Yet it was his music in the ’70s and ’80s that made Rogers a crucial bridge between country’s origins and its arrival as a true pop force in the ’90s. Today, we’d call that continuity a savvy approach to branding, and indeed Rogers parlayed his musical stardom into successful sidelines as an actor and an entrepreneur with his own chain of rotisserie-chicken restaurants. 1 country hits (and topped the Hot 100 twice), Rogers understood that a sturdy persona and an unchanging look - and, of course, a warmly reassuring voice with just the right amount of grown-up sex appeal - could provide a kind of continuity that allowed him to experiment without alienating his core fans. Looked back upon now, it also indicates clearly how country music, in many ways a hidebound genre before Rogers emerged, would evolve in his wake.Ī member of the Country Music Hall of Fame who scored 21 No. But his work as an ambassador didn’t open just his listeners’ ears: Perhaps more than any other Nashville act of his generation, Rogers, who died Friday at age 81, dabbled freely in other sounds and styles his long and varied catalog, with its many collaborations, is a testament to both his musical curiosity and his keen commercial sense. Kenny Rogers may be best remembered for introducing a global pop audience to the homespun charms of country music.

Kenny rogers through the years listen