They Killed Kenny

It wasn't the carnivorous rats. Or the toxic waste. Or any of the myriad of painful deaths visited upon Kenny from South Park, Colorado. This was Kenny Rogers from Hitsville, USA and he died from cancer.
Kenny won't be getting the crowded memorial service that he might have if not for the current state of the world. Mourning will have to be done in the relative calm and safety of our homes. Mister Rogers, the one with the beard, will be remembered for all the music he put into the world. He will also be remembered, much to everyone's chagrin, as a Gambler. It took just moments from the announcement of Kenny's passing before Twitter and other online outlets began to suggest that he knew when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Inevitably, it was time for him to walk away because he could no longer run. He was a presence on the American music scene beyond that, and upon reflection I would like to share my own Kenny Rogers experience.
It was his time in The First Edition that sparked my interest. This was back when he was known affectionately by the group as Hippie Kenny. It could be argued that even back then, in the late sixties, Kenny and his group was heading into territory known as Country. The First Edition was spawned from creatively stifled former members of The New Christy Minstrels. Hard to imagine that anyone would feel creatively stifled in The New Christy Minstrels, but shortly after departing that group, the newly-formed First Edition put out a track called "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." It was a hit, but for me it never reached its full artistic vision until it was included in the Coen Brothers' film, The Big Lebowski.
Oh, I know that there were herds of hits that came in the wake of that one, from Mel Tillis' "Ruby (Don't Take Your Love To Town)" to "Something's Burning" to "Tell It All Brother." And this was before 1971 and Kenny's solo career began. There would be time enough for gambling and islands in the streams and duets and TV movies, but these earliest tunes are the ones that stick with me. And from my quarantine I will be playing tribute to Kenny and those early days. He stomped on the Terra and he will be missed.
Aloha, Kenny.