An Ode to Ol’ Mark Chesnutt

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Whenever someone wants to define what “country music” is, or define the most pure and traditional version of the art form, or draw the greatest contrast or comparison between the pop versions of the genre and what country music is supposed to be in its most buttoned-up form, there is one proper answer or example to give, and one proper answer only. His name is Mark Chesnutt.
Sure, there are plenty of other traditional country performers out there, both in country music’s past and present. But Mark Chesnutt is the man that not only draws a hard line when it comes to keeping the true country music flame alive, he’s also the guy who’s done it with appeal, style, originality, and class for going on 40 years now.
If you need a textbook definition, or encyclopedia entry of what country is … if aliens came down and asked for a quick summation of what the music is all about, you’d hand them a Mark Chesnutt album. But instead of being relegated to the fringes of the genre for this fiercely loyal adherence to the true country sound, Mark Chesnutt fielding eight #1 songs and twenty Top 10s in his heyday on the way to putting together a towering catalog that is a terribly important part of country music.
All of this is true, despite Chesnutt’s decision to cover Aerosmith’s song “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” in 1998—something he’s spoken about in the past as a regret, even though hey, it ain’t a bad version of a good song. Chesnutt also pulled off minting eight #1’s without some of his most signature and lasting songs rising to the top. “Too Cold at Home” only went to #3. “Bubba Shot The Jukebox” stalled at #4. And “Blame It on Texas” only made it to #5. They were too country for the top of the charts.
Mark Chesnutt took the torch from George Jones who was also from the Beaumont area of Texas, and made sure to keep it country during country music’s most commercial era in the Garth Brooks ’90s. In fact Chesnutt came directly endorsed from George Jones who was country music’s ultimate gatekeeper later in his life. Chenutt got invited to perform on the special guest version of George’s song “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.”
But before any of this, Mark Chesnutt spent a decade paying dues, which is the way it’s supposed to be. Dropping out of high school when he was a junior so he could perform in the clubs and honky tonks of east Texas, Mark and his dad would travel back and forth to Nashville to record for independent and regional labels. It never really went anywhere, until famous producer Tony Brown heard one of Mark’s albums, recommended him to producer Mark Wright, and Chesnutt was signed to MCA Records in 1990.
That same year, Mark Chesnutt’s dad died of a heart attack. He never got to see the overwhelming success of his son.
Mark Chesnutt’s debut album Too Cold At Home was a big one. It launched five Top 10 singles alone, including the #1 song “Brother Jukebox.” It also includes the other version of the song “Friends in Low Places,” which of course Garth Brooks would send into the stratosphere after ball hogging the single. Garth heard it while he was still working as a demo singer. A few different twists of fate, and it could have been Mark Chesnutt who made it big with the song (his version officially came out about a month after Garth’s).
Some will forward George Strait as the textbook example of country. But the starch in Chesnutt’s jeans may be even more rigid than Strait’s. Though similar to George Strait, Mark Chesnutt rarely wrote any of his own songs. But that didn’t matter. He could pick them with the best, and sing them perhaps better than anyone in his era or the present one.
Why are we speaking so long and fondly about ol’ Mark Chesnutt on a random Monday? It’s because over the last few days, word has come down that Mark Chesnutt has been in the hospital for undisclosed reasons, getting tests and being looked over with undetermined results. It comes after he’s been forced to cancel shows over the last few years due to back issues and other health concerns. Turning 60 in September, we sure hope Mr. Chesnutt still has plenty of life to live, and plenty of shows to play. But too often we fail to share our appreciation or bestow adulation to an individual until it’s too late.
People love to talk about how ’90s country is all the rage at the moment, and it is. Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Brooks & Dunn are always given top billing for defining the era. But Mark Chesnutt rarely gets mentioned in this shorthand notion of what ’90s country was when he was the guy that kept it country while killing it on the charts as well.
So here’s to ‘ol Mark Chesnutt, who never sold out, never compromised, kept it country for 40 years going strong, and remains the textbook definition of “country” for anyone who wants to go searching for it.
