Know When To Fold ‘Em

It’s not quite as poetic as Leonard Cohen dying the day before Election Day 2016, but:

From bold psychedelic rockers and cinematic story songs to sentimental country-pop, Kenny Rogers covered considerable musical turf throughout six decades of recording and performing, using his gravel-tinged vocals to dramatic effect. Along the way, he also became a globally recognized actor, photographer, businessman, and philanthropist. When Rogers announced his final Nashville concert in 2017, after 60 years of performances, he acknowledged his mobility had become more limited in recent years. Rogers died Friday night at age 81 from natural causes, his rep confirmed in a statement.

My late father loved the First Edition, and I retain an affection for the best of it. Like his onetime bandmate Glenn Campbell, Rogers was a very gifted instrumentalist who could have had a career as an LA session guy, but preferred what can not unreasonably be called “selling out.” And yet, pop music has a way of frustrating narratives about authenticity. In his solo years Rogers produced a lot of uninspired schlock and OK mainstream Nashville pop-country, but as Campbell did with “Wichita Lineman” Rogers turned “Lucille” and “The Gambler” into great pop songs, period. The latter, in particular, is an instructive lesson in the importance of pairing song and talent. Johnny Cash was a much more accomplished artist, of course, but his version sucked; it needed exactly Rogers’s combination of lingering pride in his craft and cornball to earn its place in the canon. He had his moments after that too — “Islands in the Stream,” another collaboration with a much more accomplished artist that needed him to work nonetheless, is fun — but if “The Gambler” will always define his legacy it’s a pretty nice way to be remembered. R.I.P.