Kenny Rogers

To country fans, Kenny Rogers is a musical ironman who consistently crushed out hits like “Lucille” and “Lady” from the late ’70s into the early ’00s. To pop culture enthusiasts, he’s a perennially goateed guy better known for his Roasters restaurant chain, his roles in made-for-TV movies, and an appearance as himself in an episode of Reno 911!. But make no mistake: People who claim they didn’t learn poker table etiquette from “The Gambler” are probably lying, and Rogers’ collaboration with Dolly Parton on “Islands In The Stream” remains one of the most enduring duets of all time. In 2009, Parton re-teamed with her old friend for a new song on the box-set retrospective The First 50 Years—and while Rogers hasn’t had much else in the way of new material (his last studio album was 2006’s Water And Bridges), he obviously has plenty to fall back on.

Updated 11/21/2011