November 6, 2023 @ 11:01 am
PS: The latest version of the Saving Country Music Roundup podcast is live on most podcasting networks. On Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7o4TEkIlIzYHTVNmJHJ3wo?si=40e3ed59798e47c9
November 7, 2023 @ 12:45 pm
Thanks Trigger! Sure beats any conversation about Blake Shelton… thank you Jean Shepard for calling BS on him. Mark Chesnutt has been keeping it country for 40 years and I remind him he’s the only one still keeping it country everytime I get the pleasure of meeting him at a Meet & Greet. God bless you and keep you Mark! Speedy recovery! There are a lot of good artists, some great artists, none like Chris Cagle are worthy to shine Mark’s boots, to borrow a phrase from Ray Price regarding Ole BS. Good to see you’re still around to preach, Trigger!
November 8, 2023 @ 4:00 am
Mark Chestnutt has always been one of my favorite artists in Real Country Music. Praying for his health problems & hoping he will soon be on the mend.
November 13, 2023 @ 12:39 pm
Not for nothing Trigger, I DO respect and appreciate Mark Chestnutt. I always have. I was thrilled to say the least, when he released his comeback album in 2021. And I was floored by how good it was and how much he had stuck to his traditional sound sam’s roots. However as far as him being the ONLY answer as you claim in this article! ????????????????????????????????????
Perhaps you’ve heard of this lesser known “good ole boy” who has doubled in the country music scene over the past 40 plus years. His name is “King” Gentleman George Strait. ????
Since I have been following him before his debut release when I was a kid, I believe he may have had one or two top 10 hits and maybe one or two number ones himself. ????
So as much as I appreciate Mark chesnut and as much as my heart thoughts and prayers are with him, he’s not only, not the “only” answer to that. He’s more like a prince to King Gentleman George Strait.
November 6, 2023 @ 11:04 am
How did Too Cold at Home not go #1? Almost a perfect country song.
November 6, 2023 @ 11:35 am
You’ve heard of adding insult to injury, right? Too Cold at Home was held out of the top spot in part by Friends in Low Places.
November 6, 2023 @ 1:01 pm
Lowest common denominator hits tend to do that. Some pretty good songs were blocked by Achy Breaky Heart, too.
November 7, 2023 @ 7:01 am
“Friends in Low Places” is an all-time classic.
November 7, 2023 @ 4:49 pm
Yeah, and Mark cut his own version that appeared on the Too Cold At Home album so… what exactly is their argument here?
November 8, 2023 @ 5:49 am
Acca Dacca,
Garth bad is the argument.
It is also silly because charts are funky things. Occasionally, a bunch of great songs block each other.
November 7, 2023 @ 8:11 pm
Ironically, “Friends in Low Places” was Track 7 on Chesnutt’s “Too Cold at Home album.
November 8, 2023 @ 1:22 pm
I agree on the comments todays country artists
Only need to do the open shirt test to get a contract …you know open shirt if you’re warm Bang you get a contract.Marty Stewart is another guy keepin it country love the steel guitar on his show
November 6, 2023 @ 11:17 am
Love Mark! Hopefully, he gets well soon!
November 6, 2023 @ 11:18 am
A great voice and a truly great country singer. I think I read somewhere recently that he is unwell. If that is so, I hope he gets well soon.
November 6, 2023 @ 11:46 am
You read somewhere? That’s literally what this article is about.
November 6, 2023 @ 11:19 am
Mark Chesnutt is an icon and does not get nearly the attention he deserves for his contributions to 90’s Country! He is a classic and needs to be celebrated more by Country Music! Thanks for this article!
November 6, 2023 @ 11:19 am
“Going Through the Big D” is the prime example of the comedic wit lost in modern country music at both the Nashville and independent levels.
November 7, 2023 @ 6:58 am
“Old Flames Have New Names,” another good example of the same.
November 7, 2023 @ 10:05 am
Bubba Shot the Jukebox
November 6, 2023 @ 11:48 am
Love this guy since the very beginning. Hope he will be OK. According to what I can tell, he’s in the ICU but they don’t know what’s wrong.
