KENNY ROGERS Original Headshot COUNTRY Western PHOTO

Great ORIGINAL Promo photo measuring 8" x 10" of country
western music Superstar,
KENNY ROGERS
This photograph features the singer in a cowboy in a great
portrait headshot.  Nice shape photo from the Atlantic
Label.
MORE INFO ON KENNY
ROGERS
: 

Kenneth Donald Rogers, better known as Kenny Rogers (born August
21, 1938) is an
American

country music

singer-songwriter
,
photographer
,
record producer
,
actor
and
entrepreneur
. He has charted more than 120 hit singles across various music
genres and topping the country and pop album charts for more than
200 individual weeks in the United States alone.
Two of his albums,
The Gambler
and
Kenny
, are featured in the
About.com
poll of "The 200 Most Influential Country Albums Ever". He was
voted the "Favorite Singer of All-Time" in a 1986 joint poll by
readers of both
USA Today
and
People
. He has received hundreds of awards for both his music and
charity work. These include
AMAs
,
Grammys
,
ACMs
and
CMAs
, as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning
six decades in 2003.
Later success includes the 2006 album release,
Water & Bridges, an across the board hit, that peaked at
#5 in the Billboard Country Albums sales charts, also charting high
in the
Billboard 200
. The first single from the album, "I Can't Unlove You," was
also a chart hit. Remaining a popular entertainer around the world,
the following year he completed a tour of the
United Kingdom
and the
Ireland
telling
BBC Radio 2
DJ
Steve Wright
, his favorite hit was "
The Gambler
". He has also acted in a variety of movies and television
shows, most notably the title roles in
Kenny Rogers as The Gambler
and the MacShayne series as well as his appearance on the
Muppet Show
.
[5]
[6]
Rogers currently resides in
Nicholson, Georgia
, a suburb of
Atlanta
.
Rogers was born "Kenneth Ray Rogers" in
Houston, Texas
in 1938, the fourth of seven children born to Lucille
(née Hester), a nurse, and Edward Floyd Rogers, a
carpenter
. Rogers graduated from
Jefferson Davis High School
in Houston. According to the Texas birth records, his middle
given name is Ray and he is sometimes credited in his film roles as
"Kenneth Ray Rogers".
He has been married five times. His fourth wife was actress
Marianne Gordon Rogers. His current wife is the former Wanda
Miller. He has a daughter and four sons.
As of 2005, Rogers had become an avid
Atlanta Thrashers
fan, and can often be seen at
Philips Arena
taking in a game.
 
His career began in the mid-1950s, when he recorded with a
doo-wop
group called The Scholars who had some success with a single
called "Poor Little Doggie". Rogers was not the lead singer of the
group and after two more singles they disbanded when their leader
went solo.
Now on his own, Kenneth Rogers (as he was billed then) followed the
break up with his own single, a minor solo hit called "That Crazy
Feeling" (1958). After sales slowed down, Rogers joined a
jazz
group called The Bobby Doyle Trio, who got a lot of work in
clubs thanks to a reasonable fan following and also recorded for
Columbia Records
. The group disbanded in 1965, and a 1966 jazzy rock single
Rogers recorded for
Mercury Records
, called "Here's That Rainy Day" failed. Rogers also worked as
a producer, writer and session musician for other performers;
including country artists
Mickey Gilley
and
Eddy Arnold
. In 1966 he joined
The New Christy Minstrels
as a singer and
double bass
player.
Feeling that the Minstrels were not offering the success they
wanted, Rogers and fellow members Mike Settle, Terry Williams and
Thelma Camacho left the group. They formed
The First Edition
in 1967 (later renamed "Kenny Rogers and The First Edition").
They chalked up a string of hits on both the pop and country
charts, including "Something's Burning", "
Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town
", "Reuben James" and "
Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My
Condition Was In)
". In his First Edition days, Rogers had something of a
hippie
image, with long brown hair, an earring, and pink sunglasses.
Known affectionately in retrospect as "Hippie Kenny", Rogers had a
much smoother vocal style than in his later career.
When the group split in 1976, Rogers launched his solo career.
Rogers soon developed a more
middle of the road
sound, with a somewhat rough but tuneful voiced style that
sold to both pop and country audiences; to date, he has charted
more than 60 top 40 hit singles (including upwards of 25 #1's) and
50 of his albums have charted. His music has also been featured in
top selling movie soundtracks, such as
Convoy
,
Urban Cowboy
and
The Big Lebowski
.
After leaving The First Edition in 1976, after almost a decade with
the group, Rogers signed a solo deal with
United Artists
. Although producer
Larry Butler
had no doubts about Rogers's talent, he was advised by several
colleagues not to sign Rogers, who some saw as a has-been.
Nevertheless, Butler and Rogers began a partnership that would last
four years.
Rogers first outing for his new label was
Love Lifted Me. The album charted and two singles "Love
Lifted Me" and "While The Feeling's Good" were minor hits. The song
"Runaway Girl" was featured in the motion picture
Trackdown
. Later in 1976, Rogers issued his second album, the
self-titled
Kenny Rogers, whose first single "
Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't
Got)
", was another solo hit.
However, the single "
Lucille
" (1977) was a major hit, reaching number one on the pop charts
in 12 countries, selling over five million copies, and firmly
establishing Rogers's post-First Edition career. On the strength of
"Lucille", the album
Kenny Rogers reached #1 in the
Billboard Country Album Chart
. More success was to follow, including the multi-million
selling album
The Gambler
and another international Number 1 single, "
Coward of the County
", taken from the equally successful album,
Kenny. In 1980, the Rogers/Butler partnership came to an
end, though they would occasionally reunite: in 1987 on the album
I Prefer The Moonlight and again in 1993 on the album
If Only My Heart Had A Voice.
In the late 1970s, Rogers teamed up with close friend and country
singer
Dottie West
for a series of albums and duets. Together the duo had three
hit albums, selling out stadiums and arenas while on tour. Their
hits together "
Every Time Two Fools Collide
", "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" and "
What Are We Doin' in Love
" became Country standards. Of West, Rogers stated in a 1995
TNN interview "She, more than anybody else I ever worked with sang
with such emotion that you actually believed what she sang." Rogers
was with West when she died after sustaining injuries in a 1991 car
accident. In 1995 he starred opposite Michele Lee in the
CBS

