Jason Aldean has a lot of respect for Kenny Chesney. Aldean recalls seeing Chesney perform in the mid-’90s, at the International Cherry Blossom Festival in Aldean’s hometown of Macon, Georgia. Aldean was still a teenager at the time, but was blown away by Chesney, even back then.
“We used to have two radio stations and two country stations,” Aldean reveals on the Taste of Country Nights On Demand podcast.
Admittedly, one of the biggest stars in country music was also performing at the festival, but it was Chesney who grabbed Aldean’s attention the most.
“One station had Joe Diffie playing on one stage, and there were probably 7,000 people over there watching Diffie,” Aldean recounts. “And then on the next stage, on the next street was Chesney. And he probably had 200 people watching him.”
Aldean remembers hearing “The Tin Man” and “Somebody’s Calling,” two of Chesney’s early releases, both of which failed to chart at the time.
“I went over there like, ‘I love this guy. I can’t believe nobody’s watching him,'” Aldean recalls.
Aldean’s instincts about Chesney were correct. He has since become one of the biggest country music superstars of all time, and will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year. But even with his massive success, Aldean still admires who Chesney is, as an artist and a person.
“He’s one of those guys, especially for someone like me, who really builds their career on the live part of it, I think Kenny’s one of those guys we all look to and go, ‘I wanna do that,'” Aldean adds.
View this post on Instagram
Aldean joins Chesney in being one of the biggest hitmakers in country music, but it wasn’t always easy for Aldean. He recalls a time early in his career when he was really, really struggling, to the point where he could barely afford to purchase food.
“I was starving, I had a brand new baby. My oldest daughter had just been born,” Aldean recalls to Taste of Country, referring to his daughter, Keeley, who was born in early 2003. “I didn’t have any money.”
In 2005, Aldean released his debut single, “Hicktown,” although at the time, being a superstar was far from his mind.
“I wasn’t thinking long-term,” admits the singer. “It was like, ‘I need to get this song going just so I can generate some money to keep from losing my house and to be able to buy diapers.’ Those kind of things.”
The 48-year-old could never have imagined what his career would turn into.
“For it to turn into what it has, I never … I don’t know, maybe I was just kind of naïve to the point of thinking that it could ever become this,” Aldean says.
“I was very much small potatoes, going, ‘I need to make five grand, so I need to make five grand today somehow. How does this happen?’ It was more like survival,” he adds,
Aldean currently has the No. 1 song in the country, with “Whiskey Drink.” He is back in the studio, working on a new album. He is currently headlining his Full Throttle Tour. Find all of Aldean’s music and upcoming shows at JasonAldean.com.