September 21, 2024 • 8 mins
One of our favorite singers, Mark Chesnutt, is back on the road and touring. Health issues have kept Mark off the road for a few months, but that's all behind him. Bob catches up with Mark and finally finds out why Mark didn't release his version of the hit song "Friends In Low Places."
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bob Pickt talking with a friend of mine. This is
Mark Chestnut on the line. Mark, you sound healthy, You
sound like everything is well. I got to be honest
with you. You had a scared man, very very scared. But
you're doing great now, right.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Oh yeah, man, I had me scared for a few years. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I didn't know what was going on with me. But
find out, you know, it's just all those years of
not taking care of it and not living right and
you know, catch up with you.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So I guess the secret is you got to take
care of yourself, take care of your body. Do you
have any warning signs at all that you were ignored?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Oh? God, yeah, man for years.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
You know, I've had so many health issues that I
didn't really realize in my doctor that I had at
the time.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
They're just as bad as.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
I was, so you know, he wouldn't help with me
any So now this time I've got everybody in my
corner and we're all on the same page, and yeah, stuff.
You know, I had all kinds of problems going home
with you know, drinking too much and just hard living,
you know, being music business all my life, and it
(01:08):
will catch up with if you don't slow down and
realize that we're getting older and you can't just keep
hammering yourself.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
You know, all those years like I did, so.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You were actually living the songs that you were singing to.
What you were doing right.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh God, yes, man, you know I was.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I grew up worshiping Hank Williams Senior and Hank Junior,
Merle Haggard and most of all, George Jones. And then
I got older and I got to looking around.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
You know, most of my heroes are gone.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I'm thinking, man, I'm trying to live like all these
dead guys. So I had to realize that there's a
reason they're not around anymore. And uh so, uh yeah,
it did hit me like a hammer, though. You know,
I kept putting things off, and then it got to
the point where I was just I couldn't go any further.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
And thank God that the doctors can fix.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
A lot of things now a lot easier than they
used to. So I'm doing great now.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Man.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I'm sober now for a year and and you.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Know healthy now. My heart's working. Had it all roto
rootered out, I'm ready to go.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
No, well, you got a pretty good insurance plan. They
probably would have to rot to root of my heart
out with my insurance plan. But no, but well, we
got some new scars to talk about it, and of
course it's going to be a pleasure to see you
back on stage singing of our all of our favorite
Mark Chestnut songs. Yeah, I've been a fan, I mean
even before your your debut album came back, came out
back in the dinies. But I want to ask you.
(02:45):
There's one song on the debut album, one of my
favorite songs, and why wasn't your version of Friends and
Little Places or release to me? That's the better version. No,
I'm not dis Garth, but your version is to me
because that's the version heard first. That's what I love.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, thanks man.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well, I recorded that because I needed one more song
to finish out my my debut album on MCA.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And we had we had all the hits pretty.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Much figured out, all the singles were already you know picked,
you know, while we were recording the thing, and then
we needed one more song, and and I got pitched
Friends in Low Places by the writer and he said, well, Garth,
you know, Garth Brooks is singing on the demo that
I heard because at that when when Garth, you know,
(03:36):
back in the mid late eighties, and you know, Garth
was doing demos, That's what he did for a living,
you know, singing demos in Nashville, and so uh so
most of the songs I heard were demo by Garth,
and so I loved it. And the way Garth demoed
it was exactly the way I cut it. So he
changed it all up when he did it. But I
(03:57):
had I recorded it and put it on my album,
and somebody told Garth that it was going to be
my next single, and Garth.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Got it all mad and went to my producer and
threatened to whoop his ass if if if it was
a single.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
And Mark Wright was my producer, he said, man, we
that ain't our single. You know, we're not going with
that as a single. So Garth hadn't recorded it at
the time, so he ran back in the studio and
cut it real quick and put it out as his single,
and he did.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
It different and it came a huge hit.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So well, that's why it sounds like he's out of
breath when he sings it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
He was in a hurry to put it out, you know,
he was running bull.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Something about these Oklahoma boys, these Texas boys, they just
can't get along at times. Anyway. Well, of course, yeah,
I've always wondered that toy boys. Wanted to ask you
about that, But I mean, I think that you look
at my Mark Chestnut playlist almost goodbye, I'll think it's something,
my goodness. And then you took one of my favorite
(05:03):
Charlie rich songs, put a spin on it, wrote no
pun intended rolling on the flow, and you put that out.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
You know, I'm back out on the road now.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
This is my second week coming up that we started
last week on the road. You know, I had to
take a break, of course for the for the bypass surgery,
and that's that stopped me for two months. So I
pretty much missed the entire summer. But you know down
south here we're still summer, so uh and so we
(05:33):
missed it. But thank god we're back to work now,
health here and never and just having a blast.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Man. I'm really having fun out there for a change,
you know.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
And I realized that the reason I was so tired
and dreading every show.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
You know, hell, I was sick. Didn't even know it,
but ready now though every night.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Well you told me that when this before we start
taking the recording. Is now you're actually gaining weight now,
which a good thing.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Oh man, I got so skinny there for a while.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I had my back surgery in.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Twenty one, and then and then in twenty two.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Well it was it a twenty I don't remember.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I've had so many things that but I had to
shut down for back surgery, lost a tonne of weight
and struggled to get it back, and then I had
some health issues that came up last last year, had
to pull off the road again, and so but now
everything is back to normal and I'm gaining weight like
crazy man, And I love it because I had to
(06:35):
buy clothes so many times in the past few years.
