“I Just Feel Different There”: Kenny Chesney Credits His Mother for Sparking His Love of the Beach and Ocean

Ever since his seminal No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems studio album in 2002, Kenny Chesney has become synonymous with his love for the sun, the sand and the ocean.

Across songs such as ‘Boston’ and ‘Old Blue Chair’, Chesney paints vivid, vibrant images of the sunlight dancing gleefully along the waves, the peaceful feeling of looking up at the big blue sky as a boat gently rocks you to sleep, and the late-night thrum of a packed-out tiki bar full of friendly strangers and even stranger friends.

Although authentic to Chesney's own lifestyle, for the majority of his listeners, his music has always been escapism - a means of transporting yourself to sunnier climes and happier times, when the stress of your current situation becomes too much.

During a recent interview on The Bobby Bones Show, while discussing his new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, which he co-wrote with Holly Gleason, the ‘Everything's Gonna Be Alright’ hitmaker explains where his love for all things coastal was sparked.

“Oh, the beach? That came into play with my mother”, the ‘Just To Say We Did’ singer-songwriter muses, “You know, we would always go to Myrtle Beach or Daytona Beach”.

Bobby Bones observes how it might seem odd, at first, for a boy who grew up in land-locked Knoxville, Tennessee to develop a love for ocean waves and sandy beaches.

Chesney responds, “Well, I think it's more of an island vibe than it is a beach vibe”, before expanding, “I always love the ocean. I feel creative next to it. I feel humbled next to it. I feel very humble on a boat on it...Me and Dean Dillon would go to the Virgin Islands and write songs on my boat at least two or three times a year. It was so much fun. And I don't know, I just feel different there. I feel creative, and I've always felt that way, even as a child. But I got the love for sunlight and the ocean and the music that you listen to in those situations from my mother”.

Chesney regularly pays tribute to his mother, Karen, for instilling in him a willingness to consistently look on the bright side of life, and cling closely to optimism in the jaded face of cynicism. In a previous interview, for instance, he reflected, “She comes to shows and she acts like she's never had a bad day in her life, which she has. But she chooses to have positive energy and give that to the world”.

Later in his conversation with Bones, the five-time CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year admits that he had some naysayers early on, when he decided to pivot from a George Strait-inspired, neo-traditional sound towards a more island-themed aesthetic.

Chesney explains that authenticity was the key, “Yeah, a few people [questioned it]. But I had made the decision...That's why the name of this book is HEART*LIFE*MUSIC...I took what was in my heart, lived my life like that, and I had music to connect all the dots. Once I started to take what was in my heart and my life experiences at the time, and it found its way into my songwriting, it found its way into the studio, and then onto my records, and then on the road, that's when my life really changed - when I stopped trying to be this model, this thing that everybody in town was trying to be. There were a lot of people doing that because it was successful. I was one of those acts that was doing just about anything you could do to get your song on the radio or get noticed. But it was in this specific model, and once I stopped doing that, that's when my life changed”.

Well, we're sure glad Chesney decided to follow his heart and infuse his sound with this wonderfully sun-soaked, glass-half-full spirit, because his mission has since become something so much bigger than the music. His loyal No Shoes Nation fanbase have taken the core message of his music, and elevated it into a rallying cri-de-coeur and blueprint for living a more loving, more peaceful and more joyful life.

His new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC expands this into a more concrete roadmap, so to speak, for those who want to adopt and embrace the mentality embodied by Jose - the beloved character in his hit single, ‘The Life’, who humbly declares in response to Chesney, “I said, ‘I make a good living back home where I'm from’ / He smiled and said, ‘Amigo, me too’ / He said, ‘I fish and I play my guitar / I laugh at the bar with my friends / I go home to my wife / I pray every night / I can do it all over again’”. All we need is a simple life filled with love, family and a healthy dose of sunshine - the three central pillars of Chesney's music.

Watch Kenny Chesney's full interview with Bobby Bones below:

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