November 6, 2023 @ 12:06 pm
His last studio album, “Tradition Lives” was incredible and it sounded like he never missed a beat after 20 years. I was going to see him at Floores on Saturday but he canceled. Hope he gets better soon.
November 6, 2023 @ 6:02 pm
I had the chance to see him few months ago in ohio or was supposed to anyways. Neon nights festival. He was supposed to be on at 4 but weather delays pushed the show til 7. He got cut for John Michael Montgomery, wynona, and Tim McGraw as the closer in that order.
November 9, 2023 @ 3:40 pm
Saw him twice up here in PA many years ago. Once playing the Bethlehem Musikfest and once at what is now Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe PA. Great shows. I hope he gets well.
November 6, 2023 @ 12:37 pm
So many of those songs are on permanent rotation around my house. Prayers for Mark Chestnutt and thanks for this great article.
November 6, 2023 @ 1:52 pm
Absolutely spot on! Mark Chestnut is as original as : baseball, truck’s and apple pie. He is a breath of fresh air in a music industry that has gone mainstream. It’s hard to distinguish country music. The likes of Jelly Roll, Dam Hunt etc….are wanna be rock stars that have no substance and depth to their lyrics. Therefore thank you Mark Chestnut for always keeping it real and keeping it country!!!
November 8, 2023 @ 12:48 pm
Mark Chestnut is one of the best, second all time favorite, only to be outdone by King George Strait, but who doesnt the king out do. These 2 are the only few left playing and making REAL country music. Hope he gets better and ets back to making more music.
November 6, 2023 @ 2:54 pm
I grew up trying to be a rebel, and listen to anything besides country because that was what my parents always played. But after hearing Mark’s version of “Ill Think of Something” I was completely hooked. I always thought he was one of, if not the best, of the 80s/90s artists.
November 6, 2023 @ 3:43 pm
Meet Mark in Fort Payne Alabama at June Jam days such a good honest person and great country singer prayers be with him and family
November 6, 2023 @ 3:43 pm
I always loved Mark Chesnutt’s voice more than any other country singer from the 90s. Savin’ the Honky Tonk is one of my favorite albums of his…I can’t believe it’s almost been 20 years since that came out.
November 6, 2023 @ 4:09 pm
In that era, Mark ended up flying a little beneath the radar with Garth selling millions at the drop of a hat.
He’s a bit like Joe Diffie. He had some humor in his music, catchy melodies and a bucket full of good, heartfelt country songs. He’s a terrific artist and I pray that he recovers and gets some of the credit he deserves for his excellence.
November 6, 2023 @ 4:20 pm
Damn straight Trig, this put a smile on my face. Don’t know why we don’t hear more about Mark Chestnut, the quality of his music is top shelf. the guitar work is so expressive, tight, and aggressive. “I’ll think of something” is one of my favorites.
November 6, 2023 @ 4:42 pm
From a fellow Beaumonter, this is scary news but hopefully all will be well with him in time. He is authentic and one of the greats. I saw him live in Austin around 1992. I heard he moved to Nashville in the summer of 2022, but he had lived in Beaumont until then. So many great songs and so many memories attached to each one. Thanks for the post…
November 6, 2023 @ 4:54 pm
I saw him in Sept and it was a helluva show
November 6, 2023 @ 5:03 pm
Mark’s fellow Beaumont Boy, Tracy Byrd, is another one who flies under the radar but has always kept it country. Sad he’s known for more novelty songs because some of his other songs are great
November 6, 2023 @ 6:15 pm
A while back had the pleasure of seeing Mark play a private pharmacy event in Austin, dude played for probably over an hour and a half with the energy like he was playing an arena, loved his music since I was a kid and really hope he pulls through and continues making great damn country music!
November 6, 2023 @ 6:47 pm
Of course I keep thinking of Luke Bell…Hello there Trigger…
November 6, 2023 @ 7:10 pm
Hello there Mary!
November 6, 2023 @ 6:53 pm
Mark kicked in the door with “TOO COLD AT HOME” and please take a listen to “HOT” from his TRADITION LIVES album, He has never waivered from his original roots! Thanks and GodSpeed, Mr. Chesnutt!
