“What We Know About Kenny Chesney”

When Kenny Chesney arrived in Nashville in ’91, he wasn’t the rum drinking, island-hopping, music making man we have all come to love. An ambitious guy from a East Tennessee, Kenny began his music career right out of college and chasing his dreams, like so many he has sung about in his songs. A major country music game changer for more than 15 years running, our unassuming guy stands all of 5’7” with his boots on. But just a blink from those baby blues, a twist of his baseball cap backwards and a chorus of Old Blue Chair, this amazing performer has captured the No Shoes Nation. 

Here are some fun facts about our guy!

1. God gave Kenny Willie Nelson. After the 2005 annulment of his marriage to actress Renee Zellweger, about whom he’d written the hit “You Had Me at Hello” before the two even met, Kenny was plagued by writer’s block and had doubts about mustering the material for his album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, released September 11, 2007. Though Kenny calls the album his most personal to date, he didn’t pen any of the tracks himself. Instead he relied on industry songwriters and let Willie Nelson helm production of the album. “Every artist feeds off inspiration, and when I needed it the most, God gave me Willie Nelson,” Kenny says. 

2. Kenny does his best thinking in back kitchens of restaurants on St. John. “For some reason or another, I feel so relaxed back here with propane tanks, ice makers, brooms. I know it’s odd. And I love it, man. I mean it’s almost like therapy for me to come back here and just sit.” Kenny, who visits the U.S. Virgin Islands, frequents the area’s beachside watering holes and restaurants, where he’s even said to tend bar from time to time.

3. Kenny’s choice in Rums have changed over the years. Cruzan rum was 1st to start sponsoring his epic tours, he altered a lyric in his song “Old Blue Chair” from “That chair was my bed one New Year’s night/ When I passed out from too much Malibu and diet,” to “When I passed out from too much Cruzan and diet”—a not-so-subtle nod to his endorsee at the time. But even since then, Kenny has now created his Blue Chair Bay empire. It is an amazing rum brand of his own!

4. Kenny takes care of his “Road Family”.  Following his 2003 tour, he gifted his road-weary crew with a vacation to St. John. And he didn’t skimp on the travel arrangements. Kenny chartered the Hooters jet and had it stocked with frosty beer and chicken wings for a sky-high party. The love didn’t stop there. The following year he also wrote each of his 100 crew members a bonus check for $14,000. We still hear that it is a tradition for Kenny and crew to head to St. John after every tour!

5. Kenny’s tractor’s not actually sexy. After the 1999 breakout hit “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” helped ingratiate Kenny to the public, he admitted that he owns not one but two tractors but says they’re “not one bit sexy.” “I knew that a lot of people that grew up just like I did would go crazy over [that song],” Kenny says. “But there was no gray area. Either you loved it or you hated it. I was smart enough to record that song but I was smart enough also not to record another one.”

6. Kenny doesn’t just love football, he really, really loves football. Besides calling Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning his best friend, Kenny has spent an afternoon practicing with him and the team, even catching one glorious punt. “It was a great day,” said Kenny. “I worked my tail off but when you get out there with those guys, they have so much heart, man. It’s no wonder they were able to really become a force for the city of New Orleans after Katrina and for the country.”

7. At a whopping 147 lbs., Kenny’s got his tour diet down, subsisting largely on carrot sticks, Red Bull, protein shakes, and egg whites. Several years ago Kenny shed 40 lbs. with daily workouts and has since developed his penchant for sleeveless muscle shirts.

8. Kenny narrowly missed the 9/11 disaster. His video for the “The Tin Man” was scheduled for filming between the two World Trade Center towers on the afternoon of the attack, but equipment delays meant the crew had to reschedule.

9. Kenny and his guitar didn’t hit it off from the beginning. After taking his first guitar lessons in the fifth grade, Kenny quit, complaining of sore fingers, and didn’t pick the instrument back up until he was a student at East Tennessee State University, from which he graduated with an advertising degree. Today, Kenny favors Les Paul Standards and Les Paul Classics.

10. Kenny and friend Tim McGraw are true outlaws. In 2000, the two singers were arrested after Kenny climbed aboard a police horse named Chico backstage at the George Strait Country Music Festival in Buffalo, New York. According to police, McGraw interfered with officers trying to remove Kenny from the horse, leading to a dozen charges against the singers. Eleven months later both Kenny and McGraw were acquitted of all charges.

Some facts Courtesy of Gibson Guitars