Kenny Rogers: 13 interesting facts about the late country music legend

Kenneth Ray “Kenny” Rogers died from natural causes at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States on March 20, 2020. The singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and entrepreneur was 81.

Rogers was born in Houston, Texas, USA on August 21, 1938 to carpenter Edward Floyd Rogers and nurse’s assistant Lucille Lois. Kenny had five children and was married five times.

Kenny was married to Jean Rogers from 1960 to 1963, to Margo Anderson from 1964 to 1976, to Marianne Gordon from 1977 to 1993 and to Wanda Miller from June 1, 1997 until the day of his death. Here are 13 more interesting facts about the country music legend:

1. He attended William Wharton Elementary school, now named William H. Wharton K-8 Dual Language Academy, in Houston and the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas but he dropped out to become a full-time musician.
2. His first band was called The Scholars.
3. In 1991, he founded the chicken-based restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters in collaboration  with former Kentucky Fried Chicken CEO John Y. Brown Jr.
4. It was Larry Kane who suggested the name Kenny Rogers.
5. From 1960 to 1965, he was a stand-up bassist for jazz group The Bobby Doyle Trio, whose other members were Robert Glen “Bobby” Doyle and Don Russell.
6. He was the frontman of the psychedelic pop group The First Edition, which was eventually renamed Kenny Rogers and The First Edition and disbanded in 1976.
7. He played tennis for 10 years.
8. As an actor, he starred in two films namely “Six Pack” and “Longshot,” which were released in 1982 and in 2001, respectively.
9. As a photographer, he released two photo books namely “Kenny Rogers’ America” and “Your Friends and Mine” in 1986 and in 1987, respectively.
10. A self-taught interior designer, he founded Kenji Design Studio, an interior design firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2003 with his business partner Jim Weinberg.
11. In 2014, he revealed that he had cancer cells removed from his face.
12. He had twin sons with Miller, who herself has a twin sister named Tonya Miller.
13. He considered Jim Mazza and Kelly Junkerman as his best friends.