''Lucky Old Sun'' is the twelfth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

. It was released on October 14, 2008 as the first release for Blue Chair Records, Chesney's personal division of the

BNA Records BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, ...

record label. The album produced two singles in "

Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" is a country music song co-written by American songwriters Jim Collins and Marty Dodson. The song was initially to have been recorded by George Strait for his 2008 album ''Troubadour'', but after Strait decided n ...

" and " Down the Road", which were both number ones on the country charts. Chesney's versions of those two songs are duets with

The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Rober ...

and

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...

respectively. This was Kenny's first album since 1997's ''

I Will Stand ''I Will Stand'' is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. It was released on July 15, 1997, on BNA Records. "She's Got It All" was the album's first single, as well as Chesney's first number 1 single on the ''Bi ...

'' to not have a Top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Content

The lead-off single, "

", was released on August 11, 2008. In October, this song became a Number One hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country charts. The next single, " Down the Road", is a duet with

. McAnally had previously released this a single for himself from his 1990 album ''

Simple Life Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. In addition t ...

''. This rendition has also reached Number One. Two of this album's songs were previously recorded by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

: "Ten with a Two" was previously a single in 1990 from his album '' Born for Trouble'' and " I'm Alive" was recorded on his album '' Moment of Forever''. "

That Lucky Old Sun "That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)" is a 1949 popular song with music by Beasley Smith and words by Haven Gillespie. Background Like "Ol' Man River", its lyrics contrast the toil and intense hardship of the singer's life ...

", recorded as a duet with Nelson, is a cover of the 1949 pop standard made famous by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

. Chesney's version of "I'm Alive", a duet with

Dave Matthews David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is an American musician and the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB). Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved frequently between South Africa, ...

, also appears on his 2009 compilation album ''Greatest Hits II'', from which it was released as its second single in August 2009.

Commercial performance

''Lucky Old Sun'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 selling 176,000 copies in its first week. It was also his fifth consecutive album to top the US

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart. As of July 2009, the album sold 720,000 copies in United States. On February 13, 2017, the album was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for sales of a million copies in the United States.

Track listing

Personnel

As listed in liner notes * Wyatt Beard – background vocals *

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...

– electric guitar *

Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 in Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer active since the 1970s best known for his work with Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson. Career Cannon began working in Nashvill ...

– background vocals *

– acoustic guitar, lead vocals *

Eric Darken Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer. Biography Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...

– percussion * Scott Ducaj – trumpet * Chris Dunn – trombone *

Kenny Greenberg Kenneth S. Greenberg is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and session musician. He is known for bringing a rock-and-roll sensibility to Nashville recording sessions. Biography Greenberg was born in Cleveland, Ohio but attended junio ...

– electric guitar *

Robert Greenidge Robert Greenidge (born 28 April 1950 in Success Village, Laventille, Trinidad) is a steelpan player. He is a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini. Greenidge has also collaborated ...

–

steel drums The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...

* Tim Hensley – background vocals * Steve Herrman – trumpet * Steve Hinson –

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

* John Hobbs – piano, synthesizer,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...

– tenor saxophone *

Paul Leim Paul William Leim (born December 29, 1950) is an American drummer and recording session musician based in Nashville. Biography Leim was born in Port Huron, Michigan and raised in Troup, Texas. He was inspired to take up drumming as a child a ...

– drums * B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar *

– acoustic guitar and duet vocals on "Down the Road" * Randy McCormick – B3 organ, synthesizer *

– vocals on "I'm Alive" *

– vocals on "That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)" * Larry Paxton – bass guitar,

gut string guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string a ...

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor likely best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or record ...

– harmonica * Gary Prim – piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer *

– vocals on "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" * John Willis – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut string guitar *

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Life and career Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten single ...

– drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Kenny Chesney albums BNA Records albums Albums produced by Buddy Cannon