Saying Goodbye to the Gambler

Remembering Kenny Rogers

Yesterday, we lost a country music legend, Mr. Kenny Rogers. The man who decorated our lives. He was a singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and businessman. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, he recorded 39 studio albums, had 21 #1 singles and sold over 100,000,000 records worldwide.

The Music

Country music was my favorite as a child. Kenny Rogers’ songs stuck in my head especially because of the correlates between my personal life and the lyrics of his songs. My father left me, my siblings, and my mom in March of 1977. At the time, the newly released “Lucille” gained a lot of airtime on the radio stations. I can remember my mom somberly laughing at the lyrical irony of that song as the words go…

“You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille
With four hungry children and a crop in the field
I’ve had some bad times, lived through some sad times
But this time your hurting won’t heal
You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille”

Somewhere in the 1970s, my father had become a degenerate gambler among other things. My mother filed for divorce in the fall of 1978. A few months later, Kenny Rogers’ Grammy-winning hit, “The Gambler” was released. I have…