November 6, 2023 @ 6:58 pm
I saw Mark about 30 years ago in columbus. Small venue. He was great! I thought he was about the best when nobody else seemed interested. I remember saying that long ago. Man… that guy can really carry a tune. Memories. Good wishes for him.
November 6, 2023 @ 8:14 pm
I Just Wanted You to Know, Ol’ Country, It Wouldn’t Hurt to Have Wings, Your Love is a Miracle… now THAT is what 90’s country is all about! Praying he gets well soon!
November 6, 2023 @ 8:16 pm
Love this article! Especially as someone who came of age in the 90s listening to country FM radio.
How about an ode to or maybe even history of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys? I’d love to have a professional’s perspective of their influence on country music and how views of them have or haven’t changed over the decades.
November 6, 2023 @ 8:26 pm
Breakup songs don’t get much better than I’ll Think of Something.
Really hope he’s okay.
November 7, 2023 @ 10:14 am
Killer guitar outro as well.
November 6, 2023 @ 8:39 pm
“Bubba Shot the Jukebox” peaked at #4 not because it was too country.
The problem with “Bubba” was that it was the third single off of Chesnutt’s “Longnecks” album and it was so catchy that country stations in Chesnutt’s biggest markets started playing it well before it was ever released as a single. I think it already had 10 weeks of airplay on the Billboard singles chart when it was finally officially released. By the time the single peaked nationally, it was already played out at the stations that jumped on it early, and no longer in heavy rotation there.
November 6, 2023 @ 9:15 pm
I’ve been a fan of Mark Chesnutt since “Too Cold At Home”. He’s one of the ones who brought me into country music. I’ve always felt he was one of the best examples of country music. I lived and worked in Beaumont for a year and got to know his son Casey while I was there. He’s also performing and I hope he has a future in the genre as bright as his father. I pray that Mark gets well quickly and gives us more years of his great music.
November 6, 2023 @ 9:20 pm
Get Well Soon Mark! We Are Counting On You to be
Singing Again! You Are the Best from the 90’s!
Love You Mark! From Sharron Taylor Brentwood Tennessee! Take all the time to heal and Come back to Us!
November 6, 2023 @ 9:27 pm
Get Well Soon Mark! We Are Counting On You to be
Singing Again! You Are the Best from the 90’s!
Love You Mark! From Sharron Taylor Brentwood Tennessee! Take all the time to heal!
November 6, 2023 @ 9:30 pm
Get Well Soon Mark! We Are Counting On You to be
Singing Again! You Are the Best from the 90’s!
Love You! From Sharron Taylor Brentwood Tennessee! Take all the time to heal!
November 6, 2023 @ 9:36 pm
Always a big fan of mark. Outside of A J not much better than Mark in the 90s, diffie was pretty close though though there are a few others right there as well. Too cold is a favorite but also liked solid gold. I liked ill think of something as well though not as good as hank jr’s original version or it’s a hank original as far as I know. A bunch of others were good as well. Hopefully he gets better and eventually gets back on the road.
November 6, 2023 @ 10:20 pm
Get well soon Mark????, you got more tunes in ya bro!
November 7, 2023 @ 3:40 am
My very first concert was Mark Chesnutt in 1993 in Mobile, AL. Thanks for covering this, Trigg. He has a lot of great songs and really every album is solid. Too Cold at Home is a killer record! Long live Mark Chesnutt!
November 7, 2023 @ 4:36 am
Trig, Strait didn’t write anything either, until VERY late in his career.
November 7, 2023 @ 7:33 am
He wrote a couple things early on. “Strait from the Heart” is one of my favorite albums of George, and he wrote, “I Can’t See Texas From Here,” which is a good song.
November 7, 2023 @ 1:40 pm
Thanks for the response Trig. Yes he did, great song! But not much more than that until him and Bubba & DD teamed up.
