Grammy winner Kenny Rogers, playing longevity like a game of poker, was dealt some sage advice by the late comedian George Burns: Stay booked.
“So, that’s what I do,” Kenny Rogers said. “Stay booked and keep moving,” the long-time musician told the Fresno Bee for an article that was picked up by papers around the world, including “The Nation” in Bangkok, Thailand.
At 75, the gravely-voiced septuagenarian has kept moving from Nashville to Morrocco after starting his career with the New Christy Minstrels. Later he played in the psychedelic rock band, The First Edition before releasing his first solo album in the late 70’s.
Mr. Rogers said in his interview, that there are two ways to succeed. “You can do what you do better than anyone else. Or you can bypass all comparisons and do something no one else is doing. That’s where my strength has always been.”
Like the lyrics of a well-loved country or pop music song, a good interview must offer a significant message to readers, viewers and listeners. Use your media opportunity to be relevant, interesting and inspiring.
Not a Gambler with his career, Mr. Rogers has recorded twenty four No. 1 hits, including The Gambler, Lionel Richie’s “Lady,” Barry Gibb’s “Island In the Stream,” and Dan Schlitz’s, “You Can’t Make Old Friends” which he recorded in 2013 as a duet with Dolly Parton and earned the duo a Grammy Award.
Not likely to “fold ‘em” anytime soon, Kenny Rogers says of music, “it is what I am. Everything else is what I do.”