Kenny Rogers passed away Friday at the age of 81. As you can imagine, several stars took to social media, and websites to share their thoughts on Kenny.
Dolly Parton shared a tearful video on Twitter, sharing her shock at hearing of her good friend and “Islands in the Stream” duet partner’s death. “We all know that Kenny is in a better place than we are today, but I’m sure he’s going to be talking to God sometime today,” she shared. “He’s going to be asking Him to spread some light on the darkness that’s going on here.” She added, “I loved Kenny with all my heart. My heart is broken, a big old chunk of it has gone with him today.” She added that she believes she could speak for all his friends, family and fans noting, “I will always love you.”
Garth Brooks shared with Billboard how he felt getting to open for Kenny, noting “Kenny Rogers, by working with him, became one of my heroes,” adding, “Just watching how he treated his band, his guys, everybody, they’d all been with him for 100 years. It was like, “This is how you do it.’” Garth noted that Kenny, “wasn’t a fake person,” noting, “Who you saw on the stage was who you saw in sweats offstage,” and shared the best piece of advice he ever got from him. Garth noted, “The advice he gave me was to enjoy myself when I was out there. You tell me, was that not the best piece of advice ever?”
The Eagles’ Don Henley revealed the important role Kenny played in his career. “Fifty years ago, The Gambler took a gamble on me and my first band from small-town Texas, and his big-hearted support launched many careers, including mine,” he shared in a statement. “He also gave me some of the best career advice I ever got: ‘You’d better be nice to the people you meet on the way up, because you’re going to meet those same people on the way back down.'”
Lionel Richie, who wrote Kenny’s hit “Lady,” shared a series of pictures with Kenny, noting, “Today I lost one of my closest friends ???? So much laughter so many adventures to remember, my heart is broken. My prayers go out to Kenny’s Family.
