Kenny Rogers tribute show full of surprises, memorable moments

All-star superstar performances and surprises recap a 50 year career

Kenny Rogersโ€™ musical career has touched many different styles of music throughout various generations, and his farewell performance to Nashville, All In For The Gambler, served as a reminder of the musical impact that his career has had โ€“ and will continue to make for years to come. An all-star cast of Rogersโ€™ contemporaries โ€“ and many of todayโ€™s hottest musical artists โ€“ turned up last night (Wed, Oct 25th) at the Bridgestone Arena in Music City to pay tribute to the Country Music Hall of Fame member, who is in the midst of his farewell tour, The Gamblerโ€™s Last Deal. Perhaps the most emotional moment of the night belonged to Dolly Parton, who teamed with Rogers one last time on their 1983 hit โ€œIslands In The Streamโ€ after surprising both Rogers โ€“ and the audience โ€“ with a heartfelt performance of โ€œI Will Always Love Youโ€ to her friend and collaborator. The two also reminisced about their lengthy friendship โ€“ which dates back to a Rogers appearance on her syndicated TV show from the mid 1970โ€™s โ€“ almost a decade before they first teamed up. The two also closed out their performing career together with the Grammy-nominated โ€œYou Canโ€™t Make Old Friends,โ€ a single from 2013.

The evening was a mixture of song performances that balanced many of the singerโ€™s iconic hits โ€“ as well as many of the early days of Rogersโ€™ career as the lead vocalist of The First Edition. Jamey Johnson paid tribute to the singerโ€™s versatility with a raucous take on Mickey Newburyโ€™s โ€œJust Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),โ€ a First Edition hit from five decades ago. The Flaming Lips shined the light on โ€œRuby, Donโ€™t Take Your Love To Town,โ€ with Reba McEntire tipping the hat to the groupโ€™s โ€œReuben James.โ€ Elle King gave a jaw-dropping performance of โ€œTulsa Turnaround,โ€ one of the First Editionโ€™s lesser-known tracks โ€“ that Rogers himself recorded for his 1979 album Kenny. Rogersโ€™ fellow Texan Kris Kristofferson paid tribute to the bandโ€™s cover of โ€œMe and Bobby McGee,โ€ which he wrote.

Of course, the main focus of the evening was on the record-setting solo career Rogers embarked on in the mid-1970s, and those hits were on full display during the evening. Justin Moore nodded to the beginning of the singerโ€™s hit making era with โ€œLucille,โ€ with spellbinding performances taking place from The Oak Ridge Boys (โ€œLove Or Something Like Itโ€), Chris Stapleton (โ€œThe Gamblerโ€), and Lady Antebellum (โ€œShe Believes In Meโ€). A special moment took place with the appearance of Don Henley โ€“ who once lived with Rogers and his family – to perform the classic โ€œDesperado,โ€ which Rogers cut in 1977 for his Daytime Friends album.

Many of the 80โ€™s and 90โ€™s hits of the singer were featured during The Gamblerโ€™s Last Deal as well. Billy Currington delivered a sensual take on โ€œMorning Desire,โ€ with Lady Antebellumโ€™s Charles Kelley and Idina Menzel teaming up for โ€œWeโ€™ve Got Tonight,โ€ a 1983 Rogers hit with Sheena Easton. Two of the singersโ€™ most frequent collaborators figured prominently in this era with appearances with Lionel Richie giving a beautiful take on โ€œโ€™Lady,โ€ a number one pop and country hit that he wrote for Rogers’ย Greatest Hits album in 1980, and Alison Krauss saluted the singer with a pristine version of his romantic ballad โ€œLove The World Away.โ€ Another incredible performance came from Lady Antebellumโ€™s Hillary Scott and mother Linda Davis โ€“ who has toured extensively with Rogers over the years โ€“ uniting on stage for the singerโ€™s 1987 chart-topper โ€œTwenty Years Ago.โ€

There were several other great musical moments during All In For The Gambler, with Naomi and Wynonna Judd reuniting for โ€œBack To The Well,โ€ and an all-star group of Rogersโ€™ former opening acts paying tribute to the icon with a sing-along performance of his 1982 hit โ€œBlaze Of Glory,โ€ including Travis Tritt, The Gatlin Brothers, Kim Forester, T.G. Sheppard, Crystal Gayle, Lee Greenwood, T. Graham Brown, and Billy Dean.

Blackbird Presents’ Keith Wortman, creator and executive producer of Nashville’s recent highly acclaimed Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard, is the creator and executive producer of All In For The Gambler. Grammy Award Winner Don Was served as music director, and presided over a stellar house band backing the performers at this historic concert event taping. Kenny Rogers’ manager, Ken Levitan, also served as executive producer. The event was filmed and recorded for multi-platform distribution throughout traditional media (worldwide broadcast, music, and digital).

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn