Kenny Rogers passed away last night at age 81, his family said in a statement on Twitter.
His publicist Keith Hagan also confirmed the passing to CNN.
Rogers was inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013, for what organisation officials called a “distinctive, husky voice”.
He had 24 No. 1 hits and through his career more than 50 million albums sold in the US alone.
He was a six-time Country Music Awards winner and three-time Grammy Award winner, Hagan said.
The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night at 10:25PM at the age of 81. Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family. https://t.co/adxAgiMW2s pic.twitter.com/nggWiiotMT
“Country Music has lost the great Kenny Rogers, who has forever left a mark on Country Music’s history,” the Country Music Association said in a statement. “His family and friends are in our thoughts during this difficult time.”
Some of his hits included Lady, Lucille, We’ve Got Tonight and Through the Years.
His 1978 song The Gambler inspired multiple TV movies, with Rogers as the main character.
In 1985, he participated in the original recording of We Are the World along with more than three dozen artists. A year later, according to his website, he co-chaired “Hands Across America,” a campaign which sought to raise awareness about the homeless and hungry in the US.
Rogers teamed up with fellow country legend Dolly Parton in August 1983 for Islands In The Stream and again in October 1984 for studio album Once Upon a Christmas. The television version aired in December that year, Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas To Remember.
He announced his retirement in 2015.
Tributes poured in on social media. (SAT/CNN)
