The Untold Story of Kenny Chesney

[Music] [Laughter] this episode for country cast we're going to be taking a trip from East Tennessee to down in the islands now not only has this country megastar made amazing music throughout his career but he has also built a nation and has quite the lifestyle and that's the man with the carefree no shoes no shirt and no problem attitude Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney was born March 26th of 1968 and Knoxville Tennessee where he was then raised in a town close by nameless rule Tennessee until the age of twelve by his parents David Chesney and Karen Chandler along with his one sibling which is his youngest sister Jennifer Chandler now Kenny was involved in sports throughout his youth and played baseball and football for his high school known as Gibbs high school which is located in kory toone Tennessee Kenny Chesney played the position of wide receiver for Gibbs his high school football team and wore the number seven oh and he played for the New Orleans Saints but we will get to that a little bit later Chesney's initial dream was to be a professional athlete but we all know now that music stole his heart and his passion he would go on to graduate from high school in 1986 and then attend college at East Tennessee State University where his studies were in advertising however one Christmas during his sophomore year of college Chesney would receive a guitar as a gift and start putting in the work teaching himself how to play and after learning guitar he would then join a bluegrass band at his college that's right yeah bluegrass band not really much of the sound that you hear today from Kenny but trust me his country music roots run deep in East Tennessee and some of his early influences consisted of Merle Haggard and George Jones but that was not all that Kenny was listening to he even would mix in a little bit of rock and roll Chesney would try to land a gig almost every night of the week but only playing for tips and getting lackluster responses from the crowds now another interesting fact during his early years with country music is that he won Best Male yodeler at the International yodeling championship which was held in Switzerland but back to him writing his own songs and performing these local that would not be all he accomplished early on Kenny made his way into the classic recording studio located in Bristol Virginia where he would record a demo album and while he was playing local gigs in the Johnson City area of Tennessee the city in which ETSU is located he managed to sell a thousand copies of that recorded demo the hard-earned money that he would make from those sales would help him buy a brand-new guitar and finally after graduating from East Tennessee State University in the year of 91 with a degree in advertising and marketing he headed west to Music City good old Nashville Tennessee to pursue that country music career Chesney stuck to the grind and did all he could to make things work for him in the country music business and his day job consisted of parking cars as a valet and at night he was playing gigs throughout Nashville and at a honky-tonk Bar in Nashville known as the turf is where Kenny would play a lot of his nights but it just wasn't the right place to get the recognition he needed to keep his music career alive then in 1992 Kenny Chesney scored a publishing deal with acuff-rose and landed a recording contract with Capricorn records after an audition of five songs for Troy Tomlinson of Opryland music group Tomlinson was blown away by the audition and told hitquarters in an interview first of all I was attracted to the songs because I thought that he painted great pictures in his lyrics particularly for someone who had not been around the typical music row co-writes I thought that he's saying very well too but more than anything there was a kind of this I will do it look in his eyes I was really drawn in by the fact that he was so set on being successful in the business in 1993 is when his debut album titled my wildest dreams would be released featuring the song the tin man but Capricorn records ended up shutting down their country division within the label not long after the release of that record and not to mention the album was not getting much promotion either even though this was an unforeseen circumstance for Kenny his talents were well known all over town and he would eventually find a home with BNA records which is a subsidiary of RCA records and in 1995 Chesney's second album titled all I need to know would be released now this album would give Kenny his first two top singles for the songs of fall in love and all I need to know fall in love would peak at number six on the Billboard US Hot Country Songs chart and all I need to know would peak at number eight the song ten man would also make its way onto this album all I need to know has since been certified as a gold record for Kenny in the year of 2003 so it appears that all I need to know just seemed to be that starting point that Kenny needed to plant his feet and a set sail for being the country megastar that he is today the hillbilly rock star is now at 18 studio albums with several of them being certified as gold and platinum Chesney's gold records are all I need to know everywhere we go all I want for Christmas is a real good tan life on a rock and the big revival now the records to go platinum are me and you I will stand everywhere we go which is certified as a 2-time platinum album and one time gold no shoes no shirt and no problem is certified as a four-time platinum album along with when the sun goes down as well with that going for x next is be as you are songs from an old blue chair the road in the radio which is a three-time platinum album then you have just who I am poets and pirates lucky old son Hemingway's whiskey and welcome to the fishbowl studio albums are not the only certified albums either his collaboration records have struck gold and platinum as well his first release of greatest hits has gone four times platinum and one time gold the live album titled live those songs again went gold and then