# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/21 "2015-08-19T08:34:10Z")
Kenny, _I Don’t Need You_, but if I had a _Six Pack_ maybe I could listen to the ol’ _Sweet Music Man_. Keep on trying though, 'cause _Love Will Turn You Around_… well _Love or Something Like It._ But according to Kramer… he really knew his chicken ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/22 "2015-08-19T12:14:15Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > 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. Mick was always more attitude than vocal talent. It fit the style of music but you could never say he had a great voice. What is amazing is how at 72 he still runs around stage like he is in his 20s. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/23 "2015-08-19T12:21:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Mick was always more attitude than vocal talent. It fit the style of music but you could never say he had a great voice. What is amazing is how at 72 he still runs around stage like he is in his 20s. Oh, I agree completely on both counts. Mick was never really a good singer, more a stylist, as you say. I admit I haven’t seen them in concert, but when I’ve seen the Stones on TV over the past 20 years, he doesn’t even try to hit notes anymore, or simply can’t. But, yes, he is amazingly fit and spry, and never seems to put on any weight. I’ve heard he goes through a training regimen to get ready for tours, to build up stamina. On a related note: [http://starecat.com/content/wp-content/uploads/for-every-cigarette-you-smoke-god-takes-an-hour-away-from-your-life-and-gives-it-to-keith-richards.jpg](http://starecat.com/content/wp-content/uploads/for-every-cigarette-you-smoke-god-takes-an-hour-away-from-your-life-and-gives-it-to-keith-richards.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/24 "2015-08-19T16:58:16Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > 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. This. Over the last couple of years, my dad has become frail. Last time I saw him, I told him to eat some damn ice cream, because if he gets any thinner his pants will fall off. ☹ It makes me sad, since he was a slim, but wiry guy all his life, and very active (he was a volunteer firefighter and renovated every house we lived in himself). My mom is getting easily fussed these days. And she’s letting my nephew cut the grass for her while she supervises. He also does a lot of the heavy lifting. Until recently, she would replace her own fence and dig her own holes for trees in the garden. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/25 "2015-08-19T17:48:48Z")
Speaking of making jokes, Kenny was a hoot on Mad TV. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J74gMYC7nq0/hqdefault.jpg "Mad TV Kenny Rogers' Testicle Exam") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74gMYC7nq0) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/26 "2015-08-19T20:19:40Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > 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. I saw Paul Simon about 3 years. Man was 70. I was too far back to see what he really looked like, but he was still spry and sounded good. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/27 "2015-08-19T20:51:35Z")
Through the years, He’s really gotten gray. His voice has gone away, Nobody wants to hear him play, no not today. Through the years, he’s really gotten old. If I may be so bold, I think he should be told, It’s time to fold, through the years… ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/28 "2015-08-19T22:04:50Z")
Mick had the good sense to, somewhat blatantly, hire some serious ‘back up’ vocalists. For when he can’t quite hit those notes, or that volume, they fill that vocal in and the fans get to hear the song the way they remember it. Not on all the songs, understand, just the spots where the age of his voice might show. And, I don’t think the fans much mind, to be honest. Who cares who’s carrying the weight while you’re rocking out to a great tune? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/29 "2015-08-19T22:25:20Z")
A better question: what singers have still sounded great in their seventies? The Everly Brothers still sounded wonderful up to the end. Who else? ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/30 "2015-08-19T22:54:21Z")
This thread reminds me very much of something that happened at a concert in my town. We had just built an amazing world class concert hall and one of the first acts was Glen Campbell. He forgot lyrics, slurred some words, and just generally seemed confused and out of it. The critics had a heyday in slamming him in their reviews. That was the last concert he performed before it was announced that he has Alzheimer’s. I believe he still performs some but the critics are much more forgiving now. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/31 "2015-08-20T00:12:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Mick was always more attitude than vocal talent. It fit the style of music but you could never say he had a great voice. What is amazing is how at 72 he still runs around stage like he is in his 20s. And, when he was 52 he looked like he was in his 80s. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189/32 "2015-08-20T00:19:16Z")
BB King, don’t know exactly how old he was, but he delivered 100%! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenny-rogers-needs-to-call-it/728189.md?page=1)