Sounds like it’s going to be a beautiful tribute to his friend.
Kenny Chesney is gearing up to release his 21st studio album, Silver Sands Marina, on Friday, September 25th, and he’s teaming up with long-time producer Buddy Cannon to produce once again.
The 58-year-old singer/songwriter will also be featuring cuts from some of the biggest songwriters in Nashville on the project, including the likes of Tony Lane, Matraca Berg, Shane McAnally and the late, great Brett James, reigning ACM Songwriter of the Year, Jessie Jo Dillon, Tenille Townes and Adam Wright.
And it sounds like the Brett James cut is going to be pretty incredible, which is on a song called “Shot Glass” that will be the album’s closer. In September of last year, the country music community lost a songwriting legend, Brett James. James, his wife, and stepdaughter were tragically killed in a plane crash in North Carolina. After failing to launch his career as a solo artist, James struck gold as a songwriter, penning some of today’s biggest hits in country music.
James penned 27 #1 hits, including songs like “Jesus, Take The Wheel” for Carrie Underwood, “When The Sun Goes Down” and “Out Last Night” by Kenny Chesney, “The Truth” by Jason Aldean, “The Man I Want To Be” by Chris Young, and “Somethin’ Bad” by Miranda Lambert.
Kenny and Brett were good friends, and in addition to the aforementioned hits, they also wrote “Just to Say We Did,” “You Save Me,” “Dancin’ for the Groceries,” “Flip Flop Summer,” “Keg In The Closet,” and more together. And during a recent interview on Talk Shop Live, Chesney opened up about the song of Brett’s he cut for this record, called “Shot Glass.”
He says that Brett’s publisher sent it to him, and he’d never heard it before, and even though he had the album basically done and finished how he wanted it, he knew after hearing it that “Shot Glass” needed to close the album:
“My friend Tony Lane, and my friend that’s passed on, Brett James, had written a song called ‘Shot Glass.’ And I’d never heard it, Brett‘s publisher sent it. I knew exactly how I wanted this album to end, and then I heard ‘Shot Glass.’ At the end of the song, I mean, it says, ‘Tell me how did all that fit into a shot glass?’ Now to sing that song, you have to have lived a little bit.
You have to have a little bit of perspective. So when I heard ‘Shot Glass,’ I thought about the subsequent songs on the record. How did all those emotions get into that shot glass? And that’s the very last line of the album. I think about my friend and his life, and how much fun we had together, and all the journeys we went on. All the sunsets, and boat trips, and songs written during that period.
How did all that fit into a shot glass? And I think everybody out there has those moments in their life that they say cheers to, that are really big. Weddings, whatever, divorces maybe. Freedom is great. How does all those emotions fit into a shot glass. It just made me feel so incredible. That was very intentional on that ending the record.”
I’m definitely excited to hear Kenny’s collab with Megan Moroney, but this one might be the most intriguing one… the concept sounds really interesting, and I’m sure it will be emotional knowing the context behind it and how much Brett meant to Kenny:
@talkshoplive @Kenny Chesney shares the heartfelt story behind “Shot Glass,” co-written by his late friend and songwriter Brett James, and why it was the only song that could close “Silver Sands Marina.” Stream Kenny’s full conversation with Holly Gleason on-demand to hear more about the stories behind the album, then pre-order your copy with autograph, exclusively on TalkShopLive. #KennyChesney #SilverSandsMarina #countrymusic ♬ original sound – TalkShopLive 🛒
Silver Sands Marina Tracklist
- “Burn My Boat”
- “Carry On”
- “Talkin’ Dirt”
- “Goldfish” (featuring Lily Meola)
- “Silver Sands Marina”
- “It Just Got Weird” (featuring Megan Moroney)
- “Sad Casino”
- “Shot a Car Into Space”
- “Remember Me That Way”
- “What We Got Going On” (with Colbie Caillat)
- “Shot Glass”
