Rogers left the group in 1974 and the band broke up the following year.Īt the time The First Edition split, Kenny Rogers was severely in debt and Jolly Rogers was out of business. None of their singles became major hits, though a version of Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again" reached the lower regions of the Country charts late in 1973. They left Reprise the following year, signing to Kenny's new label, Jolly Rogers.
By the end of 1972, the group had their own syndicated television show, but their record sales were drying up. For the next two years, The First Edition bounced between Country, Pop and mild Psychedelia, scoring more chart makers with "Something's Burning" (#11), "Tell It All Brother" (#17) and "Heed the Call" (#33). The country flavor of that single hinted at the direction Rogers was taking, as did the #26 follow-up, "Ruben James". Within a year, the group was billed as Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, and in the Summer of 1969, they had their second Top Ten hit, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town". The single became a hit early in 1968, climbing to number five in the U.S. Adding drummer Terry Jones, The First Edition signed with Reprise and recorded the Pop-Psychedelic single "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)". Rogers stayed with the Folk group for a year, leaving with several other band members, Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Lou Camacho in 1967 to form The First Edition. With them, he can be heard singing on the chorus of the hit record, "Green, Green", behind the lead vocal of Barry McGuire, who would later have a solo smash himself with, "Eve Of Destruction". Once the label dropped him, he joined The New Christy Minstrels in 1966. Rogers released a handful of singles on Mercury, all of which failed. He didn't stay long with Stone, and he soon landed a solo record contract with Mercury Records. The Bobby Doyle Three released one album, "In A Most Unusual Way", before Rogers left the group to play with The Kirby Stone Four. While he was with the group, Rogers continued to explore other musical venues, and played bass on Mickey Gilley's 1960 single, "Is It Wrong". In 1959, he started to attend the University of Texas, but soon dropped out to play bass in the Jazz combo, The Bobby Doyle Three. The B-side of the first single, "That Crazy Feeling", was popular enough to earn him a guest spot on American Bandstand. Following his graduation, Kenny released two solo singles, "We'll Always Fall In Love Again" and "For You Alone," on the local independent label, Carlton. When he was a senior, he played in a rockabilly band called The Scholars.
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As Kenny progressed through high school, he began learning how to play guitar and fiddle. Born in Houston, Texas, on August 21 st, 1938, Kenny Rogers, along with seven siblings were raised in one of the poorest sections of town.