Kenny Rogers Said Music Changed His Life
Country music legend Kenny Rogers enjoyed a decades-long career. Here’s what Rogers said about the day music “changed his life.”
Kenny Rogers said he was always surrounded by music
Music was a significant part of Rogers’ life from the time he was a young boy. In his book, Luck or Something Like It, he says his family used to gather each year and play music together. One of his uncles even placed an organ on the family porch so he could play music during family gatherings. Rogers says he felt close to the family during these moments.
Rogers says his uncles brought all their instruments to family reunions. His father brought his fiddle, one of his brothers brought an organ that he put on the porch, and his uncles played guitar. Rogers referred to it as a family “band.”
“All the kids would sit around and listen to the music and feel the closeness of the family,” says Rogers in his book. I would sit with my feet under the front of the house and play drums with my hands on the old wooden porch, as if I were part of the group.” Rogers says these musical events gave him an “instant love for music.”
Kenny Rogers felt a connection to gospel music
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Rogers said he was around all kinds of music during his youth, but gospel music had a major impact on him. He was attracted 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.”
The day music changed Kenny Rogers’ life
Rogers said he remembered the day music changed his life. He said that day had a significant impact on him musically. One day, when he was walking by the neighborhood church, Rogers overheard music from a service. Once he heard the gospel music coming from the church, he couldn’t resist getting a little closer to hear the music. He decided to get next to the church window and look inside. Here’s how he described that day.
The whole congregation was standing, clapping, singing, and some of them were dancing in praise of the Lord. Some of the hymns had the same words as ours, but there was so much warmth and honesty and rhythm in this sound.
Rogers said listening to the gospel choir was a “defining moment” for him. He said he heard the same songs played in different ways and he could appreciate both styles. Roger always loved different kinds of music and he enjoyed hearing different styles played as separate songs or fused together. “I’m no purist,” wrote Rogers. “I just love the music.”
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