with each other Ah-hah
0:44:57 > 0:44:59# Islands in the stream
0:44:59 > 0:45:02# That is what we are
0:45:02 > 0:45:03# No-one in... #
0:45:03 > 0:45:04Excuse me, Kenny.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06# How can we be wrong?
0:45:06 > 0:45:08# Sail away with me
0:45:08 > 0:45:11# To another world
0:45:11 > 0:45:15# And we rely on each other Ah-hah
0:45:15 > 0:45:20# From one lover to another Ah-hah... #
0:45:20 > 0:45:24I think Islands In The Stream is one of the most brilliant records ever.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26There's a hook and then there's another hook.
0:45:26 > 0:45:27So just when you think...
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Cos you can sing along with the pre-hook, cos it sounds like a hook,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33then it goes into the hook and it's even better than the pre-hook.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Islands In The Stream is a great, great record.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41It's a magic moment in pop music.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43A perfectly crafted duet.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46Kenny and Dolly together are electrifying.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48BOTH: # Sail away with me
0:45:48 > 0:45:50# To another world... #
0:45:50 > 0:45:51As great a singer as he is,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55there's nothing like another great singer to make you really great.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58'I think everybody sings better on duets.'
0:45:58 > 0:46:02You know, I'll sing something and Dolly or Dotty
0:46:02 > 0:46:07or Kim Carnes or Sheena Easton will something else, and I'll go,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10"Wait, if you're going to do that, let me do this,"
0:46:10 > 0:46:12cos you don't want to suffer by comparison.
0:46:12 > 0:46:17I think you grow exponentially when you sing duets with people.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20In a career full of successful duets,
0:46:20 > 0:46:22this one topped the lot.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Selling over 2 million copies in the US alone
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and going top ten around the globe,
0:46:28 > 0:46:31Islands In The Stream was the ultimate musical melding of voices
0:46:31 > 0:46:33from country music's biggest stars.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39For ever linked by the song, Kenny and Dolly's rapport
0:46:39 > 0:46:43captured the record buying public's imagination.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46BOTH: # From one lover to another Ah-hah
0:46:48 > 0:46:50# Whoa, won't you sail?
0:46:50 > 0:46:52KENNY: # Sail away, sail away
0:46:52 > 0:46:55# Sail away with me. #
0:46:55 > 0:46:57Yay, Kenny!
0:46:57 > 0:47:01In 1985, Kenny became involved in a musical charity project
0:47:01 > 0:47:03that was to go down in history.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08In response to the horrific famine in Ethiopia,
0:47:08 > 0:47:12British musicians founded Band Aid to raise money for relief efforts.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17In the States, Harry Belafonte wanted
0:47:17 > 0:47:19the US music industry to do the same.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Ken Kragen was asked to pull it together.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23# We can't go on
0:47:25 > 0:47:27# Pretending day by day
0:47:27 > 0:47:29Kenny was the first phone call I made after
0:47:29 > 0:47:31I hung up with Harry Belafonte.
0:47:31 > 0:47:32I called Kenny and said,
0:47:32 > 0:47:36"Here's what we're doing. Are you in?" He said, "Count me in."
0:47:36 > 0:47:39ALL: # We are the world
0:47:39 > 0:47:41# We are the children... #
0:47:41 > 0:47:44Initial work on the USA For Africa song
0:47:44 > 0:47:47was carried out at Kenny's Lion Share studios in LA
0:47:47 > 0:47:50and the subsequent star-studded sessions
0:47:50 > 0:47:51were produced by Quincy Jones.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57'Lionel and Michael Jackson wrote it. What do I bring to this?
0:47:57 > 0:48:00'But that group of people was the cream of the cream.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04'It was really a humbling experience.'
0:48:04 > 0:48:07It was, more importantly, a great cause.
0:48:07 > 0:48:08I think we all knew that.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13We Are The World became America's fastest selling pop single ever,
0:48:13 > 0:48:16with global sales of over 20 million.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Kenny also got involved in further projects,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23which raised over 50 million for the charity in its first year alone.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Kenny played a major role in everything we did
0:48:29 > 0:48:32subsequent to that - Hands Across America
0:48:32 > 0:48:35and every project, Kenny was always there,
0:48:35 > 0:48:39always willing, always generous and always cared about it.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41His philanthropy perhaps stemmed
0:48:41 > 0:48:43from his own poor upbringing in Texas.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46Despite fame and fortune, he never forgot his roots.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53He had fought his way, through hard work and talent,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56out of poverty into a success.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00Not only to succeed, but to live at a pretty high,
0:49:00 > 0:49:01"I've made it" kind of life.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04MUSIC: The Pride Is Back by Kenny Rogers with Nickie Ryder
0:49:06 > 0:49:08With mega-stardom, Kenny gained the freedom
0:49:08 > 0:49:12to explore and master interests beyond music,
0:49:12 > 0:49:16always with the drive to be the best at everything he turned his hand to.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Constant touring was the route to a major passion
0:49:21 > 0:49:24for the challenge-hungry Rogers.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27I took a picture and someone said, "Boy, you're a great photographer."
