Julien’s auction house has announced that they will be auctioning memorabilia owned by country superstar Kenny Rogers, according to a Billboard exclusive. Rogers died on March 20, 2020, at the age of 81.
The three-day auction, which is scheduled for October 21-23 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills and online at julienslive.com, will include items from Rogers’ home in Sandy Springs, Georgia. A public exhibition of the Rogers memorabilia will be held at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills on October 17-21, so that fans unable to bid on the items will be able to see them before they find new homes.
The items up for auction include a “framed group of signed soloist lead sheets from the charity single ‘We Are the World,’ with signatures from Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and more.”
Other items include signed portraits of Jackson as well as Lucille Ball. There is also a collection of celebrity letters and documents that includes messages from U.S. presidents, including George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. Other celebrity letters include those from Gene Autry, Engelbert Humperdinck, Barry Manilow, and Chris Stapleton.
The jewel of the auction appears to be two letters from Rogers’ friend and collaborator Dolly Parton. There is a typed letter from Parton to Rogers from 2016, where Parton thanks Rogers for his help in developing Parton’s Imagination Library at Dollywood. Parton writes in the letter, “I do truly mean it when I say I will always love you. We will always stay in touch. I’ll always send you a message by pony express… you know how high tech I am! But we’ll always find each other.” She also signs her name along with the words, “I will always love you.”
A second letter from Parton references Rogers’s final performance, writing, “And speaking of brightening up the room, we sure brightened up the room the other night! It was so good to be on stage with you again for one last time. Can’t wait for the special to air.”
Listen to the best of Kenny Rogers on Apple Music and Spotify.