‘The Gambler’
‘The Gambler’ A Reason To Smile Dan Rather and Team Steady Nov 16 Credit: Getty Images The late, great country singer Kenny Rogers’s biggest hit was, without question, “The Gambler,” a staple of karaoke bars and long road trips. It was released 47 years ago this week and is our reason to smile. Who can resist his dulcet voice telling the story of a dying gambler passing on his hard-won wisdom? But it was almost a hit for someone else. Rogers and Johnny Cash recorded the song on the same day in 1978. But it was Rogers’s version that went to No. 1 on the country charts and earned him a Grammy Award. When I interviewed Rogers several years ago, he explained his theory as to why. “I don’t think it has anything to do with talent. I think I may have had a stronger record company, or they needed to get a hit with me to pay for my sessions. But I think it was timely, and I think I believed in the song,” Rogers told me. He also told me about an irony surrounding “The Gamb...