‘ACM Presents: Our Country': Kenny Rogers Remembered With Tribute Medley
Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker honored Kenny Rogers with a performance on the ACM Presents: Our Country TV special. The trio of country stars performed a trio of Rogers' biggest hits in remembrance of the late country icon.
Rucker and Paisley, who also performed a couple of their own songs via FaceTime for the Our Country special, tackled Rogers' first major hit as a solo artist, "Lucille," and one of his most enduring songs, "The Gambler." The two joined each other virtually, each from their respective home offices; Rucker took lead on "Lucille," while he and Paisley split the lines of "The Gambler," harmonizing with each other throughout their performances.
"We miss you, Kenny Rogers," Rucker said to end the performance. Replied Paisley, "We sure do."
Bryan, meanwhile, offered up "Coward of the County." The track was a crossover hit for Rogers: a No. 1 single on the country charts, a No. 3 single on the all-genre Hot 100 and a charting single in Canada, Spain and elsewhere.
"We love you, Kenny," Bryan concluded. "Thank you so much for all of your musical contributions."
Rogers died, at the age of 81, on March 20. Several country artists, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean, reached out with their condolences in the wake of his passing, while longtime friend and "Islands in the Stream" collaborator Dolly Parton delivered an emotional tribute on social media. As Rogers' death came during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, his family is asking fans, in lieu of gifts, to make donations to MusiCares' Coronavirus Relief Fund.
The ACM Presents: Our Country TV special aired Sunday night (April 5) in place of the 2020 ACM Awards. The annual event, which usually takes place in early April in Las Vegas, Nev., was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Officially, the 2020 ACM Awards have been rescheduled for Sept. 16 at 8PM ET (to air on CBS), but no city or venue has been named. Voting for the awards has ended, but the results will remain confidential until the new date. Keith Urban will remain the host of the 2020 ACMs. He was first revealed as this year's host in late February, just as the nominees were announced. Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood are up for Entertainer of the Year this year.
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