Kenny Chesney was brought up in Luttrell, Tenn., with as much of an affinity for sports as for music. The future country superstar played baseball and football in high school, and he might have become a professional athlete if he hadn't received a guitar for Christmas one year, which changed his focus. He graduated from college with a degree in advertising, then moved to Nashville; in 1992, Chesney landed a publishing deal with Opryland Music Group, and he signed his first record deal in 1993. The singer released his debut album in 1994, but he'd have to wait until 1997 for his first No. 1 hit, "She's Got It All." A road warrior, Chesney toured every summer from 2001 until 2014, when he famously stayed off the road to re-focus his music and craft his 15th studio album, 'The Big Revival'. He spends much of his free time in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.
- Birthday: March 26, 1968
- Albums: In My Wildest Dreams (1994), All I Need to Know (1995), Me and You (1996), I Will Stand (1997), Everywhere We Go(1999), No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (2002), All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan (2003), When the Sun Goes Down (2004), Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair (2005), The Road and the Radio (2005), Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (2007), Lucky Old Sun (2008), Hemingway’s Whiskey (2010), Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012), Life on a Rock (2013), The Big Revival (2014), Cosmic Hallelujah (2016), Songs for the Saints (2018), Here and Now (2020)
- No. 1 Hits: “She’s Got It All” (1997), “How Forever Feels” (1998), “You Had Me from Hello” (1999), “Don’t Happen Twice” (2001), “The Good Stuff” (2002), “There Goes My Life” (2003), “When the Sun Goes Down” with Uncle Kracker (2004), “Anything But Mine” (2005), “Living in Fast Forward” (2006), “Summertime” (2006), “Beer in Mexico” (2007), “Never Wanted Nothing More” (2007), “Don’t Blink” (2007), “Better as a Memory” (2008), “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” with The Wailers (2008), “Down the Road” with Mac McAnally (2008), “Out Last Night” (2009), “The Boys of Fall” (2010), “Somewhere with You” (2010), “Live a Little” (2011), “Reality” (2011), “Come Over” (2012), “Setting the World on Fire” with Pink (2016)
- Did You Know …: An avid football fan, Chesney has produced two documentaries and directed a movie, all football related, for ESPN.
- Required Reading: Top 10 Kenny Chesney Songs, Top 5 Kenny Chesney Videos, You Think You Know Kenny Chesney?, Kenny Chesney Loves the Beach — We’ve Got the Pictures to Prove It, Kenny Chesney Through the Years