Mary and I had a chance to see a legend tonight. The Gambler himself, Kenny Rogers made his final, self proclaimed visit to Calgary.

Mary and I have made a habit of frequenting the Grey Eagle casino to see these legends as they come through. This one was a special one for me. I grew up on his music. My parents were a fan and therefore I became a fan. I was even a fan of the bad 80’s movies that came from his music. The guy just has charisma and people wanted to be with him and everyone wanted to be him. Tonight, he showed that even at 78 years, he could tell a story with the best of them. He took the audience on a journey of his entire life in music, telling the stories and highlighting the people who made his amazing 60 year career possible. By his own admission, he has become old. His knee replacement made his mobility impossible and the old pipes just sounded more raspy than ever, making some of his trademark moments difficult to hear. But he can still entertain.

 

His music was always transcendent. Not country and not pop but somehow always mainstream. His duets with Dottie West and Dolly Parton made for some of the most memorable songs of this generation. His blockbusters like “The Gambler”, “Lucille” and “Islands in the Stream”, still brought the crowd to their feet and left you with a glimpse as to how great he was at commanding a room. He made sure to hit all of the highlights of his great musical anthology and we all left thankful for what we had witnessed. It allowed me to take my own journey down my Kenny Rogers connection as well.

My Mount Rushmore of under appreciated Kenny Rogers songs:

1. All I Ever Need is You (duet with Dottie West). This is my go to song when I want to here the energy that he carried with his favourite female duet partner. Take a listen through this classic song once more and enjoy the playful voices within the song.
2. Love Will Turn you Around. I loved the movie Six Pack, where this song was written for, because that was the way I remembered Kenny. The song has a tremendous meaning to me and always brings a smile to my face when I hear it come on.
3. Something’s Burning. The buildup in energy within this song, makes this a song that has to be played when regaling this man. The way he slowly takes you through the intensity of this song makes it a masterpiece.
4. Love Lifted me. Many versions of this song have been sung over the years but none this powerful. This has become one of the greatest choir songs ever but has so much more value. One of the best songs he wrote and one that many artists has enjoyed success from.

 

 

Better than all the music is that he genuinely seems like a great guy and someone who you would enjoy talking with if the opportunity ever arose. I will always remember the way he was able to laugh at himself on places like variety shows, concerts and even talk shows. Even last night, you could hear in his voice that he wasn’t willing to put on a concert anymore if he couldn’t do it well. He knows he isn’t the same performer that we all recognize and he will ride off into the sunset knowing he had that kind of showman impact on crowds everywhere.

I guess the Gambler does know when to fold em’ after all.

Marco