Join me Sunday at 11 a.m. as we kick off 2014 with the Sunday Morning Country Classic Spotlight featuring Kenny Rogers. We'll play a half hour of Kenny Rogers music and highlight his life and accomplishments.  The Country Classic Show kicks off at 9 a.m.  

Kenny's career began in the mid 1950's when he recorded with a group called the Scholars, but the group broke apart.  In 1966 he joined The New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player.  Kenny and other band members felth that the Minstrels were not offering the success they wanted so they left the group.

After departing The First Edition was born.  Kenny, along with other former Mistrels, mixed folk, rock and country sounds and achieved success in 1967 with Just Dropped In. They scored several additional hits including Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town, Reuben James and Somethings Burning.

After leaving The First Edition in 1976, Kenny began his solo career.  He had stunning success of the catchy Lucille and album of the same name in 1977.  The tune also hit #5 on the pop charts.

For the next decade or so Rogers commercial appeal earned him hit after hit.  He scored big with songs such as The Gambler, She Believes in Me and Coward of the County.  He recorded duets with Dottie West included that were extremely successful.

While he has been most successful with country audiences, he has charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres.  He has sold over 130 million records worldwide.  He has received numerous awards including AMA's, Grammy's, ACM's and CMA's as well as a Lifetime Achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003.

He has also acted in a variety of movies and television shows including his appearance on the Muppet Show.  In October 2012 he released a book called Luck or Something Like It, which is a memoir about his ups and downs in the music business.

Kenny has been married five times and is the father of five children including twins with his present wife Wanda Miller, who he married on June 1, 1997.

Join me Sunday at 9 a.m. for the Country Classic show on 98 Country and online at 98country.com.

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