Kenny Rogers TV Special Chronicles His 50-Year Career

Kenny Rogers will mark 50 years in the music business with a star-studded television special. He made the big announcement prior to his show at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center Thursday night (Feb. 4).

Kenny loved the concept of the special, but made a few adjustments to the way it was presented. "They wanted to do a celebration of my first 50 years in the business, and for some reason, that sounded so final to me," Kenny told the crowd of friends and industry insiders. "I said, 'Let's don't do that. Please God. Let's call it 'The First 50 Years' and see what happens. And it'll be so much more positive and so much more fun.' And I'll tell you this, this first 50 Years TV show is going to be amazing, but the next one is gonna be a bitch!"

Several of Kenny's friends, including Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Wynonna, Alison Krauss and the Oak Ridge Boys (who were in attendance at the party) have signed on to take part in 'Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years,' which will be filmed April 10 at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino & Resort in Uncasville, Conn. The special will also take a look back at Kenny's career, his fashion sense and five decades of hit songs, including 'The Gambler,' 'Lucille,' 'Lady' and 'Islands in the Stream.'

The superstar who has sold more than 105 million albums says the special is definitely going to be a celebration of all he's accomplished, but will also look to the future as well. "I think the idea is to acknowledge the past but represent the present and go forward," Kenny tells The Boot. "All my life, I've been a forward-thinking person. The whole idea of resting on my laurels has never been exciting to me."

While he's been spending the past five years being a dad to his twin five-year-old boys, he's going to be focusing a little more of his time on his career this year. "[My wife] Wanda and I have talked about this and we've decided that we really want to do something unique and she knows what really drives me is my music," says Kenny. "This show has become such a phenomenal force and I can feel the difference in just my attitude knowing this is coming up. And it'll be great fun for me to sit there and see all the old film clips ... and the thought of hearing the old music again is exciting."