Country music legend Kenny Rogers dies at 81

Actor and singer Kenny Rogers, the Grammy-winning balladeer who sang jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as Lucille, Lady, and Islands in the Stream died on Friday. He was 81. His representative, Keith Hagan told The Associated Press that Kenny died at home in Sandy Springs, Georgia and that he was under hospice care and died of natural causes. 

The Houston-born performer has sold tens of millions of records, won three Grammys and was the star of TV movies based on The Gambler and other songs, making him a superstar in the ‘70s and ’80s. Rogers thrived for some 60 years before he retired from touring in 2017 at the age of 79. 

"You either do what everyone else is doing and you do it better, or you do what no one else is doing and you don’t invite comparison. And I chose that way because I could never be better than Johnny Cash or Willie or Waylon at what they did. So I found something that I could do that didn’t invite comparison to them. And I think people thought it was my desire to change country music. But that was never my issue," Kenny had said in 2015. 

Over the years, Rogers worked often with female duet partners, most memorably, Dolly Parton. The two were paired at the suggestion of the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, who wrote "Islands in the Stream". "From the moment she marched into that room, that song never sounded the same. It took on a whole new spirit, Kenny had said at the time. 

As of now, Kenny's family is planning a private service "out of concern for the national COVID-19 emergency" and a public memorial will be held at a later date, a statement posted early Saturday read.