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.
More news for Kenny Chesney
CD reviews for Kenny Chesney
Greatest Hits Two
The Kenny Chesney hit machine continues, which explains a second volume of hits. And these really are because this is his first proper greatest hits in nine years. He's enjoyed a remarkable career with only 4 singles since 1997 not hitting the top 10 (interestingly one of them was one of his signature songs She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy.) Even the one new song here, Out Last Night, hit number one.
The songs cover both the sensitive, more introspective side of Chesney where he tends to »»»
|
Lucky Old Sun
Kenny Chesney did not make a country disc here, but once you overlook that, the laid back seemingly good country superstar digs quite deep. Chesney says the 11 songs is "deeper than "Be As You Are," and he is correct. Considered the country version of Jimmy Buffett doesn't always hold water. Chesney gives the appearance of life being laid back while having some fun on a Carribean island, but such is not always the case apparently.
The vibe is acoustic-based most of the time, »»»
|
Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates
The hit machine continues for superstar Kenny Chesney. Prior to its release, Chesney already enjoy a big hit with the catchy lead off "Never Wanted Nothing More."
The most interesting track is the island-flavored "Shiftwork," a duet with George Strait by Troy Jones where they sing of punching the clock at work, waiting for time off.
The closing "Demons" hews closest to country on the set produced by Buddy Cannon and Chesney. Penned by Bill Anderson and Jon Randall, »»»
|
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: Cherryholmes comes together –
For a bluegrass band like Cherryholmes, the setting - the courtyard of one of the grandest museums in the entire U.S. was atypical. So without a "typical" audience there to lend support, one could argue that the sextet was up against it. No matter, though, because the family band showed why it is one of the best out there.... »»»
Concert Review: Ray LaMontagne demands attention –
Ray LaMontagne should have had a lot to celebrate, but you certainly could not tell from his demeanor on this tour with British singer David Gray.
Interestingly enough, the first of two shows before full houses also marked the same day that both artists released new discs. LaMontagne is going in a different direction with "God Willin' & The... »»»
|
 |
Country News Digest
CST
CST
Elsewhere in the news
Currently at the CST blogs

A significant number of artists would be happy to notch two great consecutive albums. With the release of her latest, "See You on the Moon," Tift Merritt has managed to release four stone winners in a row. She accepts with a demure, but clearly grateful "Wow, thank you so much."... »»»

Elizabeth Cook is like a modern day Loretta Lynn. She sings and writes as frankly about sex (with songs like Yes to Booty), as Lynn did with "The Pill. Now, on her fifth album, "Welder," which was produced by a true music business hit man, Don Was, Cook has fun with stereotypes ( El Camino), yet gets deadly serious and personal about the subject of addiction on Heroin Addict Sister.... »»»

For their fifth album, "Wildwood," North Carolina quartet Chatham County Line decided to expand their bluegrass sound by utilizing instrumentation rarely a component in a bluegrass band: drums. As CCL frontman Dave Wilson explains, Tift Merritt's drummer/husband Zeke Hutchins had contributed to the songs in their seminal state, so it was only right that he should help finish them as well. "We felt like this was a record that could reach out to a lot more people than just the bluegrass audience," says Wilson.... »»»

Junky Star
Ryan Bingham's name recognition took a quantum leap this year after his Academy Award win for Best Original Song with The Weary Kind. But fear not, the Texas troubadour hasn't gone Hollywood on his marvelous new album. There isn't a stylistic overhaul or big-name guests. The only slight change for his third full length is that T Bone Burnett replaced Marc Ford in the producer's chair. »»»
|
Mosaic
The first thing listeners will notice about Ricky Skaggs' new album is that it is neither bluegrass, where Skaggs has been a torchbearer for many years, nor the neo-traditional country that made him a household name. If it must be categorized it fits most snuggly in the genre of Contemporary Christian Music. While final decision ultimately rest on Skaggs, the sound and feel of the album can be traced back to its producer, Gordon Kennedy. »»»
|
Cowboy's Back in Town
Trace Adkins' move to Toby Keith's Show Dog label has certainly brought out the macho in him. Much like Keith, Adkins sings a lot of songs here about being a real man's man. With Hell, I Can Do That, he speaks for every confident guy that's ever believed that the feats celebrities accomplish aren't really all that hard. »»»
|
All About Tonight
Blake Shelton was successful in February with "Six Pack," which his label said wasn't an EP, but at six tracks, you judge. Whatever. His new disc emphasizes uptempo, rocking songs with touches of twang. Shelton sings with vigor from the get go with the title song. At the same time, releasing music more frequently doesn't mean that there are a lot of great songs. »»»
|
Eilen Jewell Presents Butcher Holler a Tribute to Loretta Lynn
Tribute albums walk a fine line for most listeners. Are they designed to draw fans of the artist singing or the artist being paid tribute? In the case of Eilen Jewell's new album, the answer should be both. It should be said upfront that the problem with many tribute albums is that the tributing artist hews too closely to the source material. Fortunately, this is not the case here. »»»
|
|