November 7, 2023 @ 3:44 pm
One of my favorite early George Strait solo penned songs which he re-recorded as a ballad on Love Is Every Thing (2013) …
https://youtu.be/rXLEjFGkHeo?si=X0wvz4FteJmGBADG
The box set Strait Out Of The Box (1995) had a few really early solo penned Strait songs on them that didn’t make label releases.
I remember an interview with Strait in the 80’s where he stated he stopped writing songs because he thought his songs where inferior compared to the ones being pitched to him by the best in the industry at the time.
November 7, 2023 @ 5:23 am
I hope he recovers. One of my favorites of his is the disappointingly seldom played “She Was”. I absolutely loved the album “Saving the Honkytonks”.
I wholeheartedly agree on the basis of the article; an artist is seldom truly appreciated until it’s too late. I hope that is not the case here, and we have Mark for another 20 years.
So Mark, if you’re reading this:
thank you…”Just Wanted You to Know”
November 7, 2023 @ 5:40 am
I have seen Mark in concert and he sounds great. I love his music. I would add Aaro n Tippen to the list of solid country as well. Praying for Mark to recover soon. He still has alot of country left in him!!
November 7, 2023 @ 5:54 am
I saw him at the county fair a few years ago and he sounded terrible. I wondered at the time if something was wrong.
November 7, 2023 @ 6:30 am
Mark’s version of Friends In Low Places holds up better today than Garth’s hands down….fight me ;o). Liked it better from the get go.
November 7, 2023 @ 7:53 am
Mark Chesnutt, THE GREATEST COUNTRY SINGER ALIVE according to Todd Snider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPUIYsDvWWY
November 7, 2023 @ 9:02 am
Chesnutt was a maybe the best hard country mainstream singer of the ’90s.
Unfortunately, he seemed to break down in recent years, when his commercial era was over. There are several videos of interviews with him from the last decade or so where he appears bloated and unkempt and unealthy and voices a bunch of irrational and delusional resentments about how his career went. Contemporaries of Chesnut’s like Tracy Lawrence, Sammy Kershaw and Aaron Tippin seem to have handled the transition to former radio star much more successfully.
November 7, 2023 @ 2:22 pm
Maybe he’ll see the other comments on this article (not yours) and realize what a positive impact his music made on so many of our memories from his best years.
November 7, 2023 @ 9:30 am
John Lennon once opined that rock and roll could also be called Chuck Berry.In that vein,Country music could be called Mark Chesnutt,as the Texan’s distinctive voice and honky-tonk/cum Lone Star State sound was one of Country’s defining sounds of the 1990’s.
November 7, 2023 @ 9:32 am
Get well soon and back in the studio,Mark !!!!!!!
November 7, 2023 @ 10:36 am
was in a group that opened for Mark back in like 93…the fans were into us but it was obvious they were there to see their “man”…every time I mentioned anything about him, the crowd went CRAZY!!
November 7, 2023 @ 1:10 pm
I was a fan from ‘Too Cold at Home’. I saw him in concert in a small town in Oklahoma. When I tried to meet him after he performed, he ignored me. I was irritated, but that did not impact my love of his music. In hindsight, I was the jerk. He ignored me because George Jones was performing just feet away from us. He was showing respect for an icon and trying to get me to realize what I was missing. A true class act.
November 7, 2023 @ 6:08 pm
I listen to his music all the time and everything I do. I usually listen to his music I don’t mean to be mean don’t mean to be anything other than just he’s my hero. I’d love to hear him, his music gives me ideas of who I need to be myself and how I need to treat people around me go for a big boy. Thanks for everything. All the luck in the world from Little Roy18 Whites Creek community Watts Bar Lake in Glen Alice Tennessee
November 7, 2023 @ 7:51 pm
Mark Chesnutt is pure country. He has not received the recognition he should have. He has been a wonderful singer since I first heard him in Beaumont Tx. Prayers for him and his family. I am sure he has a guardian angel named George Jones watching over him. ❤️????❤️????
