Kenny Rogers, the country musician with a pop audience, dies at 81

Kenny Rogers, a prolific singer who played a major role in expanding the audience for country music in the 1970s and ’80s, died on Friday at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was 81.
 
Rogers had been in hospice care and died of natural causes, said his publicist, Keith Hagan.
 
Singing in a husky voice that exuded sincerity and warmth, Rogers sold well over 100 million records in a career that spanned seven decades. He had 21 No. 1 country hits, including two — “Lady,” written and produced by Lionel Richie, and “Islands in the Stream,” composed