Kenny Chesney’s famous for his chart-topping country music, but what was his first song?
Kenny Chesney’s first song is Whatever It Takes which appears as the first track to his debut 1994 album In My Wildest Dreams. His most popular singles including She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy and How Forever Feels appear on the soundtrack to his 1999 album Everywhere We Go.
Interested in discovering how Kenny Chesney’s career has progressed since releasing his first song? Stay tuned and keep reading below to find your answers.
From Local Bars to Stadium Concerts
Before Chesney really took the industry by storm with his eccentric country music, he performed in local Nashville clubs in 1990. However, he only made it to Nashville after selling one thousand copies of his 1989 self-released album. The money he made from this album allowed him to purchase a new guitar to complement his musical performances.
By 2003, Chesney had achieved a pretty substantial career milestone: his first stadium concert whereby 61,780 people flocked to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to see Chesney perform live.
In a 2005 interview with American Songwriter, Chesney revealed where his singing career all began.
“One of the first songs I tried to write was a song for this girl…it’s usually about a girl…it was a horrible song. She was in a persuasion class with me. I wrote her a song and threw it away-I could not even tell you the name of it. But that was where it all began.”
Additionally, he revealed that his music career was influenced by Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Jimmy Buffett and Tom Petty.
“I got into the music business as a songwriter when I was young…They [Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Jimmy Buffett and Tom Petty] taught me that it was possible to paint a picture with words and that turned me on to songwriting.”
Hitmaking Country Artist
By 2020, almost three decades after the release of his first album, Chesney has achieved 16 top 10 hits on Billboard 200, with nine of those reaching chart-topping positions as number ones. Meanwhile, on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, he has produced 53 top 10 hits, with 23 of these reaching number one.
Out of his studio albums so far, only his first album did not appear on Billboard’s Country Album chart. Of the 19 albums that have appeared on the Country Album chart, 13 of those have reached number one positions, with his first chart-topping album being released in 2002, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems. Suffice it to say, it’s undeniable that he’s a hitmaking artist who produces albums and singles that almost always end up on the charts.
You may be wondering if Kenny’s the guy behind the lyrics, and the answer to that is: no, Kenny isn’t credited as a songwriter on many of his songs. In actuality, he is only accredited as a songwriter on six of his songs, including ‘Tip of My Tongue’ which was co-written with Ed Sheeran.
It’s worth mentioning that not many singers actually write their own songs, so it shouldn’t come as a shock to you that Kenny is more involved in the musical, vocal element of things rather than the lyrical part.
Kenny revealed that sometimes he’s not so comfortable with writing his songs but that he’s gaining more confidence with it as time passes by. He believes songwriting predominantly revolves around telling your story.
“At times I was not as comfortable with my writing. But I have gotten much more confident with it…I realize that nobody can tell the story like me because they didn’t see it through my eyes.”
When asked if he’s more lyrical, Kenny admitted that he’s unsure. “I can write a pretty good melody too. But I don’t know if I am better at one or the other.”