0:49:27 > 0:49:29I said, "I'm not a great photographer,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32"but I go to great places."
0:49:32 > 0:49:35I realised that there's an opportunity here
0:49:35 > 0:49:38for me to see how good I could get at photography.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Kenny hired renowned photographer John Sexton
0:49:42 > 0:49:44to help him develop his talent.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Kenny was obsessed with trying to do the best that he possibly
0:49:50 > 0:49:52could at that time.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56He was also a great student, because his desire was always
0:49:56 > 0:49:59to do better tomorrow than he had done the day before.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01I just try to be great at everything.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06I can't, but I just obsessed with it. I wanted to be really good at it.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09With Sexton's guidance, Kenny fanatically set about
0:50:09 > 0:50:13improving his skills, even when he was on the road.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16He would shoot the shot, do the concert,
0:50:16 > 0:50:18fly home to Athens, Georgia,
0:50:18 > 0:50:22go in the dark room - not digital, chemicals.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24We burned the midnight oil.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26We were printing until the wee hours of the morning.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29Some of his friends wondered when he would sleep.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32By ten o'clock the next morning was a mounted print
0:50:32 > 0:50:34of the shot from the day before.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36Take it out, show the band, jump on the plane,
0:50:36 > 0:50:37do it again in the next city.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40He just could keep going and going. It just about killed me.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42He never had to sleep.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Having started out as an enthusiastic amateur,
0:50:46 > 0:50:51Kenny's dedication to his craft has resulted in a spectacular portfolio.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57The best of Kenny's work is very, very well done.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59Whether it's working in the landscape
0:50:59 > 0:51:02and also working with people.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06His portraits, I think, are exceptional.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10First of all, I told everyone they'd be in and out in 15 minutes.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14My goal was to shoot pictures that showed personality,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17that showed people how I saw them.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19When Walter Matthau came in, it was raining.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22I said, "Just walk right over there and sit down,"
0:51:22 > 0:51:25cos that is so Walter Matthau to me.
0:51:25 > 0:51:26Michael Jackson, 1998.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30He was there for eight hours because guys like him and Elvis,
0:51:30 > 0:51:33they don't have many people they can chitchat with.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37That hang out meant more to me than the picture or anything else,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39but he was an incredible guy.
0:51:39 > 0:51:40Sammy Davis Jr.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45He used to come on stage in Vegas and sing The Gambler with me.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47He loved that song.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49This is, I think, maybe one of the best photographs
0:51:49 > 0:51:52I've ever taken technically.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54It's Rachel McLish the body builder.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59Kenny's photographic skills continue to earn him recognition
0:51:59 > 0:52:01and earlier this year, he was awarded
0:52:01 > 0:52:03a prestigious honorary degree
0:52:03 > 0:52:06by the American Professional Photographer's Association.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I love taking pictures, I love the respect I've gotten,
0:52:10 > 0:52:14and I love what I've accomplished in this period of time.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Through the late-'80s,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Kenny was kept busy with his photography and TV movies.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25But musically, he failed to maintain his chart success,
0:52:25 > 0:52:29and in 1991, the previously squeaky clean Rogers
0:52:29 > 0:52:32was involved in a tabloid-fuelled sex scandal.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35MUSIC: Daytime Friends by Kenny Rogers
0:52:35 > 0:52:38Some of it was true and I deserved some. I didn't deserve some.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42# But she knows too well there's something going on... #
0:52:42 > 0:52:45It was more embarrassing than painful,
0:52:45 > 0:52:47cos you don't get a chance to defend yourself,
0:52:47 > 0:52:50cos then you print your defence of it,
0:52:50 > 0:52:52which was just compounding the problem.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55It's hard when you have kids and the wife stays home
0:52:55 > 0:52:56and you're on the road.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59He had resisted all that for many, many years,
0:52:59 > 0:53:01but then things started happening.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06He turned 50 and he wanted validation that he was still sexy.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09I felt, as I look back at it, that he really had, sort of,
0:53:09 > 0:53:11a midlife crisis - a true midlife crisis.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17In 1993, Kenny's crisis led to the break-up
0:53:17 > 0:53:20of his 16-year marriage to Marianne,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23signalling the end of a sustained run of superstardom.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27But a large, devoted fan base stuck with him
0:53:27 > 0:53:29and although hit records were rare,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32his tours and Christmas shows were consistent crowd pleasers.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39In 1997, Kenny married his fifth wife, Wanda.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43With his past failings having being made so public,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Kenny has been determined to make their relationship work.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49You know, fame is one of those things that's a double-edged sword.
0:53:49 > 0:53:55It's sometimes a fine line between being driven and being selfish.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58I think that at some times I may have been selfish
0:53:58 > 0:54:01with my family before, but I won't do that again.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06The arrival of twin sons Justin and Jordan in 2004
0:54:06 > 0:54:10arguably presented a 65-year-old Kenny
0:54:10 > 0:54:12with the biggest challenge of his life.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15It also marked a period of happiness and stability.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20I just want to be here long enough to teach them some of my values,
0:54:20 > 0:54:23my mom's values and some of my dad's sense of humour.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26- Four and a half.- Five!