biopic

Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie
West Story
.
In 1980, his duet with
Kim Carnes
"
Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer
" became a major hit. Later in 1980 came his partnership with
Lionel Richie
who wrote and produced Rogers's #1 hit "
Lady
". Richie went on to write and produce Rogers's 1981 album
Share Your Love, a chart topper and commercial favorite
featuring hits such as "
I Don't Need You
" (Pop #3), "
Through the Years
" (Pop #13), and "
Share Your Love with Me
" (Pop #14). In 1982, Rogers released the album
Love Will Turn You Around
. The
title track
reached #13 on the
Billboard Hot 100
and topped the country and AC charts. Shortly after he started
working with producer
David Foster
in 1983 recording the smash
Bob Seger

cover
"
We've Got Tonight
", a duet with
Sheena Easton
.
He went on to work with the
Bee Gees
to record and produce his 1983 hit album
Eyes That See in the Dark
, featuring the title track and yet another #1 hit "
Islands in the Stream
", a duet with
Dolly Parton
. The Gibbs originally wrote the song for
Marvin Gaye
in an R&B style, only later to change it for the Kenny
Rogers album.
[8]
The partnership with Bee Gees only lasted one album, which
was not a surprise considering that Rogers's original intentions
were to work with
Barry Gibb
in only one song but Barry insisted on them doing the entire
album.
"Islands in the Stream", the first single to be released from
Eyes That See in the Dark in the United States, quickly went
to #1 in the
Billboard Hot 100
. It was the last country single to reach #1 on that chart
until "
Amazed
" by
Lonestar
did so in 2000. However, RCA insisted on releasing the title
track as the first UK single, and the song stalled at a
disappointing #61 there, although it did stay in the top 100 for
several weeks (when it was eventually released in the US, it was
more successful, charting high on the Adult Contemporary chart and
making the country top 30). "Islands in the Stream" was issued as a
follow up single in Britain and sold well, making #7. The album
itself reached #1 on the country charts on both sides of the
Atlantic and enjoyed multi-million sales. "Buried Treasure," "This
Woman" and "Evening Star"/"Midsummer Nights" were also all
successful singles from the album.
Shortly after came the album
What About Me?
, a hit whose
title track
, a trio performance with
James Ingram
and
Kim Carnes
, was nominated for a
Grammy award
; the single "Crazy" (not to be confused with the
Willie Nelson
-penned
Patsy Cline
hit) topped the country charts. David Foster was to work again
with Rogers in his 1985 album
The Heart of the Matter, although this time Foster was
playing backing music rather than producing, a role given to
George Martin
. This album was another success, going to #1, with the title
track making to the top ten category in the singles charts.
The next few years saw Rogers scoring several top country hits on a
regular basis, including "Twenty Years Ago," "Morning Desire,"
"Tomb of the Unknown Love," among others. On 28 January 1985 Rogers
was one of the
45 artists
who recorded the worldwide charity song "
We Are the World
" to support hunger victims in
Africa
. The following year he played at
Giants Stadium
.
On January 1987, Rogers co-hosted the
American Music Awards
at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. By 1988 to 1990,
Rogers had In the 1990s Rogers continued to chart with singles such
as "Crazy In Love", "If You Want To Find Love" and "The Greatest".
From 1991 to 1994, Rogers hosted
The Real West
on
A&E
, and on
The History Channel
since 1995 (Reruns only on The History Channel.). He also
visited Miller's during this time period. From 1992 to 1995 Rogers
co-owned and headlined
Branson, Missouri
’s 4,000 seat
Grand Palace Theatre
. In 1994, Rogers released his "dream" album titled
Timepiece on Atlantic Records. It consisted of 30's and 40's
jazz standards; it was the type of music he performed in his early
days with The Bobby Doyle Three in
Houston
. In 1996 he released an album
Vote For Love where the public requested their favorite love
songs and Rogers performed the songs (several of his own hits were
in there). The album was the first for the TV shopping channel
QVC's record label,
onQ Music
. The album, sold exclusively by
QVC
, was a huge success and was later issued in stores under a
variety of different titles. It reached #1 in the UK country charts
under the title
Love Songs (a title also used for various compilations) and
also crossed over into the mainstream charts.
In 1999 Rogers scored with the single "The Greatest", a song about
life from a child's point of view (looked at through a baseball
game). The song reached the top 40 of Billboard's Country singles
chart and was a
Country Music Television
Number One video. It was on Rogers's album
She Rides Wild Horses the following year (itself a top 10
success). In 1999, Rogers also produced a song, "We've Got It All",
specifically for the series finale of the ABC show
Home Improvement
. Not on any album, the recording sells for a high sum at
auction.
 
