Kenny Chesney Recalls First Jam With Dave Matthews

Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews likely both gained new fans with the performance of their duet, 'I'm Alive,' on the CMA Awards last week. Kenny admits the song is a bit different for him and that it has an interesting history.

"I wrote 'I'm Alive' in 2005," Kenny tells radio host Jeff Foxworthy. "I produced a record on Willie Nelson a couple years ago. He loved the song and put it on his record. When it was time for me to do the 'Lucky Old Sun' album, I didn't know for sure if I was going to include it on there or not. Dave and I had talked about doing something together – whether it was writing a song or singing together ... we've sung together a couple of times on stage [so] it just seemed like 'I'm Alive' was kind of a perfect fit melodically for both of us."

It's fitting that Willie also recorded the tune, since it was event he helps put on annually which first brought Kenny and Dave together.

"The first time I met Dave was at Farm Aid in 2005 in Chicago. We kept in touch ... and it just kind of went from there. In 2007, I was playing in Atlanta at the Amphitheater there. He was playing in Atlanta, but he had the night off, and he came out and we jammed on stage for a little bit, played a couple of his songs, a couple of Bob Marley songs ... it was a lot of fun."

The fun continues -- 'I'm Alive' is currently a Top 10 hit. The track is featured on Kenny's 'Greatest Hits II' album.