Mark Chesnutt gutarist shoots self in hand

Tradition Lives

To say that Mark Chestnutt walks the walk is an understatement. Long before the rise of bro country, Chestnutt's 1998 cover of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss Thing" hit number 1, but after that, his career stalled. More than a decade later, "Tradition Lives" is an aptly titled 13-song effort that never veers from the old school path. There is no title track, which underscores the idea that the collection is a cohesive theme and not lead single driven. ...

Savin' the Honky Tonk

Theme albums never really caught on in C&W, but Mark Chesnutt might just change that with his label debut. After all, just about every track here concerns alcohol consumption and the joy of gin joints. Oh sure, there's a couple love songs here ("Would These Arms Be In Your Way" wherein Lee Ann Womack lends her vocal talents) and a cheatin' song or two ("A Hard Secret to Keep"), but for the most part it's all aqua vitae all the time. Whether it's praise for the plethora of products available at ...

Mark Chesnutt

Self-titled albums are usually the sign of a new, emerging artist on the scene, but Mark Chesnutt is anything but a new face. Although some would say he came in on the back end of the late-'80s wave that crested with Clint Black, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, the fact is that Chesnutt has spent the last decade being one of the most consistently good - and most consistently successful - pure singers in the country music business. Like his fellow Texans George Strait and George Jones (who also ...