Kenny Chesney

Early life

Chesney was born at St. Mary's Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in Luttrell. His father, David Chesney, was an elementary school teacher, and his mother, Karen Chandler, worked as a hair stylist. He has a younger sister named Jennifer. After graduating from Gibbs High School in 1986, where he played baseball and football, he studied advertising at East Tennessee State University, graduating in 1990. While there, he joined the ETSU Bluegrass Program and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. In 1989, he recorded a self-released demo album, Good Old Boy At Heart, selling 1,000 copies at local clubs. He moved to Nashville in 1990, and in March 1991 he passed an audition to sing at The Bluebird Cafe, later becoming the resident performer at The Turf.

Career

In 1992, BMI's Clay Bradley recommended Chesney to Troy Tomlinson at Opryland Music Group, leading to a songwriter's contract. A year later, a songwriter's showcase earned him a contract with Capricorn Records. His debut album, In My Wildest Dreams, was released in April 1994 on Capricorn, but the label closed its country division later that year. In June 1995, he signed with BNA Records and released All I Need to Know, which produced two Top 10 singles.

He used fiddle and pedal steel to emphasize a traditional country sound. His third album, Me and You, came out in June 1996; its singles "Me and You" and "When I Close My Eyes" both peaked at number 2 on the country charts. The album became his first to be certified gold by the RIAA and later platinum, and it reached number 78 on the Billboard 200. A cover of Mac McAnally's "Back Where I Come From" was included but not released as a single, though Chesney regularly performed it in concert.

Personal life

In 2000, Chesney and Tim McGraw were arrested in Buffalo, New York, after Chesney rode a State Police horse and refused to dismount; McGraw intervened, and both were charged, but they were acquitted in 2001. Chesney married actress Renée Zellweger on May 9, 2005, on St. John, having met her in January at a tsunami relief event. After four months, they announced plans for an annulment; Zellweger cited fraud in the papers but clarified it was legal language, not a reflection on Chesney.

He later said the marriage failed because he panicked. The annulment was finalized in December 2005. Chesney supports the Tennessee Volunteers football team and has expressed love for the Boston Red Sox. His house on Saint John was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017.

He donated use of his private jet to reunite two stranded boys with their mother and set up the Love for Love City fund, donating proceeds from Songs for the Saints to it. In September 2024, he made surprise donations of over $1 million to Massachusetts charities.