Country music icon Kenny Rogers has died aged 81, his family have revealed.
(Pictured: the singer and his wife Wanda Miller, 52, are parents to 14-year-old identical twin sons, Jordan and Justin INSTAGRAM
The star passed away of natural causes at his home in Sandy Springs, in northern Fulton County, Georgia, and his family issued a statement announcing his death on Saturday morning.
The statement read: ‘The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night at 10:25PM at the age of 81.
‘Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.’
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rogers are planning to have a small private service at this time with a public memorial at a later date.
Timeline of Kenny’s life: A hugely successful career, five children and five wives
1983: Kenny Rogers was born on August 21 in Houston, Texas, to parents Lucille Lois and Edward Floyd
1957: Kenny had a solo hit called That Crazy Feeling but when sales slowed down he joined a jazz group called the Bobby Doyle Three
1958: The star married his first wife Janice Gordon on May 15, 1958; they divorced in April 1960 with one child
1960: Soon after Kenny married Jean Rogers in October 1960 and divorced her in 1963
1964: He married Margo Anderson in October 1964 and divorced her in 1976 with one child
1965: His group disbanded in 1965 and a year later Kenny attempted to go solo again however his track called That Rainy Day failed
1966: He joined the New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player
1967: Along with several other members of the band he left to join First Edition, with whom he scored his first major hit, Just Dropped In
1975: Following a run of success the group disbanded and Kenny decided to give his solo career another shot
1977: Kenny married Marianne Gordon on October 1, 1977, and divorced her in 1993 with one child
1980: His song The Gambler won him a Grammy Award was selected in 2018 for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress
1980: In this year came his partnership with Lionel Richie who wrote and produced his No. 1 hit Lady
1981: Kenny purchased the old ABC Dunhill building and built a state of the art recording studio in LA
1984: Kenny’s hugely successful duet with Dolly Parton Islands in the Stream hit the top spot
1991: He worked with former Kentucky Fried Chicken CEO John Y. Brown Jr to start up the restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roaster
1993: He married for the fifth time with Wanda Miller on June 1, 1997. The couple had twin sons together
1994: Kenny released his album Timepiece on Atlantic Records which consisted of jazz standards, the type of music he had performed with the Bobby Doyle Three
2003: Two of his albums, The Gambler and Kenny, were featured in the About.com poll of The 200 Most Influential Country Albums Ever
2006: Kenny launched a comeback and released the album 21 Number Ones followed by Water & Bridges
2007: The star celebrated his golden anniversary in the business by releasing the album 50 Years
2013: Was entered into the Country Music Hall of Fame and performed at the Glastonbury Festival
2015: Rogers announced his farewell tour, titled The Gambler’s Last Deal
2017: The singer performed his last concern in Nashville
2020: Kenny died at his home in Sandy Springs
