Copyright Parade
Key Points Chesney’s new book, "Heart Life Music," shares his journey from parking cars to stardom. Key message: “Whatever you dream... go for it. Know it’s hard... but it’s worth the sacrifice.” Chesney hopes to inspire fans to pursue dreams with patience, resilience and joy. Long before Kenny Chesney was performing for over a million fans every summer, and way before he started his Las Vegas residency at The Sphere, the “Just To Say We Did” singer was a struggling songwriter parking cars in Tennessee. But one night would change everything. “I was so broke and someone gave me a lawn ticket to see Jimmy Buffett,” he tells Parade. “I stood there in the pouring rain watching [him] transform this entire amphitheater that was drowning into the most desirable place in the world!” Since 1994, Chesney has sold over 30 million records and had 27 songs enter the Billboard Top 40 chart. But through it all, he’s stayed humble, never forgetting his Tennessee roots and always giving back through his Love for Love City Foundation and No Shoes Reef initiative. Now, the “Just To Say We did” singer is sharing his incredible journey—from parking cars to packing stadiums–in his new book, Heart Life Music, out now. And while it’s filled with incredible never-before-told stories that every music fan will love, it’s also deeply inspiring. “Heart Life Music is about staying open to life, being curious and following both your heart and opportunities,” says Chesney. “Whatever you dream, if that’s what makes your heart race, go for it. Know it’s hard, and people won’t always help you, but it’s worth the sacrifice and fighting for.” Read our exclusive interview below. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Heart Life Music is described as “not a memoir, but something far better.” What kind of story did you set out to tell? I wanted to take people along on the ride. I was a pretty normal kid who loved sports, my friends, family, music…there was never this big idea I was going to be an artist. But Heart Life Music is about staying open to life, being curious and following both your heart and opportunities, but also being open enough to recognize what’s not working or where to put your dream. When I was parking cars, trying to write songs and get a publishing deal, I was so broke and someone gave me a lawn ticket to see Jimmy Buffett. I stood there in the pouring rain watching this writer who created characters and short stories transform this entire amphitheater that was drowning into the most desirable place in the world! That chapter’s called “What Did I Just See”…and to think, years later, I would meet him. Not long after that, he would call me to sing on a record with him. That kind of magic exists, whether you’re a salesman, a scientist, an athlete or whatever your color-beyond-the-lines dream is. But you have to be open to it, so you recognize it, feel it and embrace it! Related: Kenny Chesney Shares His Favorite Story of Late Friend Jimmy Buffett The book takes readers on your journey from East Tennessee to Moscow and beyond. Which place surprised you the most as you looked back on your life? Maybe Lower Broadway [in downtown Nashville] for a lot of reasons. As rundown and almost forgotten as it was, it was a magical place. Nothing like today with the pedal pubs and the Nashlorettes. It was displaced veterans, people who were kind of homeless, ladies of the night, “stars” who didn’t happen, [and] tourists who didn’t realize until too late, but you could feel the history, right? That sense of Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson as struggling writers had been down here, too; Loretta Lynn at Ernest Tubbs’ Record Shop, Dolly Parton with Porter Wagoner—and I plugged into all of that. My mom came to visit, and it threw her a little. She’d been to Johnson City, Tennessee when I was in college, but this was very different. It scared her that I might get stuck there. But what I learned, trying to get people to buy into me singing songs they loved? These folks had opinions about music and you had to measure up. As soon as I had a publishing deal, I moved on so I could focus on songwriting. I’d come to Nashville to write, to figure out how much life I could put in three minutes. So I took a lot of what I learned down there with me. The book is clearly addressed to your fans: No Shoes Nation. What do you hope they’ll take away from this book? Whatever you dream, if that’s what makes your heart race, go for it. Know it’s hard, and people won’t always help you, but it’s worth the sacrifice and fighting for. You have to keep going—to find joy in what you’re doing even when it isn’t working—because then it’s fun, and you can laugh about what’s tough. I see a lot of people out front, and I know they all have things they desire. I hope this book inspires them to go get it. To know it’s a lot of little steps. But you’ll get there and some of what you don’t see coming will be some of the best parts. You’ve traveled to many exotic and nostalgic places. Tell us about one moment where you thought, “This needs to go in the book.” There were so many. Spotting Joe Walsh at the pool, then all of us buying a ticket to go experience the Eagles the way our fans were experiencing us. Only to later have Joe come jam with us in Atlanta, and we got to surprise him with that kitchen sink percussion section. Or going to Cabo for Sammy Hagar’s birthday party. The Red Rocker, who we’d all loved from his band Montrose, even before Van Halen. Just being asked was insane, then to play for three hours and 42 minutes – before someone called it! That’s euphoria. That would’ve been plenty. But to have a song pulling at me hard enough to take me away from my friends, to come in and show me a reality about my life? That’s where “Beer In Mexico” came from, and as much as it feels like a party song, it was also accepting that all the things people were expecting me to be, I didn’t have to figure any of it out in that moment. That was a revelation wrapped in a song that came out of living my life. After this book is out, what’s next for you? Doing the book tour. Heart Life Music is out; now we’re going to make sure people know about it. We were in Boston on Sunday night with an absolutely insane crowd, and they reminded me: The journey really does matter. It’s important, and it’s everything that feeds the songs, whether I’m writing or just hearing great things that want to be recorded. So we’re off to Chicago, Nashville, Los Angeles, then hitting Key West, Tampa and the Miami Book Fair, where I hope people come out and share the moment with us. Beyond that, back at the Sphere in June. Related: Legendary Country Star Is Bringing Back ‘One of the Best’ Live Shows in Vegas What’s your favorite song that you didn’t think would become a hit, but did? Maybe “I’m Alive,” which Willie Nelson cut first on his Moment of Forever album. Dave Matthews knew it because we’d cut his “Gravedigger” on the same project. When I asked him if he’d sing “I’m Alive” with me, which is a song of all the gratitude even when you’re dead tired, all the things that can go wrong kind of do, but look at this life we have. We were running up and down the road, playing a lot of the same venues, so we knew each other that way, and from Farm Aid, so when I asked, he was in. But it’s still a little strange: this quiet song about being grateful with a guy so far beyond the format – and it went to No. 1. I think it was the message; it was a good reminder. But I don’t think I ever saw it as a single, or thought it would be a No. 1 when I wrote it with my friends Dean Dillon and Mark Tamburino. Let’s close out with one piece of advice you wish you’d been given when you were 20. When things weren’t coming together as fast as I wanted, Dale Morris, my manager, would counsel me to have patience. He believed it was the fullness of time that really allowed you to develop and come into your own in a way that would last for a long time. But you’re young, you’re hungry and impatient. If you think in the fullness of time, it lets you enjoy the ride a whole lot more. Heart Life Music is available now wherever books are sold. Next: Country Icon Kenny Chesney ‘Can Finally Exhale’ After Completing This Major Career Achievement
