COUNTRY CONNECTION: Chesney celebrates milestone

By PAUL KENT
Published: April 3, 2008

Chesney just hit the milestone age last Saturday, that magic 40th year, and do you think he spent much time stressing about anything? Do you think he bought a convertible in a panic? Oh my goodness, do you think he got — gulp — hair plugs?

Not Kenny. He’s bald and he’s proud and he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it. Take that, Tim McGraw.

He got to that point honestly, too. His wasn’t an overnight success story, but a slow build from his days as a college graduate - he majored in advertising, which makes far more sense than it appears at first — to the Nashville club scene and eventually a record deal. He scored modest hits from his first album, an independent deal, then moved to a major label, each record garnering more buzz, each single placing a little higher than the one before it.

He broke through in the late 90s, scoring five chart-toppers by the year 2000 and even survived the Very Silly Song when “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” took off.

For those of you new to the scene, “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” is the country equivalent of “Shiny Happy People” — it’s fun, it’s lighthearted, but it’s still pretty stupid and everyone knows it. Not to knock either of those tunes, but nobody’s going to be shooting either of those songs into space on a NASA satellite any time soon. I’ve been lobbying NASA for years to get “My Ding-a-Ling” into a package for alien civilizations; there hasn’t been much response, but hope springs eternal.

Still, most of us average folks could stand to have a hit like that. It may not lead to the sort of 40th birthday party where Kix Brooks, Sterling Marlin, Kellie Pickler, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill show up to celebrate, but it would do in a pinch. (I wonder if Tim pulled Kenny aside to recommend a good doctor to take care of that hair situation.)

While some may plunge into the second half of their hopefully long lifespans wondering what to do next or how to make up for lost time, Kenny Chesney has a book of letters, all written by people who have touched his life. The people in his book may be more famous than one your friends might make for you, but anybody who can create that level of good will deserves a laid-back birthday.

Considering that college-educated advertising image he’s built, one could hardly imagine anything less.

Paul Kent hosts Thunder After Dark, 7 p.m. to midnight weekdays and the Saturday Night Special, Saturdays 7 p.m. to midnight on Thunder 104.5 Everything Country and More.