“It Was God Tapping Me On The Shoulder”: Kenny Chesney Recalls the Thanksgiving Concert That Changed His Life

It's hard to think of a version of Kenny Chesney that isn't a country superstar, given the fact that the ‘I Go Back’ hitmaker has a staggering 33 country No. 1s to his name.

But long before ‘Kenny Chesney’ was a name you'd see at the top of festival line-ups and etched onto ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year trophies, the Knoxville native was simply a school-boy, wondering what on earth he was going to do with his life.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to do what we love and call it our ‘job’ know that there's often a singular yet defining moment, one that readjusts the axis of our world a little and reframes how we see the rest of our journey panning out. For Hollywood icons, perhaps it was a particular film that inspired them to take up acting; for Olympic legends, maybe it was witnessing someone else taking gold on TV.

For Chesney, that moment is crystal clear - and aptly, this moment that has since sparked such a wealth of gratitude fell on Thanksgiving. In a new conversation with Amanpour & Company's Walter Isaacson, while discussing his first ever book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, Chesney reflects on the experience that first opened his eyes to the possibility of one day becoming a chart-topping country artist.

“We always have Thanksgiving during the day”, the ‘Just To Say We Did’ singer-songwriter fondly reminisces, “And at night there's really nothing to do - which [is why] I've always thought [it] was a genius thing for a concert promoter to have a concert on Thanksgiving night, because everybody's looking for something to do”.

He goes on to recall the titanic line-up for that particular festival, which featured three of the genre's most impactful voices, “But that specific night, we went to see George Jones, Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty - all in the same show, all in our town of Knoxville, Tennessee...I was a kid and I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was playing basketball and baseball and football, I thought I wanted to be an athlete. And I went and saw those guys, and I gotta tell you man, something changed inside of me. I went, ‘Oh my God, that's what I want to do’”.

However, even back then, Chesney was well aware that going from that eureka moment to becoming the latest inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame was not going to be easy. He describes being confident as to the direction he wanted his life to go in, while having doubts as to how he could make the dream a reality.

He smiles and he remembers thinking, “I don't know how I could ever do that!”, before adding, “But I saw the connection between the artist and the audience, and how the audience reacted to the artist, and just the synergy between the two...It was God tapping me on the shoulder, going, ’One day maybe!’ But I had no idea how. But I remember that night I was going home, going, ‘One day, hopefully’”.

Chesney shares his gratitude, “One of the things that I'm very thankful for, close to Thanksgiving, is that as a young person you have all these people that you look up to, and that you try to emulate and learn from. And then one day you become actual friends with them on some level, you know, and create with them and share the stage with them. And there's a lot of those moments in this book”. It's moving to know that, now, Chesney is that same role model for so many others.

Chesney concludes with a touching tribute, “My career and my musical life has been filled with people that I loved early on that I got to meet, and not a lot of people can say that...There's so many people that championed me, in a small way, that I never thought would even know me on any level, and I'm very thankful for that”.

Now, fast forward a few decades, Chesney is one of the most respected figures in today's country music world, remaining an artist that has managed - and continues to manage - to stay true to his bright, positive and glass-half-full sound and message throughout the various waves and trends that have come and gone in Nashville.

Chesney's career stands as a testament to the fact that, if you believe in them enough and put in the work required, even the wildest dreams can be made into reality. The tropical country trailblazer's new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, co-written with his friend, Holly Gleason, serves as a roadmap of sorts, one for those who have a dream emblazoned on their heart, but who are unsure as to how to pursue it.

Watch Kenny Chesney's Thanksgiving anecdote below:

For more on Kenny Chesney, see below: