Retire?, Kenny Just Can't Retire

Kenny Just Can't Retire

Sky News

Country music crooner Kenny Rogers is a safe bet for a music hit, but the gambler himself, whose Australian tour has kicked off in Brisbane, didn't bet on a botched plastic surgery job.

The slightly-built 70-year-old American music legend, who describes himself as a bionic man with no original working parts, still has his trademark white locks and beard.

He jokes about the 2004 surgery, but admits it was embarrassing.

'I never liked the way my eyes turned out, it was extreme,' Rogers told reporters.

He initially wore sunglasses to hide his eyes from the crowd at gigs after the surgery, but he felt he couldn't connect with the audience, so he removed the glasses and braved the reaction.

'I've survived so far (and) if I don't die soon it'll look great when I'm older,' he quipped.

After 50 years in the business, and selling more than 105 million records, he is part of country music history, with hits like 'The Gambler', 'Lady', 'Coward of the County' and his famous duet with Dolly Parton, 'Islands in the Stream'.

Rogers admits he's tried to retire a couple of times, but says while people keep paying his escalating fees, he'll continue to perform.

But it won't be easy for him to retire and describes music as part of his soul.

'I'll just keep raising it (price), till they quit paying it, and then I'll retire,' he said.

'I really detest people who say they're retiring and have a major comeback tour.

'If I tell you I'm leaving - I'm leaving.'

Rogers joked to reporters that his four-year-old identical twin boys were another motivator for him to continue touring to 'get out of the house'.

With so many iconic songs to choose from, Rogers says the song 'Lucille' made his career, 'The Gamble'r gives a philosophical lesson in life and his all-time favourite song is 'lady'.

'Lady is one of those rare songs that say what every man would like to say and every woman would like to hear and when you find those you really do touch both audiences,' he said.

Without revealing his political allegiances for the upcoming US election, Kenny describes himself as a president supporter, backing whoever gets the job, but describes today's campaigns as adversarial.

'By the time you get to this point you don't like either one of them,' he said.

'You just have to assume that whoever wins will rise to the occasion and they always seem to do that.

Born in Texas, the fourth of eight children, Rogers formed his first band in high school in 1956 and never looked back, making music from that time on.

Rogers has won three Grammy awards, 11 People's Choice Awards, 18 American Music Awards, eight Academy of Country Music awards and five Country Music Association awards.

He is the only artist in recording history to chart a record in each of the last six decades.

'The Gambler', one of his biggest hits, spawned five movies and a five-episode mini-series, seen by more than 100 million people in the US.

He's also made television appearances in the US, including a guest spot on the popular 'Dr Quinn Medicine Woman'.