Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/03/21/kenny-rogers-1938-2020.html
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You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucile
Rest in peace, other Mr. Rogers.
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And this song, later featured in “The Big Lebowski”
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“You’ve painted up your lips and rolled and curled your tinted hair
Ruby are you contemplating going out somewhere?”
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Adios mi amigo, vaya con dios.
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Kenny was a talented singer, but he falls into that more rarefied category of a poet songwriter IMHO. Someone who enriched not only his own song but the song of so many others.
RIP in the tower of song, Kenny.
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We used to stop at Kenny Roger’s Roasters on the regular during road trips. Cause we thought it was hilarious. Good chicken though.
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And somewhere in the darkness
The Gambler, he broke even
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I guess it was time to fold ‘em.
Good travels Kenny.
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I’m sure that’s how he would have wanted to be remembered…
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Felt obligated to post a link to this clip, which I recall vividly after 40 years:
RIP.
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My mom had several of his albums, so I’ve heard quite a few of his songs back in the day. I remember seeing 6-Pack in the theater - a rare movie outing as a kid.
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- Kenny doesn’t look completely comfortable singing along with Muppets.
- I’d never before realized the gambler dies at the end of the song. (Maybe haven’t listened to the whole thing since I was a child, so I’ve got an excuse.)
- Needs some pig saloon girls to get that chorus over the top.
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I’ve got a friend who’s (in part) a professional puppeteer. It’s pretty unnerving interacting with the puppet.
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An anecdote:
When I was in Ethiopia 16 years ago, I kept hearing a cover version of “Islands in the Stream,” but in Amharic, with a reggae-ish beat. Heard it at the airport, from a passing car etc. One afternoon we were getting coffee somewhere in the Piazza neighborhood. In the cafe, on the wall behind the counter, was a giant oil painting of Kenny Rogers giving a “thumbs up,” probably based on this photo:
I concluded that “Ethiopians love Kenny Rogers.”
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It looks like he’s thinking to himself “this song isn’t really for children, it’s got booze, gambling, and death in it.”.
In my mind the song always took place in a boxcar and the characters were a couple of vagrants.
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I was wondering if anyone would post his most on-topic song for this situation!
Here’s the ‘normal’ version:
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Someone should have told him that The Muppet Show wasn’t really for children either. Family friendly, yes but not a strictly kids show.
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