For over fifty years, Kenny Rogers has been
a fixture on the American music scene with his chart topping hits such as:
“Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” “Lucille,” “Love or Something Like It,”
“Lady,” “Islands in the Stream,” and “The Gambler,” among a multitude of
others. Now for the first time, this living legend reveals his incredible
rise to fame, detailing his personal highs and lows with his memoir LUCK
OR SOMETHING LIKE IT (William Morrow; On Sale October 2, 2012;
Hardcover; $27.99).
Speaking candidly, Kenny reflects upon his rough childhood
in the South—living in the projects of Houston and growing up in poverty—and
how his father’s alcoholism greatly impacted his career by helping him avoid
the common pitfalls of substance abuse that often plague fame. Forever indebted
to his mother for her thought-provoking wisdom and pitch perfect advice, Kenny
entered the music business with a reputation for hard work and a positive
attitude. These homegrown traits coupled with his strong faith enabled
Kenny to persevere through the difficult periods of his career—the breakup of
his first professional musical group, The First Edition, and the struggles he
faced when trying to go solo.
Throughout Kenny’s career he has reinvented himself time and
time again, managing to stay successful and current while also being true to
his values as a performer. Along the way he has experimented across many
musical genres with some of music’s greatest talents, and here he discusses his
journey in depth and reveals the secret to his success: his ability to
remain open-minded and his willingness not to let his past dictate his future.
Featuring a cast of characters ranging from Elvis to Dolly
Parton to Ray Charles to Dottie West to Lionel Richie, Rogers’ story offers a
candid and eye-opening look at the world of country music, showing how
mainstream success led to crossover artistic partnerships that pushed his
musical boundaries, but forced him to go against the trends of the Nashville
establishment as he combined country music with other sounds from pop music.
In LUCK OR SOMETHING LIKE IT, Kenny shares
highlights from his ever-evolving musical career including:
- Kenny
and Dolly: As one-half of one of popular music’s greatest duos,
Kenny writes warmly about his longtime working relationship with Dolly
Parton, telling never-before-heard stories about their first meeting and
what they’ve meant to each other all these years.
- Kenny
and Lionel: Discussing how his open-mindedness always led him to
experiment musically and avoid developing a stale, complacent style, he
explains the steps that led him to approach Lionel Richie in the early 80s
about recording a song together. The result of that song—and his
willingness to experiment beyond the strict boundaries of country
music—was the massively successful “Lady” and a partnership that would
last for decades.
- Inside
The Gambler: Kenny goes backstage on the making of a cultural
phenomenon—the song and TV movie franchise that would become one of his
greatest legacies: “The Gambler.”
Kenny and His Personal Life: Writing
honestly about his marriages and his struggle to stay married through the
years, Kenny explores how his drive for success and his constant life on the
road ultimately made marriage difficult for him despite his family values and
instinct to settle down. Finally, he feels that he has achieved the
elusive work-family balance with his current (fifth) marriage—a heartwarming
story of finding love later on in life.
LUCK OR SOMETHING LIKE IT recounts a musical
journey unlike any other. Kenny Rogers’s life defines an era in music history
that is rapidly slipping away, a time when country music was more than just a
part of pop culture––it was a way of life.
National Book Tour for Kenny Rogers and
LUCK OR SOMETHING LIKE IT
October
2 RIDGEFIELD,
NJ Bookends
October
3 NEW YORK,
NY Barnes & Noble (54th &
3rd)
October
6 LEXINGTON,
KY Joseph-Beth Booksellers
October
7 ATLANTA,
GA
Barnes & Noble (Alpharetta)
October
8 BIRMINGHAM,
AL Books-A-Million (Brookhighland)
October
12 HOUSTON,
TX
Barnes & Noble (River Oaks)
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