Mark Chesnutt was born Sept.6, 1963, in Beaumont, Texas. His father, Bob
Chesnutt, was a singer who, although failing to find success in Nashville in the
mid-60s, was popular in Texas; however, he quit music in favor of the used-car
business, because he wanted to be with his family. It is, therefore, not
surprising to find that, with strong parental encouragement, Mark followed in
his father's footsteps (Bob died in 1990, just before his son achieved the
success that had eluded him in his career). Impressed by
George Jones (who also grew up in Beaumont),
Chesnutt learned to play guitar and drums, and as a 15-year-old was singing in
Texas clubs. He later formed his own band and worked all over Texas. He first
recorded for Axbar and other independent labels until, in 1990, his recording of
"Too Cold At Home" gained him a contract with MCA. Written by Bobby Harden, the
song became a number 3 country chart hit. Chesnutt moved to Nashville and before
the year was out, he gained his first number 1 with "Brother Jukebox".
During the next three years, he charted regularly, enjoying further number 1s
with "I'll Think Of Something", "It Sure Is Monday" and "Almost Goodbye". He
recorded a duet, "Talking To Hank", with George Jones, which appeared on his
second album. Since his father's death, Chesnutt has become great friends with
Jones and, on occasions, worked with his idol on tours. He appears on the video
George Jones- Live In Tennessee. He was honored with the CMA's Horizon Award in
1993. In 1994, he added a further number 1 with "I Just Wanted You To Know", and
a Top 10 hit with "She Dreams". When the Decca label was re-formed, he was one
of the biggest names to sign with it, and early in 1995 he proved his point with
"Goin' Through The Big D". He has since released consistently strong albums for
the label, Thank God for Believers reuniting him with Mark Wright, producer of
his first four albums. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing featured a surprisingly
credible cover version of the
Aerosmith title track (written by
Diane Warren ), which topped the country
charts and climbed to number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1999.
Lost In The Feeling proved to be Chesnutt's swansong for MCA Records, and
Mark is now recording for Columbia Records.
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Mark Chesnutt was born Sept.6, 1963, in Beaumont, Texas. His father, Bob
Chesnutt, was a singer who, although failing to find success in Nashville in the
mid-60s, was popular in Texas; however, he quit music in favor of the used-car
business, because he wanted to be with his family. It is, therefore, not
surprising to find that, with strong parental encouragement, Mark followed in
his father's footsteps (Bob died in 1990, just before his son achieved the
success that had eluded him in his career). Impressed by