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Kenny Chesney Biography:
Kenny Chesney was born March 26, 1968, in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in close by Luttrell. He went to college at East Tennessee State in Johnson City and became a clash in the area's venues, including Chuckie's Trading Post and Quarterback's Barbecue.
A beginning of variety came when he went into the Classic Recording Studio in Bristol, Virginia. Backed by numerous musicians Kenny Chesney knew from college (who are now the center of Alison Krauss' group); he recorded an album's worth of songs he'd written. When he made up a thousand copies, sold them all at his shows and made a sufficient amount to buy a new Martin guitar, he grasped he was onto something. A month after graduating from college with a degree in advertising, he went down I-40 west to Nashville in early 1991.
The going was sluggish the first couple of years. Kenny Chesney made the rounds of the publishing companies without a great deal of achievement. He went to see the single person he knew in the business, producer Kyle Lehning, who said to him, "You've definitely got something, but it isn’t there yet." The single stable gig he could find playing music was in a down and dirty honky-tonk called the Turf. This was on Nashville's storied Lower Broadway before the neighborhood was gentrified. In 1992, the head of publisher/writer relations at BMI set up an audition with Opryland Music Group. Kenny Chesney came out of the audition with a songwriter's contract.
About a year later, an appearance at a songwriter's showcase led to a contract with Capricorn Records, which had newly started a country division.
Kenny Chesney only had a couple of meek chart singles when the label closed its Nashville office. But one of Kenny Chesney 1994 singles, a song he wrote called "The Tin Man," moved extensive attention up and down the Row, in spite of making it only to Number 70 on Billboard's country singles chart.
RCA's Joe Galante put in a call and not only presented Kenny Chesney a contract but in addition to buy the masters of his Capricorn album. Galante signed Kenny Chesney to RCA's joined label, BNA Records. His Capricorn album sold only about 100,000 copies, but All I Need to Know, his debut BNA disc, more than tripled that number. Me and You was certified gold, I Will Stand was certified platinum and Everywhere We Go was certified double platinum.
Kenny Chesney also made headlines in 2000, when he jumped on a police officer's horse at a fair in New York state. Kenny Chesney said he had consent, but when the officer tried to get him off, touring pal Tim McGraw blocked the policeman's attempts. Both men were acquitted for their alleged crimes Kenny Chesney for unruly conduct, McGraw for hindering governmental administration and resisting arrest. The publicity was invaluable, as Kenny Chesney found himself with his highest media publicity to date.
His Greatest Hits in 2001 reminded viewers of Kenny Chesney’s steady track record at country radio, selling more than 3 million copies. No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems in 2002 hurled him into the big leagues and played up his attraction with the islands. "The Good Stuff" and "Young" were huge country hits, and he continues to sell out arenas across the nation. Along with a hugely winning tour in 2003, Kenny Chesney headlined a concert at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, filmed a behind-the-scenes DVD, and released the holiday album All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan.
At the end of 2003, Kenny Chesney was at the top of the Billboard country singles chart with the hit "There Goes My Life," months before his latest studio album was released. In 2004, Kenny Chesney’s album When the Sun Goes Down won a CMA Award, and Kenny Chesney won the CMA entertainer of the year trophy. Kenny Chesney offered Be As You Are, Songs From an Old Blue Chair, an introspective singer-songwriter album encouraged by his love for the islands, in 2005.
Kenny Chesney found himself the topic of much tabloid fodder in 2005 with his surprise marriage to actress Renée Zellweger, with she ended up annulling the marriage later that year. Kenny Chesney released the album The Road and the Radio in November 2005.
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