Random Topics For Kenny Chesney

On what he is trying to achieve with his songs: "It's a given that you want to record songs people can relate to, but it goes deeper than that. You want a song to touch them somehow. You want them to live with it and let it become a part of their lives. You want it to make them remember something -- their first kiss, their first boyfriend, their first breakup. But that's past tense. You also want it to have something they can relate to right now. I try real hard to make people feel things, whether it's a fun song, like 'How Forever Feels,' or a real intense song, like 'That's Why I'm Here' or a love song, like 'You Had Me From Hello.' You try to touch different emotions. If you don't do that, I think you miss the boat." - Greatest Hits Press Kit, Kenny's Biography, September 2000

On what inspires him to write a song: "My inspiration comes from life in general. I keep my ears open. I overhear conversations in restaurants and on the street. I watch a lot of movies and TV, and I love to read. There are so many things that can be taken and made into songs -- everything that has an emotion to it. I just look for things that people can hang on to." - Greatest Hits Press Kit, Kenny's Biography, September 2000

On what he looks for in a song: "I love songs that take me away to a certain place in my life. It doesn't have to be a country song. The important thing is if the song makes you feel something." - "'Forever' Guy", TV Guide, September 18-24, 1999

On "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy": "The record company called me while I was out on the road. They told me they found this awesome song. I went in to listen to it, and I just fell in love with it. I just laugh every time I hear it. It's just a fun song that paints a great picture. When I heard it I said, "I've got to have that song." And we just tried to go in and have the most fun with it in the studio as we possibly could." - "How Famous Feels", Country Weekly, September 14, 1999

On the success of "How Forever Feels": "I think "How Forever Feels" was really just an infectious song from the very opening riff. I just think it's different. Also, I've never heard another love song that mentions Richard Petty. That song really opened up a brand new audience for me. My past two albums have gone gold (meaning sales of more than 500,000), but a lot of people think "How Forever Feels" is my first single. It's odd, because I've been out there for six years now." - "Five Questions With Kenny Chesney" By Jim Patterson, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday, May 12, 1999

On "California" and "Baptism": "I wanted to have a lot of fun with this record, but I also wanted to have a little bit of depth. With "California", it doesn't come right out and say it's a molesting relationship, but then again it does. You just got to listen for it. Songs like that and "Baptism" -- those two songs might not be singles for us, but make the album just 10 times better." - "Five Questions With Kenny Chesney" By Jim Patterson, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday, May 12, 1999

On "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy": "Yeah, it's silly. But it's infectious, and it's written very well, and it made me laugh the first time I heard it. Music is like medicine to me, man. You've got to have serious things, and then you got to have "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" to have fun with and let your hair down. ... We're getting a bigger response from the "Tractor" thing then anything I've ever had out, and it's not even a single yet." - "Five Questions With Kenny Chesney" By Jim Patterson, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday, May 12, 1999

On his connection to Tennessee football: "I grew up there. I lived 10, 15 minutes from the stadium, so it's around you everywhere. It's in the blood over there. Peyton (Manning, the former Tennessee quarterback who now plays for the Indianapolis Colts)liked my music ... so we set it up and went to lunch one day and kept in touch and become really good buddies. I talk to him two or three times a week. I think there's always been a bond between pro athletes and musicians. I've been trying to talk Peyton and the Colts organization into letting me suit up one day. Peyton goes, 'No way, not even in pre-season. You cannot do that.'" - "Five Questions With Kenny Chesney" By Jim Patterson, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday, May 12, 1999

On being part of the George Strait festival: "It's pretty incredible. My fan base is growing and growing every weekend. We're playing in front of 70,000 people, and I'm singing a really big hit record, 'How Forever Feels.' The fact that George Strait wants me out there on tour with him -- thinks enough about my music and what I'm doing -- it means a lot to me. I made a joke to George the other night, that I seem to draw a lot better when I'm playing with him. He just kind of looked at me like I was a little crazy." - "Five Questions With Kenny Chesney" By Jim Patterson, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday, May 12, 1999

On his career: "It's more work than I thought it would be. I'm at the very beginning of my career, and it feels now like I'm living a fantasy in a way, but every day it becomes more and more a reality." - "Star Stats", Country Weekly, August 11, 1998

On himself: "When people hear me, I hope they say, 'he is very genuine and not plastic.' I want to be remembered as a guy who cut some really great songs, wrote some really great songs...and was real." - "Star Stats", Country Weekly, August 11, 1998

On acting in the video for "That's Why I'm Here": "It's kind of a departure for me because it's the first video I've ever had to act in at all - usually I've been just the singer. In this video I play the singer and the guy the song's about. I never felt like I was giving [the director] what he wanted as an actor because it was the first time I had ever done this kind of thing. But I think the end result was pretty good." - "Kenny Chesney's message of heartache and hope", Country Weekly, April 21, 1998