Don’t Miss Country and Pop Legend Kenny Rogers Live at bergenPAC

Kenny Rogers

Hackensack High School Choir will Perform Music Medley with Kenny Rogers Performing Solo Hits & Songs for the Holidays

Living legend Kenny Rogers performs at bergenPAC! One of the most prolific country singers and American songwriters of all time, Kenny Rogers amazes crowds with his hits and crooning voice. His hit songs have been pouring in since the 1960s with his songs like “The Gambler,” “Islands in the Stream” and “Lady,” shooting him into worldwide superstardom. Rogers will sing Christmas favorites as well as his hits.

Monday, December 15      8:00 PM   Tickets: $148, $99, $79, $59, $29

Houston-born Rogers formed his first band while in high school in 1956 and hasn’t quit making music since. The rockabilly group, called The Scholars, got a record deal and released two singles that had local success, leading to a performance spot on “American Bandstand.” Soon afterward, Rogers joined the Bobby Doyle Trio, playing stand-up bass in the jazz band and appearing on their album. In 1966 he became a member of the New Christy Minstrels, the popular folk group, and left a year later to form The First Edition with other members of the troupe.

When the group got their first hit, “I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),” the spotlight started focusing on Rogers. Within a year the band was called Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, and his distinctive voice led the group to both pop and country chart success with “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town,” written by Mel Tillis. The double-genre success struck again with “Reuben James,” and the group landed their own TV variety show.

In 1974 when Kenny Rogers and the First Edition disbanded, Rogers searched for a direction to take his solo career. Impressed by the loyalty of country fans that supported their favorite artists long after they had disappeared from radio, Rogers looked to country. He saw instant success with “Love Lifted Me,” which reached the Top 20 in 1975. Then came “The Gambler,” a story song so vivid that it became a TV movie, starring Rogers himself in the title role. The movie spawned four follow-ups, making it the longest running miniseries franchise on television. It started Rogers on a second career as an actor on television and movies, including another TV movie based on one of his hit songs, “Coward of the County.”

Though theoretically a country singer, Rogers dominated the pop charts, consistently finding songs with universal appeal. In the 1980s he came to embody the role of the sensitive male, singing such romantic hits as “Through The Years,” “She Believes In Me,” “You Decorated My Life” and “Lady,” the biggest song of his career. Those songs remain classics today- sung at countless weddings, and even engraved on tombstones.

Although Rogers’ music stopped being played on the radio throughout the ‘80s, he never stopped making music. He kept himself occupied in other ways by establishing himself as a well-respected photographer, publishing several books, and being invited to the White House to shoot a portrait of First Lady Hillary Clinton. In 1999, after forming his own record company, Dreamcatcher Entertainment, Rogers found himself back on the country chart with a touching story song about a young boy playing baseball. When "The Greatest" got radio and video airplay, it was greeted as a sweet comeback from a favorite bygone singer. When the follow-up, "Buy Me a Rose" hit #1, Rogers proved that his talent was just as vibrant and meaningful as it was when he first started out.

Rogers continues to tour today, and will be making an appearance at our very own bergenPAC! Don’t miss this opportunity to hear this country legend LIVE!

Regarding the Performance: - bergenPAC - 30 North Van Brunt Street - Englewood, NJ 07631

About Bergen Performing Arts Center: Known as The John Harms Center for 27 years, this cultural hub in Englewood, has been reborn as Bergen Performing Arts Center or bergenPAC. This 1367- seat theater is a landmark, and in its third season as bergenPAC it remains one of the finest acoustic halls in the United States. The legendary Tony Bennett and Canadian crooner k.d. lang recorded their 2003 Grammy award-winning CD live on bergenPAC’s own stage through a broadband fiber-optic connection with Bennett Studios. bergenPAC is the home of a media production system that is unparalleled, upholding its reputation as a venue for outstanding music, dance and theater. As a non-profit corporation, bergenPAC has thrived thanks to the aid and generosity of sponsors, donors and patrons.