CANCELLED: Kenny Rogers

By now, Kenny Rogers has become such an icon that it's easy to forget how he got there. Having recorded more than 65 albums which have sold over 100 million records worldwide Rogers is an American Icon who is in the same league as The Beatles, Elton John and Elvis Presley.

Rogers has won three Grammy awards, 11 People's Choice Awards, 18 American Music Awards, eight Academy of Country Music awards and five Country Music Association awards and he still loves touring, and recording new music.

Just look at the titles: "Lady," "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town," "The Gambler." "She Believes in Me," "Islands in the Stream," "We've Got Tonight," "Buy Me A Rose." Not a ditty among them. Then listen. The sweetly raspy vocals are instantly identifiable as Kenny Rogers - he sounds like nobody else. More importantly, he inhabits each song, making it vivid and tangible. For five decades, Rogers has delivered memorable songs, drawing fans among rock, pop, soul and country audiences.

When one singer makes such an indelible mark, that's not mere luck or even simple talent. "I really, really love what I'm doing," Rogers says. "People survive longer if they love what they're doing. Because you just don't quit."

Though theoretically a country singer, Rogers dominated the pop charts, consistently finding songs with universal appeal. "I've never considered myself a great singer, but I am a great storyteller," Rogers told Billboard magazine, also noting that he feels his strength as an artist is in finding great songs. 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 are classics today, sung at countless weddings, and even engraved on tombstones.

Kenny Rogers is a man constantly seeking new challenges, new ways to maintain excitement both for himself and his fans. Most of all, he is exactly as he seems; a proud man, but also a sincere, honest one, unfazed by his success and largely unimpressed by his own accomplishments. And with 2008 marking his 50th Anniversary in show business, Kenny's fans around the world can expect some announcements and surprises later this year.