Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ BNA Entertainment) - If there's one thing
Kenny Chesney understands, it's how and where people live. Even when he was digging deeper for his highly anticipated Lucky Old Sun, which will be released October 14, Chesney wasn't going to miss the opportunity to sing what everybody thinks, but most people wouldn't dare say: 'Everybody Wants To Go To
Heaven (They Just Don't Wanna Go Today).'
And how on the pulse is the man who's played to in excess of a million fans each of the past 7 summers? Just 6 weeks after add date, 'Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven' is at No 1 on the Country Singles charts.
'I don't know anybody who doesn't wanna go to heaven,' laughs the man who spent 25% of last year at the top of the country charts with 'Never Wanted Nothing More,' 'Better As A Memory' and the CMA Single and Video of the Year nominee 'Don't Blink' of his latest chart-topper. 'But just because you want to go to heaven, it doesn't mean you're ready to stop living. Heck, I think it almost makes you wanna live that much more�'
The Calypso-drenched song of Sunday morning sermons and the love of Saturday night, kicks off the follow-up to Chesney's self-penned platinum-plus Be As You Are: Songs from an Old Blue Chair. But where Chesney characterizes Be As You Are as 'more a map to the places I drink beer in the islands,' Lucky Old Sun is 'more a picture of who I am right now, and where I've been over the last few years.'
Beyond the percolating hit single, there is the Tin Pan Ally classic title track - featuring Willie Nelson, a duet with songwriter Mac McAnally on the tender 'Down the Road' and several thoughtful Chesney originals including 'Nowhere To Go, Nowhere To Be,' 'Boats,' 'Way Down Here' and 'Spirit of a Storm.'
'I think real life is a lot of things,' says the 4-straight and reigning Academy of Country Music and 3-time and current Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, who is also this year's leading CMA Awards nominee with 7 nods. 'Yes, you want to have fun� you wanna have a good time with your friends� and forget about your troubles. I think that's what ('Heaven') is about.
'But there's also a time when you have to deal with the storms that are blowing in� No life is completely carefree, and this is an album about that. Both facing the things that are hard, and figuring out how to still have some laughter or happiness in the worst of it. Because in the end, it is up to you.'
Kenny Tackles ESPN 'College GameDay,' & ABC Saturday Night Football
He's done batting practice with the Boston Red Sox, been drafted by and practiced with the New Orleans Saints� and now Kenny Chesney, who spent his summers rocking 14 stadiums, is climbing into 'the box,' where he joined Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler and Lee Corso on ESPN's 'College GameDay' and Herbstreit and Brent Musberger during 3rd quarter of the Vanderbilt-Auburn game. Kenny took the weekend off to enjoy the game before the launch of his new album, Lucky Old Sun which will be released October 14.
'Everybody thinks their opinion matters,' Chesney laughs. 'When we get talking sports on the bus� or back home, hanging out with friends, it can get pretty heated. Getting to go do that with the College GameDay guys, well, that's the kind of deal every fan thinks they're so qualified to do� and never gets the chance to. Lucky for me, Kurt comes out to some of our shows, so when they got to Nashville , I got the call to come on down and hang out.'
Chesney is entirely too modest. While Corso and Herbstreit took Auburn during the broadcast, the man who played to over a million fans for the 7th consecutive summer took Vanderbilt, who won the game 14 - 13. Like Chesney, 'College GameDay' is the kind of show that is far more full-spectrum than a mere sports wrap-up and/or preview broadcast. Focusing on everything from the mascots and the cheerleaders to the fans who camped out overnight to get into the game, 'GameDay' is a two hour roadshow emanating from wherever the week's big game is that focuses on the most compelling stories of the weekend.
Given Chesney's longstanding love of college football, he was a perfect local anchor guest. Not only did he talk a lot of sports, he also signed autographs and posed for pictures with the fans and cheerleaders who were on hand.
'To me, this is the kind of crazy stuff every now and then I get to do that makes no sense and is so much fun,' Chesney says. 'Kirk is a great guy and a good friend. We've had him at a bunch of shows, and this was like showing up at one of his deals and getting to play along.
'And then getting to get up in the booth during the game with Brent Musberger,' Chesney continues. 'I've been watching him call games for most of my life. That's like getting to work with Willie (Nelson), he's one of those people who just defines everything about what he does.'
With a 'Tonight Show' appearance on October 15th and a CMA Awards telecast performance - where the 3-time and current Entertainer of the Year is the leading nominee with 7 - on Nov. 12, Chesney is logging the TV time. As 'Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven' - from Lucky Old Sun - at No 1, his precedent-setting Poets & Pirates Tour wrapped up for the year, Kenny Chesney just keeps rolling.