In the 21st century, Rogers was back at #1 for the first time in
more than a decade with the 2000 single "
Buy Me a Rose
", making him, at 61, the oldest artist in the history of
country music to reach the chart summit. In doing so, he broke a
26-year-old record held by
Hank Snow
(who, in April 1974, was 59 years and 11 months old when he
scored with "Hello Love"). Rogers held the record until 2003, when
then 70-year-old
Willie Nelson
became the oldest artist to have a No. 1 on the country charts
with his duet with
Toby Keith
, "Beer For My Horses."
Rogers also released the critically acclaimed album
Back to the Well.
Although Rogers didn't record new albums for a couple of years, he
continued to have success in many countries with more greatest hits
packages. In 2004
42 Ultimate Hits, which was the first hits collection to
span his days with the First Edition to the present, reached Number
6 on the American country charts and went gold. It also featured
two new songs, "My World Is Over" with
Whitney Duncan
and "We Are the Same". "My World Is Over" was released as a
single and was a minor hit. In 2005
The Very Best of Kenny Rogers, a double album, sold well in
Europe
. It was the first new solo Kenny Rogers hits album to reach
the
United Kingdom
for over a decade, despite many compilations there that were
not true hits packages.
Rogers also signed with
Capitol Records
and had more success with the TV advertised release
21 Number Ones in January 2006. Although this CD did contain
21 chart-toppers as the title claims (recorded between 1976 and the
present day), this was not a complete collection of Rogers's #1
singles, omitting such singles as "Crazy in Love" and "What About
Me?"
Much of his success was with Capitol from 1976 to 1983 (called
United Artists/Liberty at the time). It is very rare for an artist
of Rogers's age to be signed to a major label. Capitol followed
21 Number Ones with Rogers's new studio album,
Water And Bridges, in March 2006 on the
Capitol Nashville Records
label. The first single from the album was "I Can't Unlove
You" which peaked at #17 on the country charts, after spending over
6 months on the hit list, more than 50 years after he formed his
first group and 38 years after his first major hit as leader of The
First Edition; the song remains in recurrent airplay on some radio
stations today. "I Can't Unlove You" was followed up with the
second single from the album, "
The Last Ten Years (Superman)
", in September 2006. The third single, "Calling Me," which
features
Don Henley
, became popular in early 2007, and was nominated for a
Grammy Award
at the
2007 Grammy Awards
. Also in 2007, the 1977 "Kenny Rogers" album was re-issued as
a double play CD, also featuring the 1979 "Kenny" album and this
once again put Rogers's name into the sales charts worldwide. The
following year, another compilation album ("A Love Song
Collection") also charted. He currently lives in
Atlanta
.
In 2003, Rogers made a guest appearance in two episodes of
Reno 911!
as himself.
To date Rogers has recorded 65 albums and sold over 122 million
records
 .
On August 26, 2008, Rogers released "50 Years"
[9]
exclusively at Cracker Barrel stores. The album includes
some of Rogers's greatest hits, plus 3 new songs. The release is
designed to celebrate Rogers's 50th year in the music business.
However, it should be noted Rogers has been in the music business
for more than 50 years including his releases with The Scholars,
who recorded for a local label in Houston. 1958 was the year he
signed his first recording deal with a major label.
