He’s 73, but Kenny Rogers’ plate is still full. The veteran country star is working on a new album and autobiography. One of the water lover’s favorite pit stops is sunny Florida, where he’ll play Hard Rock Live Saturday. We talked to the Texan from his bus in Sarasota about all that he’s got going on, his favorite collaborations and what it’s like being dad to 7-year-old twin boys in his golden years.

What will the concert be like?

I love singing duets, though I’ll be alone on stage at the Hard Rock with some backup. It’s great to sing We’ve Got Tonight, which I sang with Sheena Easton. I just love that. And Don’t Fall in Love with a Dreamer, which I did with Kim Carnes. My feeling is that the audience will clap to be nice, but they won’t laugh to be nice. If I do humor, and people are laughing, I can pretty much assume they’re having a good time whether they care for it musically or not. I’m fortunate that I can do hit after hit. I’m starting to work on some songs I haven’t done in a while: Morning Desire, produced by George Martin, who worked with the Beatles. It has a great feel to it. Also Love the World Away is starting to come back. Sometimes I do it to break things up. With new songs come new dialogue. With new dialogue comes new comedy.

Why did you decide to write the book?

I never wanted to do an autobiography. What happened is I got approached by [journalist] Patsi Cox, who helped major country artists like George Jones and Tammy Wynette and all these people do theirs. We started talking and she brought out some stories I’d forgotten about, and it was kind of fun. I told her, ‘I’ll do this if you’re involved.’ Bless her heart, she came down with stage 4 lung cancer and recently passed away. Originally, I was going to tell her the story, and she was going to write it, but once I heard what was being written, I thought, ‘Well, that doesn’t even sound like me.’ Everyone has their own way of talking. So I decided to sit down and write these stories myself. I’m sorry I did that now! It’s very time consuming. I hate typing; I have a bad back and bad neck. I just did everything in all caps and will let [editors] sort it all out!

Any highlights you can talk about?

What I’m writing are moments, very funny personal stories. When I read a book that’s what I want to hear, not how many records were sold. No one cares about that. I’ll take a scenario, like when I took Lionel Richie out on my boat. I talked him into coming down with me to the Bahamas from Florida. He told me, ‘I’ll be the first to tell you. I don’t like water. I don’t like boats.’ I said he’d be safe, it was a big boat, a 92-foot Burger. Soon he was out in front like Titanic, with wind blowing in his face and says, ‘I think I like this.’ Smooth as silk. Then we turned the corner and got out on the ocean with 15 foot waves. He swears to this day that I was trying to kill him.

You’ve had so many great collaborations over the years. Is it possible to pick a favorite?

I’ve done so many, and there have been many thrills. Dolly [Parton] is such a sweet girl with a lot of things going for her, not the least that she’s a great singer. I never met anyone who comes in to do a record project when her first vocals sound as good as her last. Everyone has to warm up, certainly me. Not her. She ups my game. But let me tell you something. I don’t care who you are, you’ll never see Dolly when she’s not done up, with her hair and all her stuff going on. We spent two years together touring, and I saw her at very odd times of the day. She must sleep like that, that’s all I can tell ya.

What do you think of all the new country artists?

There is a lot of talent right now, but quite honestly, what goes straight up can go straight down. You need years to mature to be able to really understand what it is that you’re selling. A great voice is just a small part of a good career. There’s a lot of choice making that goes on. You don’t have the skills to do that when you’re young and success comes so quickly. My theory is the longer it takes to be successful, the longer your glide ratio in the end.

You already have three grown kids. Now you have two small ones. Have they inherited your talented genes?

Oh my God! They come on stage with me when they’re on the road. They love to come out and take the mike from me and interview the audience. Getting them on is easy; getting them off is hard. For whatever reason they love to break-dance. They’re pretty good at it. I tell the people, ‘My body has never moved like that in my life!’

One of your biggest hits is “The Gambler,’’ so will you try your luck at the casino?

No. I learned a long time ago I can lose enough to depress me, but I can’t win enough to excite me.

Info: Tickets to the 8 p.m. Hard Rock Live! show at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino from $49, www.ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000.