Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American country music singer known for his neotraditionalist country style. Chesnutt recorded his first album, Doing My Country Thing in the late 1980s on an independent record label; his national debut came in 1990 with the single "Too Cold at Home", the first single from his second album, which was also titled Too Cold at Home . Chesnutt has charted more than thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including eight Number One singles. He has also released eleven studio albums and a Greatest Hits package. His first three albums — Too Cold at Home (1990), Longnecks & Short Stories (1992), and Almost Goodbye (1993) — and his 1996 Greatest Hits album have all achieved RIAA platinum certification in the United States, while 1994's What a Way to Live was certified gold. His most recent album, Rollin' with the Flow , was released on June 24, 2008. Its title track and lead-off single was a cover of Charlie Rich's hit single from 1977.

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Biography

Chesnutt is the second son of Bob Chesnutt and Norma Jean Nicholas. He learned to love music from his father, who was a singer and record collector. Chesnutt dropped out of school after his sophomore year of high school to begin playing with his father in clubs around Southeast Texas. When he turned 17, his father began to take him to Nashville, Tennessee to begin recording. For the next ten years, Chesnutt began to record on small regional labels while he was the house band for local Beaumont nightclub Cutters. He slowly gathered a large fanbase who loved to hear his traditional style. By the late 1980's, he had released 8 singles, which would later be released together on, Doing My Country Thing . ^[1]

Musical career

Too Cold at Home

Chesnutt signed to MCA Records in 1990, releasing his major-label debut Too Cold at Home that year. ^[2] The album produced five straight Top Ten country hits: first the title track at #3, followed by his first Number One, "Brother Jukebox". After it came "Blame It on Texas", "Your Love Is a Miracle" and "Broken Promise Land". These singles helped the album earn RIAA platinum certification in the United States.

Longnecks & Short Stories

Chesnutt's second album, 1992's Longnecks & Short Stories , also sold platinum and continued the chart momentum of Too Cold at Home . In order of release, its singles were "Old Flames Have New Names", "I'll Think of Something" (previously a Top Ten hit in 1974 for Hank Williams, Jr.), "Bubba Shot the Jukebox" and "Ol' Country".

Almost Goodbye

His third album for MCA was titled Almost Goodbye . Led off by three straight chart-toppers ("It Sure Is Monday", the title track and "I Just Wanted You to Know"), it was also his third consecutive platinum album. The album's fourth single, a cover of Don Gibson's 1972 Number One hit "Woman (Sensuous Woman)", became his first single to land outside the Top Ten when it peaked at #21.

What a Way to Live

Chesnutt saw his sales declining by 1994's What a Way to Live , which was nonetheless certified gold. The album included four more singles for him. First was the #6 "She Dreams", previously a #74 single in 1993 for its co-writer, Tim Mensy. After it came the #2 "Goin' Through the Big D" and then his sixth Number One, "Gonna Get a Life." Finishing off the album was the #23 "Down in Tennessee."

Wings and Greatest Hits

For his next album, Wings , Chesnutt was transferred to Decca Records' newly re-established Nashville branch, of which he served as flagship artist. This album, however, sold even more poorly than its predecessors, with its lead-off single "Trouble" stopping at #18. The album's second single, "It Wouldn't Hurt to Have Wings", peaked at #7, followed by the #37 "Wrong Place, Wrong Time."

Decca issued a greatest hits package in 1996. This album reprised eight of his biggest hits and included two new songs in "It's a Little Too Late" and "Let It Rain," both released as singles. The former became his seventh chart-topper in 1997, and the latter peaked at #8.

Thank God for Believers

In 1997, Chesnutt released Thank God for Believers , his second Decca studio album. This album produced a #2 in its title track late that year. Following this song was "It's Not Over", a re-recording of a song from Longnecks & Short Stories , with guest vocals from Alison Krauss and Vince Gill on the new recording. After it came the #18 "I Might Even Quit Lovin' You" and #45 "Wherever You Are", his first chart single to miss the Top 40.

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing

His third and final studio album for Decca was entitled I Don't Want to Miss a Thing . Its title track, a cover of the Aerosmith hit, returned him to the top of the country charts, and brought him to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite the success of this single, the album's only other release was the #17 country hit "This Heartache Never Sleeps", issued before Decca once again closed its country division.

Lost in the Feeling

Chesnutt returned to MCA for his 2000 album Lost in the Feeling . This album was largely unsuccessful, producing only the #52 "Fallin' Never Felt So Good" (previously a #39 single in 1993 for Shawn Camp, its co-writer) and #59 title track before he exited MCA. In 2001, Chesnutt returned to the Top 40 with the #21 "A Good Way to Get on My Bad Side", a duet with Tracy Byrd which was also the first single from Byrd's Ten Rounds album.

Mark Chesnutt

Chesnutt signed to Columbia Records in 2002 for the release of his self-titled studio album. It was led off by the #11 "She Was", his first Top 20 hit in two years. However, the album's other singles — "I Want My Baby Back" and "I'm in Love with a Married Woman" — both missed Top 40, and after the latter, he exited Columbia also.

Savin' the Honky Tonk and Heard It in a Love Song

Chesnutt's eleventh album, Savin' the Honky Tonk , was released in 2004 via the independent Vivaton! label. This album, which returned him to a more traditionally country sound, included the singles "The Lord Loves the Drinkin' Man" and "I'm a Saint", both of which peaked in the thirties. After the #59 "A Hard Secret to Keep", Vivaton! closed.

Heard It in a Love Song , followed in 2005 on CBuJ. Ent. Its title track, previously a #14 pop hit for The Marshall Tucker Band, and "That Good That Bad", both failed to chart, and Chesnutt exited the label after its release.

Rollin' with the Flow

Rollin' with the Flow was the title of Chesnutt's thirteenth studio album, released in 2008 via Lofton Creek Records. It was led off by a cover of Charlie Rich's Number One hit "Rollin' with the Flow", with Chesnutt's #25-peaking cover becoming his first chart entry in four years. The next three singles were "When You Love Her Like Crazy", "(Come on In) The Whiskey's Fine" and "Things to Do in Wichita," all of which failed to chart, although the fifth single ("She Never Got Me Over You") debuted at #60 on the country charts in early 2009, and peaked at #49.

Discography

References

1. Greatest Hits
2. Mark Chesnutt biography