The Gambler would seem to be cashing in his chips.
Country superstar Kenny Rogers, who embarked on a yearlong final worldwide tour in May, stops in North Little Rock tonight. The Gambler's Last Deal is set for 8 p.m. in Verizon Arena's more intimate theatre setting.
Kenny Rogers’ Final World Tour: The Gambler’s Last Deal
8 p.m. today, the Theatre at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock
Tickets $68 to $88, six-ticket limit per household. Available at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com
"The show is going to be a linear look at my musical history," says Rogers, 78, and a native of Houston.
The Country Music Hall of Fame member and Grammy Award-winning singer has nearly 60 years as an entertainer under his belt. His No. 1 hits include "The Gambler," "Lucille," "Coward of the County," "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town," "Lady," "Islands in the Stream," "She Believes in Me," "We've Got Tonight," "Daytime Friends," "Through the Years," and "You Decorated My Life."
Tour performances include a career retrospective accented with personal stories, vintage photos and video clips -- including never-before-seen footage. He'll be joined by Grammy winner Linda Davis on duets.
"I will do my hits in the show but I will explain some of them, which is really fun," he says. "I'll also do some of those songs I've haven't done in 30 years and talk about how they came about and what made them unique.
"I think the journey is what makes a career so exciting."
He says a bad knee combined with a desire to spend more time with his youngest children -- 11-year-old twin boys -- led to his decision to halt large-scale touring.
"We recently took them to Africa on a safari, were there for three days, and they cried when we had to leave," Rogers says. "I decided now was the time while I can still travel to take them places; so that one day they can look back and say, 'My dad took me there.' I have older children but I didn't get to do these things with them."
Rogers' previous appearances in Arkansas include one in the fall of 1982, another in 1984 and more recently in 2014.
Rogers has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide and has charted a record within each of the past seven decades. That adds up to 24 No. 1 hits, 11 No. 1 albums and 25 Top 10 country albums. He has won numerous awards, including three Grammys, six from the Country Music Association and eight from the Academy of Country Music.
In addition to selling out arenas, Rogers also found success on the pop charts, landing 28 Billboard Adult Contemporary Top 10 hits, which places him fourth among male performers behind Elton John, Neil Diamond and Elvis Presley.
That seems fitting, considering his earliest critical and commercial successes in the late '60s and early '70s were rock-based.
Rogers has also written books (including an autobiography in 2012) and pursued photography while traveling the country. His images were published in a collection, Kenny Rogers' America in 1986. He has also tried his hand at acting and launched his own restaurant, Kenny Rogers Roasters from 1991 to 1998. The singer made entertainment headlines for becoming the father of twin boys in 2004, shortly before his 66th birthday, with his fifth wife, Wanda, and for surprising longtime fans with his surgically altered appearance on American Idol in 2006.
Dates continue to be added to Rogers' tour, which is expected to run at least through April, spanning the United States and stretching overseas.
"I will miss the people and the appreciation and respect they've shown me," he says. "It's been such a gift. I will miss making people laugh and smile; the interplay between me and audience."
Weekend on 10/06/2016