Post by BeachTenant on Feb 22, 2007 7:39:07 GMT -5
After 60 Minutes Profile, Award-Winning Journalist Sounds Off 
For all the tumult over Anderson Cooper's “60 Minutes” profile of Kenny Chesney, the 1 minute piece -- which puts him in the “Sunday night airing” company of country legends Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, the Dixie Chicks at their zenith ad Gretchen Wilson as her moment was dawning -- captured the life and times of a thoughtful man committed to singing the songs of America's young people. On the road, in the trenches, on the beach, Cooper worked hard to reveal the essence of an entertainer who sold more concert tickets in North America than any act in any musical genre.
“The appeal is he's just this regular guy,” says the award-writing journalist. “He grew up in a small town -- and sings songs that aren't traditional country fare that a lot of people think of as whiskey-soaked heartache. These are songs about growing up in middle America, going on your first date, going to prom, losing friends… things that people really relate to. You see it at the concerts… they dress like him; they want to be like him. It's an aspirational thing in many ways. They want this island lifestyle that he loves, this sense of having a good time, having fun -- and they embrace it.”
Captured on the road at Detroit's NFL Stadium, the final date of Chesney's 1.3 million ticket-selling The Road & The Radio Tour and in the islands with his entire road team celebrating the tour's wrap, Cooper got waist deep in the road culture to understand just what it was that made people identify so heavily with the back-to-back and reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and the two-time and current Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. And yes, he asked the question, but what he found was anything but what people might expected.
“He addressed it head on,” Cooper explained of the dissolution of his marriage and ensuing rumors. “Really the only fraud was him thinking he knew what it was like to be married. This is a guy who was constantly touring and much of his success is based on building his fan base on tour… It was a difficult thing for him.”
Chesney understood going in the reality of doing a hard news magazine show, but he understood the producers felt his annulment was the least of the reasons to interview him -- and this was their third attempt to profile the musician. “When John Hamlin started talking to us, he was intrigued by the number of people we were playing to, the connection we were making -- and that was always what he viewed as the story. Frankly, it's the story that they came for, reported and basically put on the air.”
With his Boston Gillette Stadium summer concert sold out in less than 15 minutes and his other stadiums closing in on gone as well -- and most of this year's Flip Flop Summer Tour, brought to you by Cruzan Rum, about to go on sale, Chesney - who also appears in this week's coveted Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issue with model Marisa Miller -- is getting ready for another year of doing the very thing “60 Minutes” found to be the secret of his success.
For those who hadn't seen the clip, can go to the link provided and check out some of the photos and footage from the interview!
60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/41/kenny_chesney
For all the tumult over Anderson Cooper's “60 Minutes” profile of Kenny Chesney, the 1 minute piece -- which puts him in the “Sunday night airing” company of country legends Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, the Dixie Chicks at their zenith ad Gretchen Wilson as her moment was dawning -- captured the life and times of a thoughtful man committed to singing the songs of America's young people. On the road, in the trenches, on the beach, Cooper worked hard to reveal the essence of an entertainer who sold more concert tickets in North America than any act in any musical genre.
“The appeal is he's just this regular guy,” says the award-writing journalist. “He grew up in a small town -- and sings songs that aren't traditional country fare that a lot of people think of as whiskey-soaked heartache. These are songs about growing up in middle America, going on your first date, going to prom, losing friends… things that people really relate to. You see it at the concerts… they dress like him; they want to be like him. It's an aspirational thing in many ways. They want this island lifestyle that he loves, this sense of having a good time, having fun -- and they embrace it.”
Captured on the road at Detroit's NFL Stadium, the final date of Chesney's 1.3 million ticket-selling The Road & The Radio Tour and in the islands with his entire road team celebrating the tour's wrap, Cooper got waist deep in the road culture to understand just what it was that made people identify so heavily with the back-to-back and reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and the two-time and current Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. And yes, he asked the question, but what he found was anything but what people might expected.
“He addressed it head on,” Cooper explained of the dissolution of his marriage and ensuing rumors. “Really the only fraud was him thinking he knew what it was like to be married. This is a guy who was constantly touring and much of his success is based on building his fan base on tour… It was a difficult thing for him.”
Chesney understood going in the reality of doing a hard news magazine show, but he understood the producers felt his annulment was the least of the reasons to interview him -- and this was their third attempt to profile the musician. “When John Hamlin started talking to us, he was intrigued by the number of people we were playing to, the connection we were making -- and that was always what he viewed as the story. Frankly, it's the story that they came for, reported and basically put on the air.”
With his Boston Gillette Stadium summer concert sold out in less than 15 minutes and his other stadiums closing in on gone as well -- and most of this year's Flip Flop Summer Tour, brought to you by Cruzan Rum, about to go on sale, Chesney - who also appears in this week's coveted Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issue with model Marisa Miller -- is getting ready for another year of doing the very thing “60 Minutes” found to be the secret of his success.
For those who hadn't seen the clip, can go to the link provided and check out some of the photos and footage from the interview!
60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/41/kenny_chesney
