Kenny Chesney sets record with "Never Wanted Nothing More"
Monday, July 23, 2007 – The song hit radio 56 hours before it was supposed to be released and found its way into the Top 40. It hit the Top 10 in 3 weeks, went Top 5 in 2 more. Now, seven weeks after its official release date, Kenny Chesney's Southern rock/bluegrass hybrid "Never Wanted Nothing More" hits the top of the country singles chart, his quickest number one ever.
"That thing hit the air and never looked back," Chesney said. "I mean, everybody knows that something of wanting something so bad you can taste it... whether it's a truck, a girl or whatever. We've all been there, and that moment when you're closing in, well, there really is nothing like it in this world. I'm just glad to know I'm not the only one to feel that way!"
The song was written by bluegrasser Ronnie Bowman and Chris Stapleton. "Yeah, that song is pretty much everything I grew up on," said Chesney. "You've got your bluegrass running all through it, and your Southern rock underneath...It's not something you could've just come up with, but it's a pretty tough combination to beat."
"Never Wanted Nothing More" is also Chesney's quickest number one. The multiple week chart-toppers "When The Sun Goes Down" and "There Goes My Life" held the quickest banner, taking only nine weeks to top the charts. With only seven full weeks of airplay, the lead single from the upcoming "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates," his first new music in two years went number one.
Midway through the Flip Flop Summer Tour, Chesney has hit four NFL stadiums, college bars and areans. "I know when we get up on that stage, it's as much a rock show as anything," Chesney said. "But all you gotta do is listen to me sing to know I'm a country artist... and this song goes a long way to make that point. I'm not guessing here, I know my country music... After all, and I think I've said this before, where else but country music could you get laid and saved in the same three minutes? But life hits you fast - and that's everything this song is about."
Chesney hits Saratoga, N.Y.'s Performing Arts Center before sliding into Holmdel, N.J.'s PNC's Bank Arts Center, then on to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
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Life on a Rock
Despite the carefree, cruise-line posture of most Kenny Chesney records, there's always a nagging suspicion that his party-time vibe is about as predictable as a plastic pink flamingo on a Palm Beach patio. Yet Chesney's career-long theme of girls, guitars, beer and beaches (not always in that order) - and the occasional piece of farm machinery - has yet to wear thin. And with summer fast approaching, that's okay.
Chesney's latest is something of a running journal of his »»» |
Welcome to the Fishbowl
Kenny Chesney is synonymous with all things summer and good times. "Welcome to the Fishbowl" is a radical departure. If you're going to drink a beer and listen to this album, you may need a Prozac chaser. It is a bit short on fun as Chesney deals with terminal illnesses, loss of privacy and lost love.
It leads off with the catchy Come Over, which is in the same vein as Lady A's Need You Now. On Sing 'Em My Good Friend, a man selling an old guitar full of memories »»» |
Hemingway's Whiskey
There are two warring sides to Kenny Chesney's musical personality. There's the part of him that wants to record throwaway, beach bum anthems like Coastal. However, the singer's better half excels at ballads like Where I Grew Up. The latter song contrasts youthful foolish behaviors with events that add quality real world experiences to a life. Drinking beer with high school buddies may have made him feel like a man, but it was a drunk-driving accident that grew him up - but fast. »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: McGraw has plenty of fight left –
Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number one album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved at First Niagara's... »»»
Concert Review: Steve Earle doesn't rest (on laurels) –
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That was because Earle started the two-hour show with three straight tracks from "The Low Highway," and he would not be done for the night. The title track of was a midtempo effort... »»»
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