Sometimes, the musical bond between a singer and an audience resonates beyond the performance and people in the seats give as much as they take.
For Kenny Rogers’ fans in the Sharon on Friday, it was a night for sharing and caring.
Rogers, 78, said he had knee replacement surgery. He walked with a slow gait and was feeling some pain. His voice was a bit hoarse and he spent most of the evening sitting on a stool near center stage.
One performance crystalized this concert and it was “Lucille.”
“That song changed my life,” Rogers said, just as he was about to sing. Then, during the opening lines, Rogers had trouble with the lyrics.
That’s when the fans stepped in. As he came to the famous chorus, “You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille,” the audience suddenly turned into a choir. Before, long, just about everyone was singing right along with Mr. Rogers.
It was that kind of night, where the past memories and sounds of Rogers’ remarkable career, echoed with love, acceptance and appreciation into the present.
Even Rogers joked about what condition his physical condition was in.
“I just want to tell the people in the first row, if I should fall, you don’t have to worry. I have Life Alert.”
That gained a few laughs, and Rogers sang a couple jazzy tunes from his early days: “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” and “Paper Moon.” Singer Linda Davis also came out frequently to sing duets and keep the concert moving.
But Rogers had his own strategy for solo numbers.
“I’m going to spend most of the night sitting, but don’t worry, I’m going to stand for the big numbers.”
And there were plenty of big ones for a man who has sold over 120 million albums. The hit list includes “The Gambler,” “Coward of the Country,” “Through the Years,” “Lady,” “She Believes in Me” “and many more.
It didn’t matter to his followers whether Rogers was sitting or standing.
“No question he has aged,” said longtime Rogers’ fan Esther De Pedro. “But he’s still amazing.”
“Everybody ages, but he’s still magic,” added Dawn Vello. “Nobody stays the same forever. Maybe it’s time for him to settle down and take it easy. But nobody tells a story in a song like Kenny Rogers. He may be older, but he’s still Kenny Rogers.”
Anita Alferes, sporting a Rogers’ tee shirt, agreed. “I’ve been listening to him from his rock and roll days with the First Edition. To me, it’s always been about Kenny Rogers’ voice.”
Villager Jackie Mahoney was determined to see the singer on what was billed, “Kenny Rogers: The Gambler’s Last Deal” on his final world tour.
“He says this is his last tour, and I had to be here,” said Mahoney, who attended the show with her husband, Keith. “I hope he changes his mind.”.”
The singer opened the show with one of his biggest hits, “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” as he strolled from the side curtain to center stage.
“Tonight’s show is a linear look at my life and my career,” he said. A huge screen atop the stage featured videos and photographs of Rogers at different stages of his life.
He went back to the mid-1950s to sing “That Crazy Feeling,” with a doo-wop sound.
Rogers became well known in the late ‘60s as lead singer with the First Edition. The band had a hard driving, sometimes psychedelic sound, as on their big hit, “Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In).”
Other First Edition songs Rogers sang with gusto included, “Something’s Burning” “But You Know I Love You” and the protest song, “Tell It All.”
Rogers dominated county and pop music during much of the late 1970s and ‘80s.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always looked for songs that say things men want to say and women want to hear,” Rogers said before going into three of his standards: “You Decorated My Life,” “She Believes in Me” and “Through The Years.”
Rogers also participated in “We Are the World,” and showed a video of him singing with the likes Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson.
“That was special and I think it’s one of the greatest songs ever written and it changed music forever,” Rogers said.
Rogers had many duet hits with Dolly Parton (“Islands in the Steam)”, Sheena Easton (“We’ve Got Tonight”) and the late Dottie West.
A video of West was played as she and Rogers sang, “Every time Two Fools Collide.”
Linda Davis, mother of Hillary Scot of Lady Antebellum, turned in a powerful performance on West’s “A Lesson In Leaving.”
It was a satisfying night for Rogers and his fans. One Rogers’ song, “Lady,” had special meaning for Esther De Pedro.
“That was the first dance I danced with my ex-husband,” she said. “And I still like hearing it.”
