Willie Nelson has revealed that his pal, the late singer Kenny Rogers originally had “tried to get” him to record “The Gambler,” Rogers most famous song ever.
“Through the years, him and I [Rogers] were big pals,” the 87-year-old country singer shared during his appearance on the “Today” show. The comments were noted by Fox News in a piece published Wednesday. (RELATED: Celebrate Dolly Parton’s Birthday With Her Most Memorable Looks [SLIDESHOW])
“In fact, he tried to get me to record ‘The Gambler,'” he added, before explaining how he actually turned down the song by his pal, the “Coward of the County” hitmaker. (RELATED: Celebrate Anna Kendrick’s Birthday With Her Hottest Looks [SLIDESHOW])
WATCH: @WillieNelson reveals why he passed on one of @_KennyRogers‘s most iconic career hits: https://t.co/9M6KsE4iuk
— Taste of Country (@TasteOfCountry) July 8, 2020
“We were somewhere, I don’t know, and he was like, ‘I’ve got this song, I think you should do it,'” the “On The Road Again” hitmaker went on.
“And he played it for me and I said, ‘You know, I think it’s a great song, but I don’t think I’ll do it,’ because, I was doing, every night, a song called ‘Red Headed Stranger’ which has 100 verses in it,” he added.
Nelson continued, “I said ‘I just don’t want to do another long song,’ so he said, ‘OK, I will record it myself,’ and so he did and, you know, there it is.”
As previously reported, Rogers passed away from natural causes in March at his home in Georgia. He was 81. The country legend performed with everyone from Dolly Parton to the Zac Brown Band and ‘The Gambler” became his signature song.