November 7, 2023 @ 8:00 pm
Although his signature song, “Too Cold at Home,” will be in regular rotation in perpetuity, I think “Old Country” (also written by Bobby Harden) was Chesnutt’s best recored single. Bar room piano, moaning steel guitar, lush cosmopolitan strings, a tidal wave of background vocals… it flawlessly bridged 80’s and 90’s mainstream country. The shuffle pacing of the track and Chesnutt’s vocals …. just perfect production. I pray this is what heaven sounds like.
Its crashing intro made it perfect for the opening track on Longnecks & Short Stories (a criminally underrated album).
https://youtu.be/hegXPV1VG3s?si=pOBbEanfgdkoTQwp
Get better Mr. Chesnutt!
November 7, 2023 @ 8:56 pm
Truly a legend of the 90s and definitely hasn’t gotten the recognition he so much deserves saw him several years ago in my home town in Oklahoma. He put on an awesome show. Prayers for you Mark and us Okies truly think you’re the best.
November 8, 2023 @ 8:40 am
Get better you great song
November 8, 2023 @ 9:15 am
Finally you cover someone good but He wasn’t a strict country fundamentalist.
He said he like the outlaws like Hank Williams Jr. Many of his songs show he was not like boring George Strait. He had songs like “Almost Goodbye”. which is a pop influenced, complex and beautiful song. Rockers like Good Way to Get on My Bad Side and Cajun rock like Gonna Get A Life. He covered songs bu Waylon and Marshall Tucker Band. Once again you show limited understanding of a 90’s country artist
November 9, 2023 @ 6:27 am
This was a great tribute to one of my all-time favorites, and I had a good time reading through all the comments as well.
That said, not a single mention of his version of “Down in Tennessee?” Definitely an under-the-radar heartbreaker that warrants seeking out if you’re not familiar.
November 9, 2023 @ 3:29 pm
hope he’s ok!
November 9, 2023 @ 7:17 pm
I seen mark chesnutt in 2009 in Oklahoma I really enjoyed his voice he is awesome and always has been. My favorite song is I’ll think of something when he sings that song it gives me chills mark has a lot of good songs and pure country he is. You are in my prayers mark. I would love to see you again!! Get well soon
November 9, 2023 @ 10:16 pm
I’m just praying for Mark’s quick and full recovery and hope he is able to get back to doing what he does best which is playing country music from his heart and soul and this well written article is spot on pertaining to his impact on country music for a few decades being fresh and top of the game to the past decade plus just being happy with touring small venues and larger ones for the younger generation who are ignorant of what they are missing. He is a victim of record labels pushing certain artists to gain popularity and wealth but unlike Garth brooks who is a stepping stone and hall of famer and worthy of the wealth and fame but sold his soul when he listened to higher ups and changed his performing name to I forget lol and he took a hiatus and seeing him live when he returned he was a shell of himself in his prime and Trisha yearwood opened the show and sucked shaft. Much too young never performed the three straight Pittsburgh concerts and I have put thousands of dollars in the jukebox like Amarillo by morning taking my retirement money. But mark chessnut necessarily in my personal opinion is country music raw flesh and soul. Going through the big d and brother jukebox and too cold at home are nostalgic hits. My way of knowing who kept the core going is seeing the generations prior giving props to the next performers and no show jones loved mark and the last two decades of country music is not country music whatsoever other than the artists who don’t get radio time whatsoever in northern states like whiskey myers and Eric church is the only artist who I would pay money to watch live and hes his own genre.
November 13, 2023 @ 1:56 am
Amen. He’s the real deal and always has been.
I unfortunately am not too surprised he doesn’t often surface at the forefront of 90s country among casual country listeners. His recording career has been pretty much focused on covers for the past fifteen years with the exception of “Tradition Lives”. But you don’t get much better than “Almost Goodbye” and “Longnecks & Short Stories” when it comes to the cream of the crop of that era. =)
November 13, 2023 @ 6:58 am
I love Mark Chesnutt. I was so sad he canceled a show this weekend in our area, but I hope he’ll be doing well soon. Prayers to you, Mark. Happy holidays. See you soon!
November 13, 2023 @ 7:28 am
I got to see him twice and he is awesome, I have a good friend who plays in his band, I hope Mark a speedy recovery and ????praying for him !