You know, I go from skinny to chubby, then back
to skinny, and now I'm back to chubby.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
But I'm loving it this time.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I don't think I'm if good lords will, and I
don't believe I'm going to have.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Any health issues.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
But I think next year, if anything, if for any
reason I have to come off the road, is maybe
because I just want to go fishing or something.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Yeah, it's it's the Put Back Together Tour, That's what
it is. Hey, before I let you go, I want
to let's let's brug about your son, Casey. Can we
do that?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, God, he's great.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
He is, man, I'm so proud of him.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
He is following in my footsteps and and he's smoking
it up. Man, he's you know, the business is so
different than it was when I came along thirty years ago.
It's just totally different, nothing like it used to be
back then days. But he's he's doing real well, holding
his own. He's got a record deal in Nashville, he's
got great management, and he's just playing all over the country.
(07:36):
And it's amazing that he's working as much as I.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Am, or more.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
He's working more than I am, really, And I'm the
one with the hit records.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
But give them time. He'll have some man. Give them time.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, that's what I tell him.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
He's frustrating, and he said, Dad, I don't want to
be thirty years old with no hit records.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I said, well, so nowadays it works different.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You don't really need chart records anymore. You know, you
just need a big fan base. That's all you need now.
You know, hit records are great, but nowadays it all
it's all working on fans. You know what, it always has,
but it's not as political as it used to be
when I was coming up, you know. So if you
can get out there and do good music and put
(08:20):
it out there for the fans to hear, and go
on stage and do a good show and be true,
you know, be real, not tape, not chase fads and
all that stuff, he'll be around for a long time
and I think he'll do that.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Well.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
He's got some great jeans, he's got some great genes,
I can tell you that, So carry on that.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah, I'm so proud of you.
Bob Pickt talking with a friend of mine. This is
Mark Chestnut on the line. Mark, you sound healthy, You
sound like everything is well. I got to be honest
with you. You had a scared man, very very scared. But
you're doing great now, right.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Oh yeah, man, I had me scared for a few years. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I didn't know what was going on with me. But
find out, you know, it's just all those years of
not taking care of it and not living right and
you know, catch up with you.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So I guess the secret is you got to take
care of yourself, take care of your body. Do you
have any warning signs at all that you were ignored?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Oh? God, yeah, man for years.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
You know, I've had so many health issues that I
didn't really realize in my doctor that I had at
the time.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
They're just as bad as.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
I was, so you know, he wouldn't help with me
any So now this time I've got everybody in my
corner and we're all on the same page, and yeah, stuff.
You know, I had all kinds of problems going home
with you know, drinking too much and just hard living,
you know, being music business all my life, and it
(01:08):
will catch up with if you don't slow down and
realize that we're getting older and you can't just keep
hammering yourself.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
You know, all those years like I did, so.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You were actually living the songs that you were singing to.
What you were doing right.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh God, yes, man, you know I was.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I grew up worshiping Hank Williams Senior and Hank Junior,
Merle Haggard and most of all, George Jones. And then
I got older and I got to looking around.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
You know, most of my heroes are gone.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I'm thinking, man, I'm trying to live like all these
dead guys. So I had to realize that there's a
reason they're not around anymore. And uh so, uh yeah,
it did hit me like a hammer, though. You know,
I kept putting things off, and then it got to
the point where I was just I couldn't go any further.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
And thank God that the doctors can fix.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
A lot of things now a lot easier than they
used to. So I'm doing great now.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Man.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I'm sober now for a year and and you.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Know healthy now. My heart's working. Had it all roto
rootered out, I'm ready to go.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
No, well, you got a pretty good insurance plan. They
probably would have to rot to root of my heart
out with my insurance plan. But no, but well, we
got some new scars to talk about it, and of
course it's going to be a pleasure to see you
back on stage singing of our all of our favorite
Mark Chestnut songs. Yeah, I've been a fan, I mean
even before your your debut album came back, came out
back in the dinies. But I want to ask you.
