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Kenny Rogers at the Washington
Monument Draws 60,000
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"I think success is not a reason to quit," says
Kenny Rogers. " I happen to love what I'm doing."
As one of music's biggest cross-over successes, Kenny Rogers has
received three Grammys, 11 people's choice awards, eight Academy of Country Music awards
and was named .. "Favorite Singer of All Time" in a PM Magazine poll in 1986.
Although Kenny's musical honors are well deserved and
appreciated, his most personal award was not bestowed upon him by the entertainment
industry. In 1990, Kenny was one of 11 people (the only entertainer) to receive the
Horatio Alger Award, given to those who have distinguished themselves despite humble
beginnings. For both Kenny and his admirers, his success is all the more remarkable for
his having been raised in a Houston public housing project with seven brothers and
sisters. In 1995, he was similarly honored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development as one of the "Five
heroes of Public Housing." Kenny and the four other honorees were acknowledged by
Secretary Henry Cisneros as successful individuals who grew up in public housing.
The awards, of course, are just the icing on the cake. It's the
huge body of work and accomplishments which they represent that distinguish Kenny Rogers
from his contemporaries. And he has shown no sign of slowing down. In 1998 Rogers embarked
on yet another exciting endeavor starring in the off-Broadway holiday theatrical
production of, "Christmas From The Heart."
Based on an original story written by Kenny and Kelly Junkermann,
the musical was presented by Hallmark Entertainment at the historic Beacon Theatre in New
York City for a six-week holiday run.
Rogers spends a great deal of his time recording and performing,
but he has also enjoyed a wonderfully fulfilling career as an actor, and is best known
worldwide for his colorful portrayal as The Gambler's Brady Hawkes. His popular Gambler
mega-hit recording spawned the longest running mini-series in the history of television in
the United States. The five Gambler mini-series has attracted over 100 million viewers
nationwide.
Success of the magnitude of Kenny's brings with it an opportunity
to draw some attention to the charitable causes that he champions. After the 1981 death of
friend, singer/songwriter Harry Chapin, Kenny assumed his position at the forefront of the
movement to aid the hungry. "Access to proper food and nutrition," said Kenny,
"is perhaps the most fundamental right of every human being." Thus, the World
Hunger Media Awards were created.
In 1985, Kenny participated in the historical recording of
"We Are The World," the multi-celebrity performance which raised millions of
dollars for famine relief in Africa. A year later, he co-chaired the audacious,
"Hands Across America" fund-raiser for America's hungry. Kenny was also
instrumental in aiding the hungry in his own backyard in Georgia by establishing the
Athens Area Homeless Shelter which opened in 1990.
Between his entertainment and charitable endeavors, Kenny has
managed to find the time to become a well-respected photographer. He was invited to the
White House to create a portrait of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the CBS TV
Special A Day in the Life of Country Music that aired in 1993. He has also published two
well-received photography books: Kenny Rogers' America, composed of black and white
landscapes, and Kenny Rogers Your Friends and Mine, a collection of celebrity portraits.
He is currently working on a third book highlighting country stars past, present and
future, entitled This Is My Country.
Kenny Rogers is a man constantly seeking new challenges, new ways
to maintain excitement both for himself and his fans. Most of all, he is exactly as he
seems; a proud man, but also a sincere, honest one, unfazed by his success and largely
unimpressed by his own accomplishments.
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