Garth Brooks Inducts Kenny Rogers
Back in 1989, Kenny Rogers was at the peak of his career, playing stadiums, hosting TV shows, winning Grammy Awards, and making movies. That same year, a young man from Yukon Oklahoma, Garth Brooks, released his debut album. Sunday night in Nashville, Garth inducted Kenny into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the moment wasn’t lost on the younger star. Garth said, “In this business, anyone who comes before you is a god, anyone who comes after is a punk. This is so backward right now.” Garth went on to tell how he once learned a lot from Kenny: “Kenny Rogers was sweet enough to give me my first major tour. Everyone treated me like I was somebody, and I got introduced to a part of the United States that I would never have been before. Then night after night, class was in session. You’re humble, but you’re brilliant. I was smart enough to watch a man entertain. You want to know how to treat people? Kenny Rogers will teach you that. He always has time. My wife cannot say enough about you, and how much you helped her career. As much as I feel like a punk right now, I understand how much this part of it means, so I cannot tell you how honored I am to introduce the newest member of the Hall Of Fame: Kenny Rogers.”
Before the ceremony, Kenny explained what it meant to him: “Success is not a happening, it’s a journey. So as I went back through my history, and how I got to where I am, this is like the culmination of my career. I’ve done pretty much everything else, and I think without this, it would have been incomplete, so I’m so thrilled that I was honored with this tonight.”
Darius Rucker was there to perform one of Kenny’s first solo hits, “Lucille.” “Kenny was that guy, the thing I thought was crazy as a kid, as you flipped through the radio, you’d hear a Kenny Rogers song with Buck Owens, and then change the station, and you hear Kenny Rogers and a Cheap Trick song would come on afterwards. He was everywhere, I’ve always been a fan, I know all the hits backwards and forwards. I’m so honored that I even came up in the discussion of performing tonight.” Bee Gees survivor Barry Gibb wrote and produced “Islands In The Stream” for Kenny and Dolly Parton, and performed it at the induction ceremony: “I have a lot of memories of recording it with Kenny and Dolly, and how immediate it was when they sang it. I don’t think there was more than two or three takes on either of those wonderful singers.”
There were two other people inducted with Kenny Rogers during the ceremony. The late writer/producer/engineer Cowboy Jack Clement was inducted in the non-performer category by Charley Pride. Bobby Bare was inducted by Tom T. Hall. Bobby says, “It means I’ll forever be referred to as a Hall of Famer. Which sounds real good. That replaces legendary…I’d rather be Hall of Famer AND legendary. Legendary Hall of Famer. Please!”
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