0:54:26 > 0:54:29His temperament is just very even keel.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32Kenny never gets frustrated, he never gets angry.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36He says it's a choice. You wake up and you're happy.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39I think that carries over into how he makes other people feel.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43The happy, feel-good factor continues to be a major part
0:54:43 > 0:54:46of Rogers' live appeal. And as his hugely successful set
0:54:46 > 0:54:49at 2013's Glastonbury festival proved,
0:54:49 > 0:54:53he's now viewed as a bonafide American icon.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55# Everyone considered him
0:54:55 > 0:54:58# The coward of the county... #
0:54:58 > 0:55:01There was such a diverse bunch of people in the audience.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05Glastonbury - that was the highlight of our career.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09# Well, I just called... #
0:55:09 > 0:55:11Just seas of people as far as you could see
0:55:11 > 0:55:14and they seemed to sing along and everybody had a great time. It was good.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18That was an incredible experience and
0:55:18 > 0:55:20I was particularly happy with it.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24I knew that was going to be unique.
0:55:24 > 0:55:31# You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille... #
0:55:33 > 0:55:36CROWD CHEERS
0:55:36 > 0:55:40Back in the US that same year, Kenny Rogers' iconic status was
0:55:40 > 0:55:44confirmed when he was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46And with Kenny's live shows still packing them in,
0:55:46 > 0:55:49he's always ready to meet his legions of fans.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53- Thanks, guys. - Thank you so much.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57It's a pleasure to finally meet you.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00'He recognises the fact that this is a big deal for someone to
0:56:00 > 0:56:02'meet him.'
0:56:02 > 0:56:05They make their whole year or something, you know?
0:56:05 > 0:56:07That loyalty is most apparent in the people
0:56:07 > 0:56:09he surrounds himself with on tour.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14'Most of that band and the road crew, I mean,'
0:56:14 > 0:56:17we were dealing with those same guys in the 1970s.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20'He treats people well and you want to be with him
0:56:20 > 0:56:22'and you want to work with him.'
0:56:22 > 0:56:25'He recognises we have family just like he has.'
0:56:25 > 0:56:28He's watched all our kids grow up, he knows all their names,
0:56:28 > 0:56:30you know, all the kids hang out together.
0:56:30 > 0:56:31You're singing.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33'My guys are very special.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35'They're like my family, you know,'
0:56:35 > 0:56:36and I really feel for them.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39When something goes wrong with one of them, I feel their pain.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43# You travel the world with a six-piece band
0:56:43 > 0:56:45# That does for you... #
0:56:45 > 0:56:47'They protect me.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50'We get in that room and start singing, they're right there.'
0:56:51 > 0:56:56# Nobody sings a love song quite like you. #
0:56:57 > 0:56:58People always ask me,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01"How long do you think he's going to perform?"
0:57:01 > 0:57:04And I said, "I think he'd admit that he loves that
0:57:04 > 0:57:07"hour and 20 minutes on stage and he would miss that."
0:57:07 > 0:57:11It is now...or never...
0:57:11 > 0:57:14'I'm at that great space where I can work as much as I want to work,
0:57:14 > 0:57:16'but I don't have to work.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18'Money isn't what drives me,'
0:57:18 > 0:57:21the relationship with the audience is what drives me.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25'He is an entertainer, I think, in the true sense of the word.'
0:57:25 > 0:57:28He's the whole package and he always was.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30# Tender love is fine... #
0:57:30 > 0:57:33For over half a century, Kenny has kept us entertained with
0:57:33 > 0:57:37some of the best-known and best-loved music ever recorded.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40With a career spanning everything from jazz to folk,
0:57:40 > 0:57:45'60s psychedelia to R&B, perhaps his real legacy lies in the fact that
0:57:45 > 0:57:50he introduced a pop sensibility to country music that was trailblazing.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54By opening that door and taking that risk,
0:57:54 > 0:57:57he opened the door for everybody else to come through.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59He brought a new audience to country
0:57:59 > 0:58:02and all of Nashville benefitted from that.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04He gave country class.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07# I can't live without you if the love is gone...#
0:58:07 > 0:58:11You can't teach star power to artists and those that really,
0:58:11 > 0:58:14truly have it...live on.
0:58:16 > 0:58:21'You don't think that what music is for me, is my purpose.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24'I go out there and I get to do what I do and people make me
0:58:24 > 0:58:26'feel good in return for that,'
0:58:26 > 0:58:29and success is no reason to quit.
0:58:29 > 0:58:32You know, it's a great reason to keep going on.
0:58:33 > 0:58:38# Islands in the stream That is what we are
0:58:38 > 0:58:41# No-one in between How can we be wrong?
0:58:41 > 0:58:45# Sail away with me To another world
0:58:45 > 0:58:48# And we rely on each other Uh huh
0:58:48 > 0:58:53# From one lover to another Uh huh
0:58:56 > 0:59:00# Sail away Sail away with me. #