Kenny Rogers has spent the last 40 years making his way in the music industry as a solo artist, but he will soon be hanging up his hat. The singer announced his impending retirement in September -- a move he's making in order to spend more time with his family, including his 11-year-old twin boys.

"You have different goals in life at this point, and my goals are my boys," 77-year-old Rogers tells The Boot and other reporters. "I missed this time with my older boys. I wrote in my book, there’s a fine line between being driven and being selfish, and I think I was selfish when I was younger -- I chose to tour. But if I hadn’t chosen that, I wouldn’t be here, so I don’t know; I don’t know what the answer is. But I love my boys, and now I don’t have to tour, and if I tour, it’s because I choose to."

The Country Music Hall of Fame member says that it's his age that is forcing him to focus on the things that matter the most to him right now.

"My boys are what’s more important to me now than music," Rogers maintains. "I’ve truly done everything I could do, I’ve won everything I could win, and now my life has to go on.

"I have to be realistic: I’m not as mobile as I used to be on stage," he adds. "It’s added to my comedy dialogues. [But] it’s really one of those things that takes the fun out of being on stage, when I can’t walk around and do those things."

Another factor influencing Rogers' decision is the current state of country music: He doesn't want to try to compete with today’s stars.

“I think country music is whatever country people will buy. And I think people don’t buy certain kinds of country anymore. So what happens is that, in their efforts to do something different, to set themselves apart from me and the other guys before me, they took it to a different place,” Rogers explains. “Country is very healthy right now — they’re bringing in a lot of kids. But it’s not a type of music that I prefer or that I would want to do, and that’s why I’m getting out.”

See Kenny Rogers' + More Country Stars' Yearbook Pictures

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