Chesney, Kenny

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KENNY CHESNEY

Born: Knoxville, Tennessee, 26 March 1968

Genre: Country

Best-selling album since 1990: No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems (2002)

Hit songs since 1990: "She's Got It All," "How Forever Feels," "The Good Stuff"

Although his music bears a strong pop and rock influence, Kenny Chesney is at heart a fine country balladeer in the manner of famed 1950s and 1960s singers such as Eddy Arnold and Bill Anderson. His voice, a flexible, assured instrument that ranges higher than most of his male contemporaries, has a built-in twang that carries a strong emotional pull. Chesney's inherent sweetness allows him to tackle material that would sound hokey in other hands; his rendition of the sentimental, half-spoken ballad, "A Lot of Things Different" (2002), for instance, ranks as a highlight of his career. While in appearance Chesney resembles the numerous country "hunks in a hat" who proliferated in the 1990s, his fine sense of pitch, sensitive phrasing, and appealing honesty reveal an artist of genuine talent. For all his ability, however, Chesney sometimes sounds as if he is skirting the emotional borders of his songs, preferring sensitivity to soulful exploration and depth.

Raised in the East Tennessee town of Luttrell, Chesney grew up surrounded by the influence of country music, although his own tastes leaned closer to rock. While working on a marketing degree at East Tennessee State University, Chesney heard veteran country performer Merle Haggard on the car radio and decided to shift his musical focus. Soon he was practicing guitar and performing frequent gigs around campus. In 1991 Chesney moved to the country music hub of Nashville and found a steady gig at the Turf, a rough and tumble bar in the city's seedy lower Broadway district. Chesney's appearances at the Turf led to a recording contract with Capricorn Records, a small label best known for its rock acts during the 1970s. Although Chesney released one album for Capricorn, his career did not take off until he moved to the larger BNA label, a division of music conglomerate BMG. Chesney's debut album for BNA, All I Need to Know (1995), was a well-crafted set that spotlighted his high, quavering voice on a range of up-tempo and ballad material. On songs such as "Fall in Love" and "Grandpa Told Me So," Chesney established his nice-guy image, eschewing old-fashioned country rowdiness to proclaim virtues of family and tradition.

Chesney released several albums during the remainder of the 1990s, frequently displaying signs of artistic growth. On songs such as "When I Close My Eyes" and "It's Never Easy to Say Goodbye" (both 1996), Chesney paints vivid portraits of love and loss, confirming his status as one of the finest ballad singers of his generation. Elsewhere, on the silly novelty hit "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and the pop-influenced ballad "You Had Me from Hello" (both 1999), he sounds burdened with the weight of his own professionalism, singing with smooth efficiency but little depth.

In 2002 Chesney released his most commercially successful album, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems. Although the cut-off T-shirt he sports on the album's cover points to a new, sexier image, Chesney sings with his familiar warmth and tenderness. The album's biggest hit, "The Good Stuff," perfectly sums up his appeal. After a fight with his wife, he walks into a bar and asks for "the good stuff." In the days of Haggard and his hell-raising contemporary George Jones, the set-up would be an excuse for a booze-drenched exploration of pain and heartache. In Chesney's song, however, the bartender responds by refusing a drink, instead telling him: "It's the first long kiss on a second date, mama's all worried when you get home late . . . that's the good stuff." More than any song in Chesney's canon, "The Good Stuff" illustrates the difference between tough country music of the 1960s and its clean, modern equivalent. It perfectly embodies Chesney's well-scrubbed persona, although he clearly possesses the vocal capacity to deliver more adventurous work.

Like fellow performer John Michael Montgomery, Chesney helped guide country music toward pop and rock in the 1990s. Unlike Montgomery, however, Chesney has the vocal power and range to communicate both country and pop material with honesty and effectiveness. Although from an emotional standpoint he sometimes sounds less than engaged, Chesney never fails to suffuse his recordings with technical assurance and warmth.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

In My Wildest Dreams (Capricorn, 1994); All I Need to Know (BNA, 1995); Me and You (BNA, 1996); I Will Stand (BNA, 1997); Everywhere We Go (BNA, 1999); Greatest Hits (BNA, 2000); No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (BNA, 2002).