Greatest Hits 2 and his live album titled live and no shoes nation both went platinum two think that is just the album's and Kenny has had his fair share of success with singles as well with she's got it all being his first number one and at paving the way for 29 more and no shoes nation definitely stands behind their guy with Stadium tours arena tours selling out in like ten minutes and breaking records for attendance it is simply incredible that Kenny Chesney has been able to accomplish and how can we forget the awards that Kenny has brought home as well no wonder fans keep showing up to his concerts the I go back singer has won the Entertainer of the Year award at the CMAs and the ACM award for the ACM Awards the Entertainer of the Year trophy went to him in 2004 2005 6 7 & 8 and then for the CMA Awards show to give it to him in 2004 6 7 & 8 as well so that's saying something with that many consecutive years bringing home the trophy so there is no doubt that Kenny has made a name for himself in the country music business but he has also made headlines with his personal life too Kenny has been reported to have several girlfriends through the years leading up to one of the more interesting relationships and that was his marriage with movie actress Renee Zellweger Kenny and Renee met at a fundraiser event and within months in 2005 the two got married in the Virgin Islands and only four months later in the same year that marriage would be annulled and the rumors would start about Kenny Kenny addressed the break-up explaining he just couldn't commit to a relationship Chesney told Playboy magazine I have friends who have a normal family kids and a dog and I think I would blow my brains out it's fine for them but I'm such a free spirit I feel more alive when I've got somewhere to go I can stay on my boat for a few weeks if I have a guitar and a girl and a Bob Marley CD after that I've got to move around the annulment of the marriage cited fraud on the legal paperwork which he explained was a legal technicality and had this to say surrounding it I talked to my attorney and her attorney in order for us to get an annulment the legal papers could claim either physical abuse which wasn't true or three or four other things that also weren't true the best thing we could put in there was fraud so I said all right do it whatever but due to the word fraud being cited on the paperwork and that legal technicality it would be the spark for rumors of Kenny and his orientation and Kenny would go on to tell Playboy magazine that is the most unbelievable thing in the world because Rene cited fraud Kenny's got to be gay what guy who loves girls wouldn't be angry about that [ __ ] I didn't sign up for that I think people need to live their lives the way they want to but I'm pretty confident in the fact that I love girls I've got a long line of girls who could testify that I am not gay not only were there rumors surrounding this marriage between him and Rene but he had also been in some circulation of rumors and accusation of having relations with country star Sarah Evans TMZ had a source that relayed this information and they were told the accusations were made by Evans's ex-husband Craig shale ski during their divorce a rep for Sarah Evans told TMZ that her ex-husbands claims were absurd and untrue Kenny Chesney's rep would respond to TMZ as well saying completely untrue Sarah was the special guest on Kenny's first headlining tour and their friends he would never think of her like that he's saddened by what Sarah and her family are going through in this personal situation Kenny's rep continued by adding if Evans's ex-husband did make the accusations then Kinney is disappointed in Craig and the media for perpetuating groundless allegations now Chesney's love life would not be the only personal drama he has dealt with remember on June 3rd 2003 Kenny and longtime buddy Tim McGraw got arrested and cited in Buffalo New York which is located in the county of Erie sheriff Patrick gallivant at the time told CMT the two had just completed their opening performances for the George Strait Music Festival and Chesney had asked to mount one of the police horses belonging to a deputy once Chesney got up on the horse and got settled into the saddle he rode away ignoring deputies orders to stop what witnesses said Gallivan goes on to tell CMT when the deputy went to remove Chesney from the horse another deputy was going to assist him McGraw came and jumped the second deputy from behind wrapped one arm around his neck and was choking him now I'm not suggesting he was trying to really choke him but he had him with his arm around his neck and he was holding on then that deputy needed assistance to get McGraw and when the third deputy went to assist the one that McGraw had a chokehold on that's when Russo jumped in so there was a little scuffle that ensued and both the deputies sustained very minor injuries but because they had sustained the injuries the law in New York State says assaulting a police officer is a felony regardless of the extent of the injuries from a minor bruise two lacerations and broken bones sheriff galavan continued and said following the incident the people involved were taken back to a command post we set up in a local fire hall when the stadium is in operation from there we took them maybe 10 or 15 miles to a town judge for an arraignment McGraw and Russo were arraigned before the local magistrate and released on bail pending further court appearance Chesney was issued an appearance ticket and released on the scene good news would eventually come for Kenny and friends and a year later all three men were found innocent of any wrongdoing so I guess you can say Kenny has had some rough patches along the way but there has been no doubt about the great success that he has brought with him and oh yeah I told y'all would get to the New Orleans Saints story so Kenny practice as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 2007 before a preseason game Kenny and head coach Sean Payton are close friends and Payton and ask Kenny to stop by and practice with the team so of course Kenny