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Luck or Something Like It

A Memoir

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available
For more than half a century, Kenny Rogers has been recording some of the most revered and beloved music in America and around the world. Now, in his first-ever memoir, Kenny details his lifelong journey to becoming one of American music's elder statesmen. Exploring the struggles of his long road, his story begins simply: growing up in Depression-era Texas, living in the projects, surviving in poverty, and listening to his mother, who always had just the right piece of wisdom. Recounting his early years, Kenny charts how he came into his own as an artist with the First Edition, only to have the band's breakup in the 1970s raise questions about his musical future. Yet, as Kenny explains, it was precisely this soul-searching that led him to a new direction on his own in Nashville. Telling the stories that have become legends in a town that's seen many of them, he recalls the making of his career in country music and his most memorable songs. Along the way, he shares the friendships, both big and small, that hav
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    • AudioFile Magazine
      The singer of such great country hits as "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille," "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town," and "The Gambler" offers a candid, unadorned memoir of his life's journey. Traber Burns provides a simple declarative narration style. His husky growl evokes Rogers's down-home country-western sound. But despite the logic of having a "regular guy" tell a "regular guy's" story, Burns doesn't maintain the listener's interest. Fans will undoubtedly enjoy the homespun accounts of Rogers's early efforts as a jazz bassist and his later work with The New Christy Minstrels and The First Edition before launching a solo career. Rogers also shares insights into the personalities of Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie, among others. Sadly, this may be an audio experience for Rogers enthusiasts only. W.A.G. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 22, 2012
      Kenny Rogers waited until he was 74 years old to publish this memoir, probably because his lifeâwhile certainly fullâlacks the over-the-top shenanigans of other mainstream celebrities. A nondrinker and nonsmoker, Rogers only experimented with drugs early in his career; women have been his biggest vice, and he writes candidly here about his five marriages and an early-'90s phone-sex scandal that seems almost quaint today. In the same relaxed, simple voice that delivered the massive crossover hits "The Gambler," "She Believes in Me" and "Lady," Rogers chronicles his childhood in the housing projects of Houston, where his sister Geraldine instilled in him a love of singing harmony that would later help him sell more than 125 million albums; his transition from bass player and singer in the First Edition to solo superstar status near the age of 40;and his various side projects, including USA for Africa, Kenny Rogers Roasters, tennis, television, photography and even theater. Along the way, Rogers takes swipes at Tom Jones, Lorne Greene, the Captain & Tennille and at least one of his ex-wives, while also sharing the catalysts for some of his most abiding hits. Ripe with nostalgia, this book should please Rogers's fans while encouraging newcomers to explore his diverse and deep body of work.

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  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

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