Do you remember the song 'Video Killed The Radio Star?' Well in the case of country music, that could be changed to 'Old Age Killed The Country Star'. As a brief visit to any country music video channel will show you, the name of the game these days is young bucks, hot babes and teenage combos. Enter Kenny Rogers a.k.a. The Gambler. He's had a truckload of hits both as a solo act and as leader of Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, but at age 61 he's hardly a country music programmer's dream. But if this is indeed a young man's game, someone forgot to tell Rogers because he's all over the radio again with the song 'He Will, She Knows' from his new album There You Go Again.

"I think radio understands," Rogers says, on the phone line from his bus that is rolling through Mississippi. "This concept of new country was very clever and it was a great marketing vehicle because it brought a lot of people into country music that might have gone to rock or something else. The problem is you're building obsolescence because you can only be new once and young for a while. Eventually everyone outgrows the genre and we're not athletes…we shouldn't have to retire at 30. 'The Greatest', a track from my last album', was one of those songs that radio could play and forget about where the lines are drawn."

'The Greatest', a sentimental saga about a boy playing baseball in his backyard, met with initial resistance from radio. Therefore, Rogers began to generate interest by performing the number  at major league ballparks prior to baseball games.  That song was followed by the #1 smash 'Buy Me A Rose', which inspired the producers of the television series Touched By An Angel to write an episode based on that tune. (Rogers was cast as the lead character) Striking while the iron is hot, Rogers has released There You Go Again, a CD that is heavy on the type of ballads that have been the singer's bread and butter through the years.

I think 'Until Forever's Gone' is as good as earlier things like 'She Believes In Me'.  Someone gave me a tape of that song and I walked out the door, went into my car and played it. It floored me so I called and got some studio musicians that night and cut it. That's the way I love to work; if you work too much with a song you start to get gimmicky with it. I do think that ballads last longer if you hook a ballad that works. A ballad like 'I Do It For Your Love' (from the new disc) makes people listen and appreciate things."

When a legend like Kenny Rogers comes calling, a whack of gifted vocalists line up at the door to help him out. In the 80's he collaborated with R & B singer Lionel Ritchie on five hits, most notably 'Lady'. He followed that with successful duets with Dolly Parton, Dottie West and Kim Carnes. This time out Nashville's elite turned out in full force as the likes of Suzy Boggus, Steve Wariner, Diamond Rio and Linda Davis lent their voices to the new project.

"I've had tremendous support from the Nashville community," Rogers agrees. "I especially like the duet that Linda Davis did with me on 'When We Made Love'. She's someone I feel that, somewhere down the line, we can establish a pattern of doing duets together. I created my own record company (Dreamcatcher) in order to put out my last few albums, and we're signing Linda to the label. I think she's just great."

Rogers jokes that the good thing about having your own label is "I don't think they can fire me". Another positive is that it allows him the opportunity to breed new talent. He's just signed to the label a new group called Marshall Dylan that targets the 12 to 16 year old market. While Rogers is comfortable playing the role of elder statesman these days, he knows the importance of getting jiggy with it from time to time.

"Yeah, I just did a video with Coolio, 'I'm a Gambler', which is very cool. I've always been surprised by the people who connect with my work. I was at an awards show where I was approached by the guys from Metallica. I was shocked that they knew all of the stuff I had done. One of the guys said that the first record he ever bought was (The First Edition's) 'Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town'.   It's interesting to find that when you get in a room with these guys, you're so much alike."

On the subject of Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, Rogers briefly allows himself to become nostalgic and reflect upon his old band mates, particularly Thelma Comacho, the group's brunette bombshell. ("I recall Ed Sullivan was so smitten by her that he mistakenly introduced us as Thelma & Her Boys".) Another improvisational introduction of note occurred several years earlier, when a Houston television show host shortened Rogers' first name from Kenneth to Kenny. ("I didn't want him to do that, but when I came off the stage a bunch of little girls were shouting 'Hey Kenny'. I thought, I can live with that".) These days you can find his name in books (He's published three well-received photography volumes), on songs (He wrote 12 numbers for his current touring production Christmas from the Heart), on the small screen
(He's talking about reprising his role as The Gambler in The Gambler VI) and, after the lost 90's decade, on CD again.

"You know, I've sold over 100 million albums and songs like 'Coward Of The County' and 'Lucille' were huge for me," he says. "However, the thing is the past is the past, and you can't count on that anymore. What you have to do is cut a record that can compete with Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Shania. If you cut the same stuff you did 20 years ago you're bound for doom, I think."

"You know, I've sold over 100 million albums and songs like 'Coward Of The County' and 'Lucille' were huge for me," he says. "However, the thing is the past is the past, and you can't count on that anymore.