Country Music Legend Kenny Rogers Dies At 81

Country music icon Kenny Rogers, whose hits included "Lucille," "Lady" and "The Gambler," died late Friday at his home in Sandy Springs, Ga., his family said in a statement. He was 81.

The Houston-born country star had 20 No.-1 hits and three Grammys and performed for some 60 years before retiring from touring in 2017 at age 79, according to the Associated Press.

Rogers didn't write most of his hits and often said he didn't consider himself much of a songwriter. But he told NPR in 2012 that he had a knack for picking songs that could draw in the listener.

"I've always felt great songs put you in a spot, put you in a place — on a warm summer's evening, on a train bound for nowhere," he said. "You know where you are, and from there the rest of the song plays out."

"The Gambler" would become a worldwide hit in 1978 and turn into Rogers' calling card. He always joked, however, that he wasn't much of a gambler himself.

"I learned a long time ago, I can't win enough money to excite me, but I can lose enough to depress me," he said told NPR's Rachel Martin 2015. "So I don't gamble. But you're right, it's been a career-identifying song."