showed up and he had this to say about the experience on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Sean asked me if I wanted to catch a punt a real punt it was the time of year where they had two practices a day he told the team he goes if Kenny catches the punt you guys don't have to practice later on today if he misses it not only do you guys have to practice today but you have to practice tomorrow it added a little bit of urgency and it was a very anxiety moment for me I got Reggie Bush and Drew Brees and everyone coming up and going you better catch this punt Kenny then added I called it basically I bobbled it and called it but it was great too bad he never actually got to suit up for an actual game in the NFL but the New Orleans Saints are not the only ones Kenny is helping as you know Chesney loves the islands and I think he tries to bring the islands with him when he's home in the states and definitely within his music Kenny's most recent record was released on July 27 20:18 with his new record label Warner Music the title of the album is song for the saints which is a record he wrote for the people down in the islands that were affected by Hurricane Emma that devastated the Virgin Islands in 2017 even though East Tennessee may always be home the small-town country boy has now found a home in the islands and it greatly impacted him as well Kenny owns a home in st. John and has also been a part of the community for a very long time Kenny went to Instagram after the storm and wrote a very eye-opening and heartfelt post that read as daylight is hitting the islands and we're really getting a sense of how bad this all is I don't know what to say I've never been in war but the devastation the people's faces in a place I know by heart have left me feeling helpless its total devastation these are people who live off the sea who depend on it they live right there and it's gone most everyone's displaced they are frightened confused and they don't know where help is going to come from those lives have changed and will never be the same those small islands are hard to get to and they rely on each other to get through what life hands them for all of them though they've been where I've learned for emotional and creative support for 15 years because they are all so generous I don't know right now how we're going to do this but I want to help I want to enlist my friends to figure out the best ways to make a difference to help in whatever ways small or larger that we can I'm blessed with so many great people we're already talking trying to figure out how to get in there and I know the no shoes nation is mighty they've dug in before and made a difference I have a feeling once we have our plans in place they'll be there again give us a few days to figure this out pray send good thoughts to everyone who's been affected or is in the path of hurricane Irma this is unlike anything they've ever seen from Saint Martins to st. Barths to Puerto Rico than the Caribbean and on to Key West be safe tell someone how much you care remember to spread the love more soon Kenny Chesney also spoke with NPR as well about the storm in the frightening moment and what it was like for him and said it was a stressful time to say the least I spent a lot of my adult life so far on the island and became not just friends but I had a circle of friends that I called family over the years and I can tell you that it was a very stressful high anxiety time it was over a week there was no text there were no emails because there was no power there was no service it was literally still a very dead island if you will that was very stressful because I had 17 people and several dogs living underneath my house where they rode out the storm and I couldn't get a hold of anybody and I didn't know if everybody had made Kenny also explained how the new record was about moving forward and helping the islands recover where he said the album isn't necessarily about devastation or the destruction it's about the moving forward every heart is an island is about how there's just such a sense of community you know I've always felt like an island is a lot like a small town it has its small-town negativity people may not get along or there are rumors and everybody knows everybody's business any kind of negative slant a small town would have an island has that also but when this happened all that went away because everybody needed help if there is a silver lining at all there it was how much love came to the top that's why I felt like this song is important because it goes to the heart of that sense of community and how everybody just helped everyone Kenny Chesney is one hell of a guy and an artist and he has also set up to where all proceeds from the record go to songs for the Saints fund to support the island so no matter how many ups and downs you may face take a page from Kenny's book and be free-spirited and the songs that you love like he's saying remember live those songs again Kenny has also lost friends and has found ways to remember them by in his songs and his lyrics showing them their love so there is no doubt that Kenny Chesney will go down as one of the greatest country artists of all time keep the music coming Kenny and show us all we could all use a little island time shout out to RIAA and all music for reference with the bio and song and album search but that's it for today's video make sure you hit that subscribe button down at the bottom and turn those notifications on for breaking updates on your favorite country artists and all the news coming right out of music city y'all stay country

Channel: Country Cast

Views: 733,506

Rating: 4.6932774 out of 5

Keywords: kenny chesney, kenny chesney full album, kenny chesney the good stuff, kenny chesney there goes my life, kenny chesney get along, kenny chesney everythings gonna be alright, kenny chesney i go back, kenny chesney no shoes no problem, kenny chesney dont blink, kenny chesney live, kenny chesney american kids, kenny chesney somewhere with you

Id: ukHIGzXCtAQ

Length: 17min 50sec (1070 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2019