White-bearded country icon who sold more than 100 million albums over the course of his career. His 1970s albums The Gambler and Kenny went 5x platinum and 3x platinum, respectively. In 2013, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He attended Jefferson Davis High School in Houston. He joined his first band, The Scholars, in the mid-1950s, but the band dissolved after their frontman left to go solo.
He starred as race car driver Brewster Baker in the 1982 comedy/drama film Six Pack. In 1988, he played a game of pickup basketball with NBA legends Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins as part of a fundraiser.
He married his fifth wife, Wanda Miller, in June 1997 after previously being married to Janice Gordon, Jean Rogers, Margo Anderson and Marianne Gordon. He had four sons named Christopher, Jordan, Justin and Kenny Jr. as well as a daughter named Carole.
In 1984, he released a song with Dolly Parton called "The Greatest Gift of All."