Kenny Rogers died on Friday night in Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was 81.
A representative for the singer said in a statement that Rogers “passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.”
Rogers embarked on a farewell tour in 2015, which ran through December 2017. In April 2018 he announced that he was having to call off the remaining dates due to health challenges.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to say farewell to the fans over the course of the past two years on “The Gambler’s Last Deal” tour,” he said back then in a statement. “I could never properly thank them for the encouragement and support they’ve given me throughout my career and the happiness I’ve experienced as a result of that.”
Fellow musicians took to social media to remember Rogers’ musical legacy.
Dolly Parton took to Twitter writing, “I know that we all know that Kenny is in a better place than we are today and I’m pretty sure that he’s going to be talking to God sometime today… and he’s going to be asking him to spread some light on a bunch of this darkness. I loved Kenny with all my heart. My heart’s broken. A big ol’ chunk of it has gone with him today.”
