Kenny Chesney Says Everything Shifted the Moment He Stopped Trying to Become the Next George Strait. ML
I mean, I can’t really fault Kenny Chesney too much for wanting to be like George Strait.
I think most young country artists, male or female, would be more than happy with a career that’s even a fraction as successful and legendary as The King’s. But, then again, no one else will ever be George Strait, so trying to create a career like his is… impossible.
And during a 2023 interview with Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton at CRS (Country Radio Seminar) this year, Kenny talked about how when he first got started in the business, he was trying to be too much like George and losing his unique identity in the process:
“I was a lot like a lot of artists, honestly. I was trying to be the newer version of George Strait. I think Garth would tell you the same thing, he loved George. That was the bar. I wore a belt buckle. I was trying to be that.”
He continued, saying he started to notice that he wasn’t the only one trying to emulate The King, and obviously that’s a great standard to be reaching for, but ultimately, he got lost in a sea of others trying to make it just like he was:
“This isn’t a slam toward anybody, but I realized there were acts out there that felt the same way I did. We were all trying to reach for Strait. I didn’t have as good of a song as Tracy Lawrence had, with ‘Time Marches On.’ I just felt I wasn’t truly being authentic as an artist during that time.
There was a phase, after Garth hit, where everybody wore the same shirt.”
It all clicked for him when he finally started being himself and not George Strait, adding that he “started really writing songs” after that:
“But the moment I stopped trying to be George Strait, that was the moment my life changed. I started really writing songs. And my life in the Virgin Islands, I spent a lot of time writing out there.”
He also talked about one of his biggest hits “Don’t Blink,” and how he actually hated that they pushed it as a single at the time:
“When we released that song… I hated it. I felt like it just touched every button you could possibly touch to get somebody to like a song and I hated it. We were at ABC Radio Networks in Dallas, and we were on the plane there, and I was in Joe’s ear the who two-hour ride about how much I hated this single choice:
‘It’s never gonna work, this is going to be the end of everything. I’ve worked really hard to be here and you’re gonna cut my legs off with ‘Don’t Blink.” I did my interviews and we are coming down the escalators and the lady at the front desk tells me, ‘I just love ‘Don’t Blink’!’
I looked at Galante and said, ‘You told her to say that.’”
The song was included on his 2007 Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates album, and ended up being a four-week #1 hit on the Billboard country airplay chart.
I mean, 17 years later and it’s just as timeless as ever…
“Don’t Blink”
Top 10 Country Producers Of The 21st Century
As the first quarter of the 21st century comes to a close this year, Billboard has been doing their due diligence and putting together comprehensive “best of” lists throughout the past months. Back in March, they named Kenny Chesney the top country artist of the 21st century before naming Chris Stapleton’s monster debut record, Traveller, the top country record and Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant To Be” the top country song (I wish I was kidding) in May.
For a quick refresher of the Top 10 country artists, songs and albums of the 21st century, they are as follows:
Top 10 Artists
- Kenny Chesney
- Tim McGraw
- Taylor Swift
- Toby Keith
- Keith Urban
- Rascal Flatts
- Luke Combs
- Jason Aldean
- Blake Shelton
- Carrie Underwood
Top Songs
- “Meant To Be” – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
- “Body Like a Backroad” – Sam Hunt
- “Cruise” – Florida Georgia Line
- “I Hope” – Gabby Barrett
- “Tequila” – Dan + Shay
- “Fancy Like” – Walker Hayes
- “You Proof” – Morgan Wallen
- “Wasted On You” – Morgan Wallen
- “Last Night” – Morgan Wallen
- “The Bones” – Maren Morris
Top 10 Albums
- Traveller – Chris Stapleton
- This One’s For You – Luke Combs
- Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
- If I Know Me – Morgan Wallen
- What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs
- Montavello – Sam Hunt
- Taylor Swift – Taylor Swift
- Here’s to the Good Times – Florida Georgia Line
- Fearless – Taylor Swift
- Crash My Party – Luke Bryan
While, yes, the list (especially the songs) are pretty rough on the surface, this is not a ranking or bias list. Instead, it is based off of each artist and albums performance on both the Hot Country Songs and Top Country Albums chart from January 1, 2000, through December 28, 2024. Simply put, it’s purely data driven.
With artists and albums ranked earlier in the year, today, Billboard has released its newest quarter century ranking: Top Producers. This time around, Billboard has decided to rank producers simply by the most #1 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart throughout the century, with ties broken by most top 10s and most overall chart entries.
Overall, the list comes with a few surprises. Of course, long-time producers such as Keith Stegall, Dann Huff, Byron Gallimore and Buddy Cannon all make appearances in the Top 10. Artists such as George Strait, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney also appear. Notably missing are big names such as Jay Joyce, Dave Cobb, Luke Laird and more.
