Uncle Kracker has cracked the country charts once again with his hit, 'Smile,' but before hooking up with Kenny Chesney for their hit 'When the Sun Goes Down,' his family was not really into the country music scene at all. However, that has all changed for the Michigan native, as his family has now embraced the music and the artists, even more than Kracker might have wanted.

"My immediate family, they would never have picked up a Kenny Chesney record had I not went in and did it with him," Uncle Kracker tells The Boot. "It was fun for me to watch ... My mom who was deadset against anything country. I remember being a kid and my dad would play Conway Twitty and she would say, 'Turn that off!' So for my mom to now be like ... her license plate says 'Love K.C.' for crying out loud! She's become a Kenny Chesney fan -- super nutball fan. [laughs] 'Mom, what are you doing? Did you Twitter him that?'"

The friendship between Kracker and Kenny grew following their No. 1 smash in 2004, and they've toured together quite often since then. "After that Chesney [song], it felt like I didn't quit touring with him, to tell you the truth," he says. "I went out to tour with him, and it started out I opened for him. I was the first act. And then springtime came and he switched up his lineup, and then I didn't open up anymore. I came out on these encores. And then the next year, I came out. It was nuts how long I ended up touring with him. I had a tremendous amount of fun. I couldn't ask for a better time."

'Smile' is from Kracker's recent album, 'Happy Hour,' which he will perform while out on the road this fall. His next stop is with Jason Aldean in York, Pa., Friday, September 17.

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