Kenny Chesney is yet another talent entertainment export of East Tennessee-along with Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff and Dolly Parton, to name a few.
The Luttrell, Tenn., native listened to country and rock 'n' roll growing up. As a student at East Tennessee State University, he played for tips at local clubs. He graduated college in 1991 and moved to Nashville to put his songwriting and vocal abilities to the true test. He signed a publishing deal with Nashville's historic Acuff-Rose before he got his record deal with Capricorn.
By 1993, Chesney released his first album, In My Wildest Dreams. He switched labels and found a new home at RCA subsidiary BNA. In 1995, All I Need to Know was released, with the title track and "Fall in Love" making the Top 10. Next came Me and You in 1996; he placed the title track and "When I Close My Eyes" in the Top 10. The next year Chesney made the climb to the top of the charts with "She's Got It All." He also placed "That's Why I'm Here" in the Top 10. With 1999's Everywhere We Go, he reached the big time, selling more than two million copies and reaching the top of the charts twice with "You Had Me from Hello" and "How Forever Feels," while "What I Need To Do" was another Top 10 hit. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" was a product of that album, too. Though the song would become a concert favorite, it didn't chart in the Top 10. By the year 2000-in just seven short years-Chesney had amassed enough hits for his first Greatest Hits album on which he included two new songs-"I Lost It" and "Don't Happen Twice"-which went to No. 3 and 1, respectively.
Building on the casual, feel-good vibe he was creating with his music and on tour, Chesney released No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem in early 2002. The album produced four major hit singles-"Young," "The Good Stuff," "Big Star," and "A Lot of Things Different," which Grand Ole Opry star Bill Anderson co-wrote. In 2004, the year he released When the Sun Goes Down, Chesney won the first of four consecutive Entertainer of the Year Awards from the Country Music Association. When the Sun Goes Down was named Album of the Year. Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair) followed; The Road and the Radio was released in 2005. In 2006, Chesney delivered Live: Live Those Songs Again; Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates in 2007; and Lucky Old Sun in 2008. By 2009, it was time for his Greatest Hits II.
In addition to a string of multi-platinum albums, Chesney also made his mark each year by producing one of the top-grossing tours, not just in country music but across all genres.
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