(02:45):
There's one song on the debut album, one of my
favorite songs, and why wasn't your version of Friends and
Little Places or release to me? That's the better version. No,
I'm not dis Garth, but your version is to me
because that's the version heard first. That's what I love.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, thanks man.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well, I recorded that because I needed one more song
to finish out my my debut album on MCA.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And we had we had all the hits pretty.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Much figured out, all the singles were already you know picked,
you know, while we were recording the thing, and then
we needed one more song, and and I got pitched
Friends in Low Places by the writer and he said, well, Garth,
you know, Garth Brooks is singing on the demo that
I heard because at that when when Garth, you know,
(03:36):
back in the mid late eighties, and you know, Garth
was doing demos, That's what he did for a living,
you know, singing demos in Nashville, and so uh so
most of the songs I heard were demo by Garth,
and so I loved it. And the way Garth demoed
it was exactly the way I cut it. So he
changed it all up when he did it. But I
(03:57):
had I recorded it and put it on my album,
and somebody told Garth that it was going to be
my next single, and Garth.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Got it all mad and went to my producer and
threatened to whoop his ass if if if it was
a single.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
And Mark Wright was my producer, he said, man, we
that ain't our single. You know, we're not going with
that as a single. So Garth hadn't recorded it at
the time, so he ran back in the studio and
cut it real quick and put it out as his single,
and he did.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
It different and it came a huge hit.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So well, that's why it sounds like he's out of
breath when he sings it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
He was in a hurry to put it out, you know,
he was running bull.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Something about these Oklahoma boys, these Texas boys, they just
can't get along at times. Anyway. Well, of course, yeah,
I've always wondered that toy boys. Wanted to ask you
about that, But I mean, I think that you look
at my Mark Chestnut playlist almost goodbye, I'll think it's something,
my goodness. And then you took one of my favorite
(05:03):
Charlie rich songs, put a spin on it, wrote no
pun intended rolling on the flow, and you put that out.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
You know, I'm back out on the road now.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
This is my second week coming up that we started
last week on the road. You know, I had to
take a break, of course for the for the bypass surgery,
and that's that stopped me for two months. So I
pretty much missed the entire summer. But you know down
south here we're still summer, so uh and so we
(05:33):
missed it. But thank god we're back to work now,
health here and never and just having a blast.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Man. I'm really having fun out there for a change,
you know.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
And I realized that the reason I was so tired
and dreading every show.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
You know, hell, I was sick. Didn't even know it,
but ready now though every night.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Well you told me that when this before we start
taking the recording. Is now you're actually gaining weight now,
which a good thing.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Oh man, I got so skinny there for a while.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I had my back surgery in.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Twenty one, and then and then in twenty two.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Well it was it a twenty I don't remember.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I've had so many things that but I had to
shut down for back surgery, lost a tonne of weight
and struggled to get it back, and then I had
some health issues that came up last last year, had
to pull off the road again, and so but now
everything is back to normal and I'm gaining weight like
crazy man, And I love it because I had to
(06:35):
buy clothes so many times in the past few years.
You know, I go from skinny to chubby, then back
to skinny, and now I'm back to chubby.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
But I'm loving it this time.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I don't think I'm if good lords will, and I
don't believe I'm going to have.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Any health issues.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
But I think next year, if anything, if for any
reason I have to come off the road, is maybe
because I just want to go fishing or something.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Yeah, it's it's the Put Back Together Tour, That's what
it is. Hey, before I let you go, I want
to let's let's brug about your son, Casey. Can we
do that?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, God, he's great.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
He is, man, I'm so proud of him.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
He is following in my footsteps and and he's smoking
it up. Man, he's you know, the business is so
different than it was when I came along thirty years ago.
It's just totally different, nothing like it used to be
back then days. But he's he's doing real well, holding
his own. He's got a record deal in Nashville, he's
got great management, and he's just playing all over the country.
(07:36):
And it's amazing that he's working as much as I.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Am, or more.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
He's working more than I am, really, And I'm the
one with the hit records.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
But give them time. He'll have some man. Give them time.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, that's what I tell him.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
He's frustrating, and he said, Dad, I don't want to
be thirty years old with no hit records.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I said, well, so nowadays it works different.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You don't really need chart records anymore. You know, you
just need a big fan base. That's all you need now.
You know, hit records are great, but nowadays it all
it's all working on fans. You know what, it always has,
but it's not as political as it used to be
when I was coming up, you know. So if you
can get out there and do good music and put
(08:20):
it out there for the fans to hear, and go
on stage and do a good show and be true,
you know, be real, not tape, not chase fads and
all that stuff, he'll be around for a long time
and I think he'll do that.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Well.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
He's got some great jeans, he's got some great genes,
I can tell you that, So carry on that.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah, I'm so proud of you.
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