Kenny Rogers talks about his concert, support of Sikeston center

What started as a kind gesture by a legendary country music artist grew into a lifelong dedication to helping local children.

Grammy winner Kenny Rogers met the Sikeston Jaycees in 1977 when he was performing at the group's Bootheel Rodeo. Struck by their passion to create a facility for kids with cerebral palsy, Rogers donated Borraabby, an Arabian stallion he was raising at the time.

The horse brought $75,000 at auction, which became the seed capital for what is now the Kenny Rogers Children's Center in Sikeston, Missouri, according to the center's website. But Rogers said generous donations and support from the community really helped the idea take off.

Over the years, Rogers continued to lend his talents to the facility and it grew beyond cerebral palsy to provide previously unmet needs for children with disabilities throughout Southeast Missouri.

On June 1, the raspy-voiced crooner plans to come back to Sikeston to play in a benefit concert and said he hopes to see the community come together again to support the center, which provides care at no cost.

"It's such a great cause and I've developed kind of a kinship with Sikeston over the years, and I think that what they're doing there is so wonderful," he said in an interview with the Southeast Missourian. "I'm proud and excited to be a part of it."

Rogers said bumping into those Jaycees that day was an accident, and he's happy he was given the opportunity to help.

"I never expected to have my name attached to [the center], but I'm very flattered they chose to do that," he said. "I thought it was something I could afford to do and wanted to do because I loved their enthusiasm. ... But just to think of where that came from -- from one little statement made to me, then one thing leads to another, and they end up with something that's really spectacular, not only for Sikeston, but the entire state."

Rogers, a 2013 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, has played for thousands in sold-out arenas. While the coming benefit concert might not reach those numbers, the singer said he wants to make sure each member of the audience goes home happy.

"It's not important to me that one person leave that place saying, 'He's the best singer I've ever heard,' but it's important that every one of them leave saying, 'I enjoyed that,'" Rogers said, "because I think I'm more of an entertainer than an artist, so my goal is to have fun and let the people who come have fun."

Those who attend the concert can expect to hear plenty of Rogers' famous hits, old and new. Popular songs from his most recent album include "'Merica" and the title track "You Can't Make Old Friends," a duet with famous friend Dolly Parton.

"I do those songs just to break up the old hits," Rogers said. "People say, 'Do you get tired of doing the old hits?' and I say, 'Not really, you know, I'd hate to be the guy that goes out there without them.' It's much easier to go out there with that artillery."

While his more recent albums give the storied country singer an opportunity to reach new fans, he jokes that his real fans are split into a couple of distinct groups.

"I'm convinced that right now my audience falls into one of two categories: born since 1980 whose parents forced you to listen to my music as child abuse, or born before the '60s but can no longer remember the '60s. That's the two groups for me, and I love them both," he said, laughing.

Although he's been in the business for more than five decades, Rogers has no plans of stopping. He said music and his family are his purpose in life.

"If you can't perform your purpose, it's very disappointing," he said. "So my goal is to stay as healthy as I can and work as long as I can."

Rogers wears many hats beyond country music star; he's also a songwriter, photographer and father to 9-year-old identical twin boys. He said his boys remind him every day how important the work done at the Sikeston center is to other families. "It breaks your heart" to see what some children go through, which is what makes the center's work so incredible, he said.

But Rogers said the people working at the center deserve the true credit for its successes.

"I would like to say how much I appreciate their efforts, and I think their efforts are their own reward to them, but I don't want them to think for one minute that I don't notice it and I don't appreciate it," he said. "And there's some small children who really, really need this and appreciate their help as well."

The benefit concert, which also features Sikeston native Anna Catherine DeHart with Steve Hornbeak and the Main Street Players, will be at 7 p.m. June 1 at the Sikeston Field House. Tickets are available online at facebook.com/kennyrogersconcert2014 or at kennyrogerscenter.org by clicking on "Events," then "Kenny Rogers Benefit Concert." They also may be purchased by calling 888-695-0888 or at the Kenny Rogers Children's Center, 300 Floyd Ave., in Sikeston.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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