How Did Kenny Rogers Die?
Kenny Rogers died on March 20, 2020. The country star was 81 years old. How did Rogers die? Here’s what we know.
How did Kenny Rogers die?
Kenny Rogers reportedly died from natural causes. He was in hospice care before his death.
“The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night at 10:25 p.m. at the age of 81,” said a statement from his management company, SKH Music. “Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.”
At the time, Rogers was married to his fifth wife, Wanda Miller. They had two children together. Roger also had three children from other relationships.
In 2019, there were rumors about Rogers’ declining health. The singer said statements about him being sick were “wild misinformation and speculation.” He also said he was planning on “sticking around” for a long time.
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton had a special bond
Many people think of Dolly Parton when the topic of Kenny Rogers arises. The entertainers were not only music partners but also close friends. Parton once said a part of her heart went with Rogers when he passed.
Some people assumed Parton and Rogers were in a romantic relationship, but Parton says they loved each other “like brother and sister.” She used to joke that she was responsible for making Rogers’ hair and beard turn white. She was so saddened by the country singer’s death that she says a “chunk” of her “heart” went with Rogers when he died. She also said her heart was “broken.”
Although Parton misses Rogers, she says she finds comfort in knowing her friend is “in a better place than we are today.” In her book Songteller she says she is sure Rogers is talking to God about “spreading light” on the “darkness” in the world today. She ended her tribute to him by telling him to “fly high” into “the arms of God.”
Kenny Rogers’ musical inspiration
Although Rogers is known for his country songs, he was inspired by gospel music. In his book Luck or Something Like It, Rogers says he grew up around different types of music. However, gospel had a major impact on him. He says he was drawn to the strong voices and the melody. There was a church in his neighborhood where he could hear gospel music playing. He noticed how different the music was from the hymns played at his church.
“There was a little Black gospel church just down the street from Lanzo’s [grocery store],” wrote Rogers. “Sometimes I could hear music coming from that church, music that was far different from what I heard every week when my mom and the family took the bus downtown to First Baptist Church.”
Before pursuing a country music career, Rogers had a career in jazz music. During the 1960s, he was a member of a jazz group called the Bobby Doyle Three. During a 2017 interview with Mike Huckabee, Rogers said he spent the first 10 years of his career as a jazz artist before joining the group Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.