Here are the Top 10 country producers of the 21st century, according to Billboard.
10. Toby Keith
The late, great Toby Keith’s legacy simply cannot be understated. Though many recognize the fact that he was a prolific songwriter throughout his career, plenty of people didn’t know that Keith was also involved in the production of many of his hits. In the 21st century alone, he produced a staggering 17 of his #1s. These hits include “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” “American Solider,” “I Love This Bar” and the iconic Willie Nelson collaboration, “Beer for My Horses.”
Total #1s: 17
9. Mark Bright
Mark Bright had his hand on a wide variety of smash hits in the 2000s. Known primarily for his work with Rascal Flatts on smash hits such as “Bless the Broken Road,” he was also heavily involved in some of Carrie Underwood’s career-defining songs such as “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Before He Cheats” and “Cowboy Casanova.” Other notable hits produced by Bright include Reba’s “Consider Me Gone,” Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and Sara Evan’s “A Real Fine Place to Start.”
Total #1s: 18
8. Tim McGraw
As the second-highest ranking artist on the list, McGraw has notched 18 career #1s in the 21st century so far. The future Country Music Hall of Fame member has co-produced his staples such as “Live Like You Were Dying,” “Humble and Kind,” and “Angry All the Time” as well as Jo Dee Messina’s “My Give a Damn’s Busted” and “Bring on the Rain.”
Total #1s: 18
7. Keith Stegall
Arguably the greatest country music producer of all time, Stegall has worked with everyone from George Jones, Alan Jackson and Randy Travis to Zac Brown Band, Clay Walker and Ronnie Millsap. Beyond his Grammy, ACM and CMA Award wins, Stegall has scored 19 #1 hits throughout his career. These include Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried,” “Toes” and “Colder Weather,” Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” and “It Must Be Love” as well as Clay Walker’s “She Won’t Be Lonely Long.”
Total #1s: 19
6. Kenny Chesney
The highest ranking artist on the list and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Kenny Chesney, has co-produced 20 #1 hits this century. These hits include career staples such as “When the Sun Goes Down” with Uncle Kracker, “You and Tequila” with Grace Potter, “I Go Back” and “The Good Stuff.”
Total #1s: 20
5. Buddy Cannon
Cannon’s career in Nashville has taken on many different forms. Beginning as a bass player for Mel Tillis, he would also serve as an A&R exec for Mercury Records Nashville, famously signing Billy Ray Cyrus. From a production standpoint, he’s worked with everyone from Kenny Chesney, George Jones and Sammy Kershaw to Willie Nelson, John Michael Montgomery and Merle Haggard. Cannon has scored 24 #1s in the 21st century including Chesney’s “There Goes My Life” and the aforementioned “The Good Stuff,” John Michael Montgomery’s “The Little Girl” and Joe Nichols’ “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.”
Total #1s: 24
4. James Stroud
With 25 21st century #1s, James Stroud has co-produced some of the most iconic hits from the 2000s from the likes of Tim McGraw and Toby Keith. Being involved in everything from “I Wanna Talk About Me” and “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” to “My Next Thirty Years” and “Angry All the Time,” Stroud also co-produced Darryl Worth’s post-9/11 anthem, “Have You Forgotten,” which topped the charts for seven weeks in 2003.
Total #1s: 25
3. Byron Gallimore
After producing records in the ’90s for the likes of Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, Lee Ann Womack and Randy Travis, Gallimore took his career to new heights in the 2000s. Scoring hits with McGraw’s “Southern Voice” and “Humble and Kind,” Sugarland’s “Settlin’” and “Stay” and Hill’s standout, “Mississippi Girl,” he has amassed a monster 29 #1s over the past 25 years.
Total #1s: 29
2. Frank Rogers
A frequent collaborator with the likes of 2000s and 2010s staples, Brad Paisley, Josh Turner and Darius Rucker, Frank Rogers has scored 33 #1s since the turn of the century. Notable hits include Paisley’s “Mud on the Tires” and “Waitin’ on a Woman,” Turner’s “Your Man,” Rucker’s now-iconic cover of “Wagon Wheel,” Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This” and Darryl Worley’s aforementioned “Have You Forgotten.”
Total #1s: 33
1. Dann Huff
The undisputed king of #1 hits this century so far, Dann Huff has procured a mammoth 38 #1s on the Hot Country Songs chart. What makes Huff’s placement here so unique is undoubtedly the sheer number of artists he’s worked with and subsequently scored #1 hits with. The list of artists include but are not limited to Riley Green, Lonestar, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Brantley Gilbert, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Brett Young and Rascal Flatts.
It should be noted that a lot of these songs peaked during the peak of the pop-country era, with Huff’s biggest hits being “Die a Happy Man,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color” and “We Are Never Getting Back Together.” Regardless, it’s nothing short of impressive.
Total #1s: 39
