Gamblin’ Man

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 5:42 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: August 31, 2003

Las Vegas is home to plenty of gamblers, but it's not every day that The Gambler comes to town.

Country music legend Kenny Rogers returns to the Las Vegas Hilton for a pair of concerts at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Rogers, who turned 65 this month, is set to release the 61st album of his storied career. "Back to the Well" hits shelves on Sept. 23 and will include duets with country stars Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw and Alison Krauss, along with songs written by Phil Vassar and Mark Knopfler.

Fourth among all male vocalists in total career sales, Rogers has reached No. 1 on the country album charts 22 times and has seen 20 of his albums earn platinum status.

The Houston native has also received three Grammy awards, two during the 1970s and another in 1987.

On Tuesday, Rogers took time for a phone interview from his Atlanta home.

Las Vegas Sun: You took some extra time to finish your latest album. How did the recording process differ from your usual method?

Kenny Rogers: We started it about a year ago and then different things started happening and we found some better songs. Little by little we've taken probably a third of the original album off and added what really are much better songs.

Sun: And most of those late additions were duets with other singers?

KR: Right. What happens is people hear you're doing an album and they don't know when you're through. So they say, "Hey I've got this song. Will you listen to it?" And I listen to everything at all times, because you never know where you're going to find something. If you find something that's better than what's on the album then you do it.

Sun: You sound as excited about your 61st album as some musicians do about their first project.

KR: I love new music, if for no other reason than it really makes the show fresh and feel better. I have stuff that I've been doing for a long time, but every time I interject a new song it just gives the rest of that music a better feeling. And with new music comes new dialogue and new comedy in the show that I do.

Sun: You and Dolly Parton scored a major crossover success with "Islands in the Stream" in 1983. What was it like working with her again?

KR: We haven't worked together in 20 years, so it's exciting. Sometimes the stars line up and everything is perfect, and that's when things really happen well.

We kind of ran into each other and I said, "What's happening with you? You want to do something?" And she said, "Yeah." We had a couple of songs that were written by other people and I said, "You know Dolly, I'd really rather you write this because I think you know us." So she went in and wrote this thing called "Undercover," and it's great.

Sun: You recently visited U.S. troops in Dover, Delaware, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. How important was it for you to be able to include the song, "I'm Missing You" -- which is written from the perspective of a soldier abroad -- on your new album?

KR: It's a great song, because it's not pro-war or anti-war. It just deals with the loneliness that anyone would feel in a foreign country, particularly under those conditions.

I think it just makes us all step back by putting war on a one-to-one level. You hear about 150,000 soldiers going over there, and I don't know about you, but I can't relate to that. But you hear one person getting killed or hurt or captured and it becomes a whole different war. It really is a very touching piece of music.

Sun: With 61 albums at your disposal, how do you pick songs for your live show?

KR: One of things I learned is if I do a new song, the audience has to work. They have to really listen: "Do I like that song? Do I like the way he does it? Do I agree with what the lyrics are? What were those words? Did I miss that lyric?" It's really hard work, and they didn't come there to work. They came to enjoy themselves.

So you can do new songs, but it's sure nice to have hits to surround them with. Because with the hits they get to relax and be part of the show, so they don't mind working for the new ones. So the trick is to pace them out and spread them out in such a way that they get a chance to really enjoy new material, but at the same time hear what they came to hear.

I think under all conditions there's a group of songs that I have to do every night: "Lucille," "Coward of the County," "Daytime Friends," "Lady," "Through the Years" ... There's a nucleus of about seven or eight songs that I feel I have to do.

Sun: "The Gambler?"

KR: "The Gambler's" one of them, yes.

Sun: The Vegas crowds wouldn't let you out of here alive if you didn't play that one.

KR: That's the whole thing, and I respect that. I went to see Ray Charles once, years ago. And he didn't do "Georgia on My Mind," and I was totally disappointed because that's what I really wanted to hear.

Sun: Your image is on a billboard along Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Southern California, advertising for San Diego's Barona Valley Rancho Resort and Casino. How did you decide to partner with the Barona Reservation?

KR: When they first came in they were trying to get identification in their market. They came to me and asked if I would help them with this. I got involved with them because I loved their concept of using that money not for profit, but to help the Indians. And it was very lucrative for me as well.

Sun: You've acted, written novels and released books of photography over the years. Does music remain your primary love?

KR: I think music is what I am and everything else is what I do. I'm going to China Sept. 14 for three weeks on a photo safari, and I'm trying to finish another book called "Faces and Places." But that's just kind of a way to wash my mind a little bit and get away from music so that when I get back I can be fresh again.