Review by David Ferguson
Airs April 13, 2020 on A&E
Greetings again from the darkness. Playing more like a tribute than a true biography, this A&E special features Kenny Rogers’ 2017 farewell concert in Nashville as a framing device. Mr. Rogers and his wife sat appreciatively on the side as star performers such as Reba McEntire, Idina Menzel, Jamey Johnson, Lionel Ritchie, and Dolly Parton paraded across the stage singing his songs. When we cut away from the concert, we do get pieces of his backstory and how he “made it” to a level few ever reach.
Raised in the projects of Houston, Kenny Rogers went on to have 24 number one hits, and sold over 100 million records. The film traces his start on an upright bass for the Bobby Doyle Trio, to a signing audition from a hotel lobby phone for The New Christy Minstrels. He and Mike Settle then broke away to form The First Edition in 1967, which resulted in their first hit, “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town”, followed by many others. After battling through a professional slump, Rogers went on to become a smash hit as a single artist, and later became even more popular for his duets with singers such as Dottie West, Kim Carnes, and Sheena Easton.
Rogers’ siblings (yes, he actually has a brother named Roy) offer some familial insight, but mostly we hear the timeline of Kenny’s career, along with various artists discussing how much they respect his career. There is little discussion of his personal life, although wife #4 Marianne Gordon graciously agreed to be interviewed and provides what little insight we get into Rogers the man, rather than Rogers the artist. None of his kids are interviewed, but wife #5 (of 22 years), Wanda, is seen sitting on stage with him during the concert.
There is an interesting segment where we learn that the great Johnny Cash recorded “The Gambler” first, but it was Kenny Rogers who made the song a smash hit, and followed it up with a Movie of the Week. His global success led to mega-riches which led to the lifestyle … four private planes and a Beverly Hills mansion with 35 rooms. After producer Larry Butler walks us through the transition to country, the Lionel Ritchie segment details how the song “Lady” was born from “Baby”, and how the song hit #1 across pop, country, and R&B. Rogers and Ritchie became very close friends, and Ritchie’s words come across quite sincere.
The 1985 USA for Africa song “We are the World” is chronicled briefly, however what gets most of the time is Rogers’ professional relationship with Dolly Parton. Oddly, the A&E Biography on Dolly glossed over this partnership, but this one properly devotes a significant portion to what may have been the pinnacle of two very successful musical careers. The Barry Gibb connection is likely the most fascinating tidbit passed along, but watching Kenny and Dolly on stage together for one final time is a fitting end to his career and the bio. Kenny Rogers recently passed away (March 2020), but he left his mark on music lovers for more than 50 years.
