Mark Wills Pays Tribute To Kenny Rogers With A Cover Of “The Gambler”

Kenny Rogers (Left), Youtube/MarkWillsMusic (Right)

In honor of “The 50th Annual CMA Awards,” CMA brought the biggest music video in country music history, “Forever Country” to life. The masterful music mash-up featured 30 CMA Award-winning acts including legends Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill and many more.

As part of the celebration, the academy has been inviting younger artists to cover songs of the greats, including Mark Wills who paid tribute to legend Kenny Roger’s iconic “The Gambler.” In an acoustic session, Wills honored Rogers’ critically acclaimed classic in a smooth and simple manner. Wills’ rendition is reminiscent of the original but more musically stripped down allowing you to focus on the story behind the lyrics.

“The Gambler” tells the story of a conversation between two men – one known as “the gambler” – on a train “bound for nowhere.” The gambler offer up a few pieces of advice in exchange for the man’s last drink of whiskey from his bottle. Rogers brought the song to fame with his cover in 1978 which went on to win a Grammy for “Best Male Country Vocal Performance.”

Watch Wills’ rendition of “The Gambler” in the video below and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!