“…and somewhere in the darkness, the gambler he broke even but in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.”
Country singer Kenny Rogers has died at the age of 81. This celebrity passing hits me kind of hard. The reason for this is during my years of producing morning radio at country radio powerhouse US*99 I had a few memorable encounters with Kenny Rogers and he was always a pleasure. A true gentleman and good fun too.
First off, my brother from another mother Bobbo had a brush with greatness involving Kenny Rogers years ago at the recently closed Pheasant Run Resort. Bobbo and his wife Tammi went to one of Kenny’s famed Christmas concerts there and somehow he got recruited with other fans to be part of a song onstage! If I remember the way Bobbo told it to me, it was during a run through of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” That was a fun night for Bobbo and Tammi. I always remember what a big deal Rogers’ annual concerts at Pheasant Run were.
My first time talking with Kenny Rogers was in the spring of 1999 when his baseball themed song “The Greatest” was on the country music charts. US*99 had that tune in heavy rotation and while on the phone setting up to talk to morning hosts Ramblin’ Ray Stevens and Trish Biondo, Kenny was so friendly and cordial with me. I felt an instant comfort just in my quick chat with him. On the air with Ray & Trish he was aces too.
Fast forward about two months later when the Chicago Cubs promotions office called asking me to assist in putting together their annual Country Music Night at Wrigley Field. The year before, we helped the Cubs land Martina McBride and Little Jimmy Dickens to be guests for the Country night and they sang the 7th inning stretch of “Take Me Out to The Ballgame.” I remember how cute Martina looked in her Cubs jersey, but that’s a story for another day.
This time around I told Cubs PR man Joe Rios that Kenny Rogers’ current hit “The Greatest” and its baseball tie in would be perfect for their event. Rios agreed and I played matchmaker between the Cubs and Kenny’s management team. Within a day the plan and scheduling was a done deal. Kenny would play a pre-game concert and was also set to sing the 7th inning stretch.
US*99 gave away tickets for that game and my efforts were rewarded with good seats for my mother and I. Before the concert I got to visit the night’s big attraction in the bowels of Wrigley Field and he could not have been nicer. I would guess other baseball teams were working in appearances for Rogers and his recent hit but he made it seem like this was the biggest deal in the world. Kenny knew I was the conduit that helped coordinate this event and his gratitude was obvious and genuine.
Several months later in early 2000 we had Kenny Rogers as an in studio guest and despite so many years in the business his enthusiasm for the work he did was still strong. He shared great stories with us, had fond words about his longtime pal Dolly Parton and proved to be what I call a “Money in the bank” guest.
It was during this visit that Kenny learned morning co-host Trish Biondo was engaged to be married later in the year. On the air he advised us that you don’t tell the bride to be “Congratulations”, you tell her “Good Luck.” Later after the interview my comment to Kenny on that directive was, “You’ve been married five times, so if ANYONE would know the protocol…” He laughed heartily at my observation. Ever since that day, I’ve often tried to tell others about the proper thing to tell a prospective bride.
One more note on Kenny Rogers. In 2002 he released a fine story song titled “Harder Cards.” The single only made the top 50 on the Country charts but it deserved a better fate than that. Collin Raye also covered this song but Kenny Rogers’ version was better. Even before Kenny’s passing I’ve been planning to incorporate that song into a short story idea. When that comes to fruition, I’ll let you know.
Rest in Peace Kenny Rogers and thanks for all the years of great music and memories.
NEXT BLOG- Remembering a great concert from 1990.