Kenny Chesney has been forthrightly talking about his life prior to the release of his much-buzzed-about new memoir, Heart*Life*Music. It drops on November 4. The new Country Music Hall of Fame member has achieved the zenith of fame and excellence, as attested by his many accolades and millions of fans. But the Knoxville, Tennessee, native has also weathered times of hardship, upheaval, and intense challenge.
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Chesney, 57, has many high-profile friends from the world of music. One of them, Joe Walsh of the Eagles, was there for the "When the Sun Goes Down" singer when Chesney really needed him.
Chesney Feels That Destiny Has Intervened in His Life
Per Holler via CBS This Morning, Chesney said, "I think [there's a sense of destiny]. There's a sense of that, for sure. I mean, if you look at the pages of this book and you zoom in on all of it, and read all the chapters...But if you zoom in and look at it from a fisheye lens, the whole thing is a big dream."
The iconic hitmaker amplified what he meant. "I really feel like...for whatever reason - I was supposed to meet my friends and heroes now in the music world...I was supposed to get advice from Bruce Springsteen. Why? I don't know. I was supposed to become friends with Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen, and share the stage with them."
His Profound Connection to Joe Walsh
He and Walsh toured and worked together. But these musicians' connection goes far deeper than that. Chesney shared, "I was going through one of the worst periods of my life, and Joe Walsh just appeared in my life, and he went out on the road with us. He was on-stage with us. There's this rock icon that we listened to in David Farmer's garage, and all of a sudden...I mean, do you know how many times I listened to 'Rocky Mountain Way' in my life? A lot. And all of a sudden, there was this person that created that next to me. And I was going through a terrible...time in my life."
That "terrible time" was probably the controversy-swathed aftermath of his very short marriage to actress Renee Zellweger in 2005. The pair were only wed for four months before she filed for an annulment. Speculation was feverish as to why they split so fast. And that must have been excruciating for Chesney.
He Understands and Appreciates What Unites Us
Per the outlet, Chesney summarized his view this way. "Especially at this point in my life, you know, and you see so many faces out there. And you see all these people on-stage and backstage, and we all come from different places. We all have different political beliefs, different religious beliefs...All of us grew up very differently. But we have this one thing in common that binds us all. We're all broken, and we all love music."
