Kenny Rogers

===2000–2015===
[[File:WIKI KENNY ROGERS.jpg|thumb|right|Rogers in 2004]]
In the 21st century (and at age 61), Rogers was back at No.&nbsp;1 for the first time in more than a decade with the 2000 single "[[Buy Me a Rose]]".<ref name=cmt1304 /> In doing so, he broke a 26-year-old record held by [[Hank Snow]] (who, in April 1974, was aged 59 when he scored with "Hello Love"). Rogers held the record until 2003, when then 70-year-old [[Willie Nelson]] became the oldest artist to have a No.&nbsp;1 on the country charts with his duet with [[Toby Keith]], "[[Beer for My Horses]]".

Although Rogers did not record new albums for a couple of years, he continued to have success in many countries with more greatest hits packages.  In 2004 ''[[42 Ultimate Hits]]'', which was the first hits collection to span his days with the First Edition to the present, reached Number 6 on the American country charts and went gold.  It also featured two new songs, "My World Is Over" with [[Whitney Duncan]] and "We Are the Same".  "My World Is Over" was released as a single and was a minor hit. In 2005, ''The Very Best of Kenny Rogers'', a double album, sold well in Europe. It was the first new solo Rogers hits album to reach the United Kingdom for over a decade, despite many compilations there that were not true hits packages.

Rogers also signed with [[Capitol Records]] and had more success with the TV advertised release ''21 Number Ones'' in January 2006. Although this CD did contain 21 chart-toppers as the title claims (recorded between 1976 and the present day), this was not a complete collection of Rogers's No.&nbsp;1 singles, omitting such singles as "Crazy in Love" and "What About Me?"

Capitol followed ''21 Number Ones'' with Rogers's new studio album, ''[[Water & Bridges]]'', in March 2006 on the [[Capitol Records|Capitol Nashville Records]] label. The first single from the album was "[[I Can't Unlove You]]", which peaked at No.&nbsp;17 on the country charts, after spending over 6 months on the hit list, more than 50 years after he formed his first group and 38 years after his first major hit as leader of the First Edition; the song remains in recurrent airplay on some radio stations today. "I Can't Unlove You" was followed up with the second single from the album, "The Last Ten Years (Superman)", in September 2006. The third single, "Calling Me", which features [[Don Henley]], became popular in early 2007, and was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] at the [[49th Annual Grammy Awards|2007 Grammy Awards]]. Also in 2007, the 1977 ''Kenny Rogers'' album was re-issued as a double CD, also featuring the 1979 ''Kenny'' album and this once again put Rogers's name into the sales charts worldwide. The following year, another compilation album (''A Love Song Collection'') also charted.<ref name="DeYoung" />

On August 26, 2008, Rogers released ''50 Years''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://music.aol.ca/article/kenny-rogers-celebrates-new-project-of-old-classics/336423|title=Kenny Rogers Q&A—Celebrates New Project with Old Classics|publisher=AOL Music Canada|date=March 24, 2009|access-date=July 21, 2011}}</ref> exclusively at Cracker Barrel stores. The album included some of Rogers's greatest hits, plus three new songs. The release is designed to celebrate Rogers's 50th year in the music business. In 2007, the [[England national rugby union team]] adopted Rogers song "The Gambler" as their unofficial [[2007 Rugby World Cup]] anthem,<ref>{{cite news|last=Britten|first=Nick|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1565734/Kenny-the-Gambler-Rogers-backs-England.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1565734/Kenny-the-Gambler-Rogers-backs-England.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Kenny 'the Gambler' Rogers backs England|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=October 10, 2007|access-date=July 21, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> after hearing prop [[Matt Stevens (rugby union)|Matt Stevens]] playing it in the team hotel. Before the semi-final against France and the final against South Africa, Rogers sent video messages of support to the team in light of them choosing his song.<ref name="Independent2007">{{cite news|title=Rugby World Cup: A new national anthem? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rugby-world-cup-a-new-national-anthem-397038.html  |date=October 17, 2007 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=March 23, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Kenny Rogers (7787973332).jpg|thumb|left|Rogers in 2012 at the [[State Theatre (Sydney)|State Theatre]] in Sydney, Australia]]
In 2008, Rogers toured with his Christmas Show. He split the show up, making the first half his "best of" and the second half his Christmas songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.mohegansun.com/2008/12/11/the-best-entertainers-are-heading-to-mohegan-this-holiday-season.html|title=The Best Entertainers Are Heading To Mohegan This Holiday Season|publisher=[[Mohegan Sun Casino]]|date=December 11, 2008|access-date=July 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714111225/http://newsroom.mohegansun.com/2008/12/11/the-best-entertainers-are-heading-to-mohegan-this-holiday-season.html|archive-date=July 14, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2009, Rogers embarked on his 50th Anniversary Tour.

On April 10, 2010, a TV special was taped, ''Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years''. [[Dolly Parton]] and [[Lionel Richie]] were among those set to perform with Rogers during a show celebrating his contribution to country, blues and pop music. It took place at the MGM Grand in Foxwoods. The TV special was Executive Produced by Gabriel Gornell and Colleen Seldin and aired on GAC in North America and BBC worldwide.

On June 10, 2012, Rogers appeared on stage with the musical group Phish to perform his hit song "The Gambler" at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Also in 2012, Rogers re-recorded the hit song "Lady", a duet with its songwriter Lionel Richie, on Richie's album ''[[Tuskegee (album)|Tuskegee]]''. The pair also performed the song live at the 2012 ACM concert, "Lionel Richie & Friends".<ref>{{cite web |title=Kenny Rogers's 'Lady' and Other Lionel Richie Collaborations Remembered After His Death |url=https://popculture.com/country-music/2020/03/22/kenny-rogers-lionel-richie-lady-collaborations-remembered-after-death/ |website=Popculture.com |access-date=March 23, 2020}}</ref>

On April 10, 2013, the CMA announced that Rogers would be a 2013 inductee into the [[Country Music Hall of Fame]], along with [[Jack Clement|Cowboy Jack Clement]] and [[Bobby Bare]].<ref name=cmt1304 /> In June 2013, he performed at the [[Glastonbury Festival 2013|Glastonbury Festival]] in England in the Sunday afternoon 'Legends' slot.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/27/30-minutes-with-kenny-rogers|title= Kenny Rogers: 'I figured, someone asked for me, so here I come'|date=June 27, 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=June 27, 2013 }}</ref>

In 2013, Rogers recorded a new album with the name ''[[You Can't Make Old Friends (album)|You Can't Make Old Friends]]''. This album included the title track, a new duet with [[Dolly Parton]], which was his first single released in six years.<ref name="DeYoung" />

Rogers recorded 65 albums and sold over 165 million records.<ref>{{cite news|last=Malachowski|first=David|url=http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Kenny-Rogers-plays-Christmas-music-and-his-own-868545.php|title=Kenny Rogers plays Christmas music and his own hits|newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]]|date=December 9, 2010|access-date=July 21, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Iain|last=Shedden|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/countrys-singalong-king-kenny-rogers-swings-in/story-e6frg8n6-1225978936492|title=Country's singalong king Kenny Rogers swings in|newspaper=[[The Australian]]|date=December 31, 2010|access-date=July 21, 2011}}</ref>