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Kenny Chesney was born March 26, 1968, in Knoxville, Tenn., and grew up in Luttrell. He attended college at East Tennessee State in Johnson City.
Things began to change when he went into the Classic Recording Studio in Bristol, Virginia. Along with several musicians he knew from college (who are now the core of Alison Krauss` band), he recorded an album`s worth of songs he had written. After he was able to take sales of his first thousand copies and use the money buy a new Martin guitar, he realized he was onto something good. Only a month after graduating from college with a degree in advertising – not music, he went to Nashville in early 1991.
It was a slow start for Kenny. He went to many publishing companies to no avail. He finally went to the only connection he had grown to know in the business, who happened to be producer Kyle Lehning. He told him, "You`ve definitely got something, but it ain`t there yet." The only steady gigs he could find were low paid jobs around the local area, mainly at restaurants and bars. In 1992, the head of publishing and writer relations at BMI set up an audition with the Opryland Music Group. Kenny Chesney went to the audition and came out of the with a songwriter`s contract.
A year or so later he signed with Capricorn Records which had recently started a new country division within their record label. Chesney had only a couple of small chart singles when the label then closed its Nashville office. Only one of his 1994 singles, a song he wrote called "The Tin Man," stirred interest although it only made it to No. 70 on Billboard`s country singles chart.
Then Joe Galante offered Chesney a contract and wanted to buy the masters of his Capricorn album. Galante signed Chesney to RCA`s affiliated label, BNA Records. His Capricorn album sold only about 100,000 units, but All I Need to Know (1995), his debut BNA disc, more than tripled that figure. Me and You (1996) was certified gold, I Will Stand (1997) was certified platinum and Everywhere We Go (1999) was certified double platinum.
Chesney made headlines in 2000 when he jumped onto a police officer`s horse at a New York state fair. Chesney told officals that he had permission, but when the officer tried to pull him off, Tim McGraw whom he was touring with blocked the policeman`s efforts. Both men were acquitted for their alleged crimes; Chesney for disorderly conduct and McGraw for obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. Publicity from this stunt turned out to be great for media exposure.
His Greatest Hits (2001sold more than 3 million copies. No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (2002) launched him into the big leagues and played up his fascination with the islands. "The Good Stuff" and "Young" were massive country music hits and he continues to sell out arenas everywhere he goes.
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