# Kenny Rogers needs to call it! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189 "2015-08-18T17:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/1 "2015-08-18T17:02:27Z")
I see about 20 concerts a year, and half of those are at the state fair. Thanks to being able to get free/reduced rate passes from my brother I’ve seen almost every concert at the fair over the last 20 years. Saw [Kenny Rogers](http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/musicandnightlife/kenny-rogers-struggles-at-wisconsin-state-fair-show-b99554883z1-322010081.html) on Sunday. Good lawd! :smack::rolleyes: I saw him years ago and he was quite good. On Sunday his voice was so weak and feeble one could barely hear him even with amplifiers. Then he forgot the lyrics on several songs. He skipped an entire line on Coward of the County. His poor back up musicians had to improvise because of it. What a mess. He made jokes about his terrible condition and commented on how old the Rolling Stones are yet are still rocking. That’s them, not him though. You got to know when to bail, Kenny! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/2 "2015-08-18T17:11:27Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > You got to know when to bail, Kenny! ☹ Don’t you mean know when to fold 'em? ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/3 "2015-08-18T17:15:02Z")
I have no idea what happened to the man, but he looks like hell in the insurance commercials. I assumed he had one of those facelifts that turned out to be a Liberace Special, the kind where you can’t close your eyes any more and you have a new cleft in your chin that used to be your belly button… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/4 "2015-08-18T17:18:57Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > He made jokes about his terrible condition So, what condition _was_ his condition in? ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/5 "2015-08-18T17:20:30Z")
It’s really kind of sad. Kenny Rogers was a very talented singer in the 60s and 70s, and maybe even the 80s. But between the botched face lift and lost voice, he really should have folded his cards 20 years ago. And mentioning the Stones doesn’t help his case, as Mick hasn’t been able to sing for quite awhile, either. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/6 "2015-08-18T17:27:38Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So, what condition _was_ his condition in? He could barely walk. He looked and spoke like he wanted to lie down and take a [dirt] nap. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/7 "2015-08-18T18:17:17Z")
so, this was not a fine time to see him? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/8 "2015-08-18T18:30:09Z")
Was this an “off” day? Was he maybe drunk or massively hung over? I’ve never seen him and hardly know any of his songs, but just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/9 "2015-08-18T18:49:12Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was this an “off” day? Was he maybe drunk or massively hung over? No. He’s just too old. He’s going to be 78. Time to call it a career instead of embarrassing himself. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/10 "2015-08-18T19:44:45Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > I have no idea what happened to the man, but he looks like hell in the insurance commercials. I assumed he had one of those facelifts that turned out to be a Liberace Special, the kind where you can’t close your eyes any more and you have a new cleft in your chin that used to be your belly button… Or the kind where if you’re female, you now have a goatee? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/11 "2015-08-18T19:52:33Z")
Agreed. My wife is a big Kenny Rogers fan. We saw him 4 times over the years. He put on a good show. The last time, a couple of years ago, he was on stage for slightly over an hour and butchered his songs. His plastic surgery made me wonder if we weren’t at a KR tribute show. We will never go to one of his shows again even if it’s free. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/12 "2015-08-18T20:14:10Z")
**Honey,** you’re worse than I am. And I mean that as a compliment. If I recall correctly, Kenny made several “Gambler” TV movies in the eighties, and was still a headliner at live venues. He didn’t look like a coffin candidate then. While I can see where a botched facelift could screw up your looks, I have never heard that it otherwise impacted your health. Anyone know anything? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/13 "2015-08-18T20:29:10Z")
Don’t give up on Kenny- you’ve got to belieeeeeeve in him. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/14 "2015-08-18T20:36:51Z")
Maybe he should retire to an island in the stream. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/15 "2015-08-18T21:02:44Z")
> [@simster](#): > > so, this was not a fine time to see him? I think he’s looking pretty good for a guy who has four hundred children. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/16 "2015-08-18T21:09:01Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > While I can see where a botched facelift could screw up your looks, I have never heard that it otherwise impacted your health. Anyone know anything? Well, bad facelifts usually don’t do anything but make you look weird or ugly. More likely, he’s 78 and elderly. Not everyone ages at the same rate, after all, some people are old and feeble at 60 and others hale and hearty at 90, he could lean more to the former than the latter. Don’t recall if Rogers had a drug or drinking problem, if he did, that might also be contributing. He could also have some sort of degenerative issue that’s starting to manifest, like Glen Campbell has Alzheimer’s that got pretty obvious his last few years performing. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/17 "2015-08-18T21:10:57Z")
Maybe he can go back to pitching the _ **Quick-Picking, Fun-Strumming** _ home guitar course! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/18 "2015-08-18T21:43:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Don’t recall if Rogers had a drug or drinking problem, if he did, that might also be contributing. He made jokes when talking about other old rockers still running on stage (like Jager) _“Guess I didn’t do enough drugs back in the day”_. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/19 "2015-08-18T21:47:19Z")
I saw Mellencamp @ the Riverside back in June. He’s what, 64? Looked like hell in the face but sounded good and moved around alright. Interested to see what he’s like in 10-15 years. Kenny was really decrepit. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/20 "2015-08-18T22:03:49Z")
I think aging really starts to kick in around three score and ten. I’ve seen lots of active 60ish people turn into rather frail 70ish people. And by 80 most people are frail indeed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189.md?page=2)