Kenny Rogers still records and performs - when the mood strikes him - but he’s glad he no longer lives the life of a pop star. “I wouldn’t be out there today if you paid me,” he joked. Rogers long ago cemented his legacy in the world of popular music, and there will be another reminder of this when he’s finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday with Bobby Bare and the late “Cowboy” Jack Clement. Rogers is remembered for“The Gambler” and other country hits like “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” but the 75-year-old repeatedly strayed into pop music over the years. Now country is more pop - and popular - than ever, and Rogers had a lot to do with that. “When I came in, it was Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard, and then all of a sudden I did ‘Through the Years’ and ‘She Believes in Me,’ started working with Lionel Richie and did ‘Lady’ and started working with Barry Gibb and did ‘Islands in the Stream,’ and as successful as they were, they weren’t what those people thought country music was. I think now they look around and say, ‘Whoa, he was a lot more country than we thought.’”
Fifty Shades of Grey has its male lead, again. Jamie Dornan has been cast as Christian Grey, the lead role that Charlie Hunnam withdrew from recently. Dornan will star alongside female lead Dakota Johnson, with Sam Taylor-Johnson directing. Shooting is planned to begin in November, with a release in August next year. Hunnam’s departure left the project momentarily reeling. The big-screen adaption of E L James’ bestselling erotic novel has been carefully followed by its fans, who were critical of Hunnam’s casting. The 31-year-old Dornan, a former model from Northern Ireland, is relatively unknown. He’s starred in the British TV series The Fall and the ABC series Once Upon a Time.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 10/25/2013