In 2008 Rogers toured with his very popular Christmas Show.
However, he decided to split the show up, making the first half his
"best of" and the second half consisted of his Christmas songs. One
such show was at Mohegan Sun Casino
[10]
in Uncasville, CT.
In 2009 he toured the UK, playing in Cardiff CIA (March
27)Birmingham NIA (28)Manchester MEN (29)Newcastle Arena
(30)Plymouth Pavilions (April 1)Nottingham Concert Hall (2)London
Hammersmith Apollo (3)Bournemouth BIC (4)with support band -
Savannah Jack.
In 2009, Kenny embarked on his 50th Anniversary Tour. The tour went
around the United States, Britain and Ireland. It will continue
into 2010.
In 2010, Rogers and his long-time friend Dolly Parton are set to
release a new album. They previously worked together on such songs
as Islands in the Stream and Real Love.
On April 10, 2010, a TV special was taped, Kenny Rogers: The First
50 Years. Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie are among those set to
perform with Kenny during a show celebrating his contribution to
country, blues and pop music, It took place in Dollywood,TN. The
air date Was on July 4th, 2010
Rogers also had success as an actor. His 1982 movie
Six Pack
, in which he played a race-car driver, took more than $20
million at the US box office, while made-for-TV movies such as
The Gambler
,
Christmas in America, and
Coward of the County (based on hit songs of his) topped
ratings lists.
As an entrepreneur, he collaborated with former
Kentucky Fried Chicken
CEO
John Y. Brown, Jr.
in 1991 to start up the
restaurant

chain

Kenny Rogers Roasters
. The
chicken
and
ribs
chain, which is similar to
Boston Market
, was famously featured in an episode of the
NBC

sitcom

Seinfeld
called "
The Chicken Roaster
". On the November 27, 1997, broadcast of
Late Night with Conan
O’Brien
, Rogers could not pick his chicken out in a taste test,
claiming he preferred "greasy burgers."
Rogers and his restaurant were subjects of comedy from
MADtv
, especially the impersonation done by
Will Sasso
; the sketch of the faux-Rogers hosting
Jackass
became popular on the Internet. Sasso had him making noises
such as "Ding Ding Ding Di da Ding Ding Ding" and getting sloppily
drunk.
Rogers appeared in a 2004 episode of
Reno 911
as himself being subjected to incompetent security provided by
starstruck sheriff's deputies to comical effect. In this episode,
Deputy Garcia, who is obsessed with Rogers, reveals that he thinks
that Rogers should focus all of his effort on acting, and "give
that singing thing a rest for a while," because Garcia believes
that Rogers could win an Oscar. In order to "protect" Rogers the
deputies take down all of the posters announcing his appearance in
Reno, when he finds out he angrily berates the deputies and leaves.
He is then promptly shot and wounded by an obsessed fan played by
Patton Oswalt
, though he is only superficially wounded, and asks for "mall
security".
Rogers is also the inspiration behind the pop culture website
menwholooklikekennyrogers.com
. The site features close to a thousand photos of men who look
like the real Rogers, as well as tips on how to look like Rogers,
places to spot Rogers look-alikes, and even a Kenny of the Month
and sells t-shirts and buttons.
Winning bidder agrees in advance to pay an additional
Mail postage (Foreign orders will require additional postage)
and to remit full payment within 10 days after notification from
the seller. PLEASE ALLOW 10 TO 14 DAYS FOR DELIVERY. California
residents must add  state sales taxes. Be sure to click on
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