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Book excerpt: “Heart Life Music” by Kenny Chesney with Holly Gleason

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Book excerpt: “Heart Life Music” by Kenny Chesney with Holly Gleason


William Morrow


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Over the past three decades, Kenny Chesney has been one of the most celebrated singers in music. In his first book, “Heart Life Music” (written with journalist Holly Gleason, to be published Tuesday by William Morrow), Chesney recounts his life’s journey, from East Tennessee, to No Shoes Nation and beyond. 

Read an excerpt below, in which he writes about a soulful collaboration with singer-songwriter Grace Potter – and don’t miss Lee Cowan’s interview with Kenny Chesney on “CBS Sunday Morning” October 26!


“Heart Life Music” by Kenny Chesney with Holly Gleason

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Grace

There was a show on tv called “Let’s Make A Deal.” People would be contestants, hoping host Monty Hall would pick them to compete for prizes. New cars, new kitchens with all the appliances, expensive watches. You had to pick.

One of two things: color tvs and washer/dryer sets, or what was behind Door No. 3, knowing it could be a wheelbarrow with some grass seed, or a new car.

I’ve always been attracted to what’s behind Door No. 3. That idea of the big unknown you can’t see always appealed to me. The seeker inside has chased the unknown all my life.

When you’re a dreamer, you can’t not take Door No. 3. That mentality fuels you. Seeking inspiration, wanting to find out has risk involved. Some Door No. 3s don’t work out. But Grace Potter? She’s the epitome of why Door No. 3 is always better than playing it safe.

“You & Tequila” showed up in my email in the middle of the night.

I remember listening, thinking, “Damn…,”

That idea of a person you can’t quit, because they’re so addictive is real. You can’t resist, only overdo it to the point of poisoning yourself hit me. I called Matraca Berg, asked if there was a demo with a man singing it; she had one. Hearing Tim Krekel sing it hit me even harder.

We cut it really simple. That pull between what you want and knowing you shouldn’t made “You & Tequila” burn into people.

We were about done with Hemingway’s Whiskey. I wanted something to make it shine. Buddy Cannon and I were talking about who might sound good; Clint Higham, my co-manager, even reached out to Irving Azoff about the Eagles, since this sounded like a classic Laurel Canyon song. 

Then the woman who sent me the demo asked, “Why don’t you get Grace Potter? She captures that haunted and haunting feeling.”

What makes Grace Potter, the ultimate Door No. 3, was the mystery. The hippie songwriter/rock girl.  

Once she was suggested, as much as it made no sense on paper, I knew she was the person we needed.

I listen to a lot of music at night in the Virgin Islands. No light pollution, you can drift in the sounds. I’d been given Grace’s live CD. “Apologies” poured out of the speakers.

Motionless on a chaise lounge, when I heard Grace’s voice – so soulful, but beautiful and real – I was floored. Nobody in my life had heard this voice except my friend. I felt blessed.

She wrote her own songs. She had a band, wasn’t overproduced. Really listening, it was how she played that B-3 organ, but especially how she sang those songs.

I looked up at the sky and exhaled. She sounded like coming home.

When we put her on “You & Tequila,” all she knew about me was “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” because the Eagle in Burlington, Vermont had played it to death.

Was it even possible? Grace had finished a European tour, traveled 24 hours with no sleep and was landing in America. We laugh now, but she listened to the demo on the rental car shuttle having cleared customs.

She was tired. She missed her family. And we needed her in Nashville within 48 hours to make the deadline for mastering – or we’d have to move the record. Her manager wasn’t optimistic. My friend insisted, “Give her the song.”

Thirty minutes later, we had a yes. Thirty hours later, Grace Potter landed in Nashville in a flowy leopard print dress, walked into Blackbird Recording Studios and changed both of our lives. Brash, smart and funny, she oozed music. She told wild stories, made some people blush and asked us what we were thinking.

Buddy suggested, “Get in the booth and put your headphones on. See how it feels to you.”

Probably warming up, she was humming. Then that “ooooohOOOOOHohhhh” she does on the record rolled out.

“Do some more of that.”

Two or three takes later, we were done. We’d talked longer than she was in the vocal booth. Even before it was mixed, we knew it was something. That’s the thing: you know.

It was my birthday. I asked her and her boyfriend if they’d like to have dinner. We went to Sunset Grille, sat outside on the patio and laughed. We came from musically different places; her country music was Willie, Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams. But we were of the same heart, same small town, family-oriented life.

She was tired, so we didn’t hang long. When I got up to leave, she followed me, jumped in the passenger seat of my car, and announced, “I don’t know what the future holds, but we’re going to be friends for life.”

Grace Potter knew things. I’ve always believed there are things in our lives that were pre-determined; set into motion by some larger power. Grace was absolutely one.

      
From “Heart Life Music” by Kenny Chesney with Holly Gleason. Copyright © 2025 by Kenny Chesney. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

To hear Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter perform “You and Tequila,” click on the video player below:


Kenny Chesney – You And Tequila (Official Video) ft. Grace Potter by
KennyChesneyVEVO on
YouTube


Get the book here:

“Heart Life Music” by Kenny Chesney with Holly Gleason

Buy locally from Bookshop.org


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Taylor Swift reveals Travis Kelce is ‘right fit’ in new docuseries

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Taylor Swift reveals Travis Kelce is ‘right fit’ in new docuseries


Taylor Swift reveals Travis Kelce is ‘right fit’ in new docuseries

Travis Kelce has become a steady presence in Taylor Swift’s life, and the pop star says their shared careers have made all the difference.

In a new episode of her Disney+ docuseries The End of an Era, Swift, 36, opened up about how touring once made relationships difficult. “Relationships on tour has always been something I’ve really struggled with because it’s always felt like the tour was taking away from the relationship,” she said.

“Somehow, I was not able to do both and feel like I was nurturing both at the same time, even though I would try and try and try and try.”

That changed when she began dating the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. Swift explained there was a “dynamic shift” because both she and Kelce perform in stadiums for a living.

“We both have jobs where we go out in NFL stadiums, and we entertain people for three and a half hours,” she said. “His with considerably more violence than mine — but he’s not in heels. But it’s our passion. We’ve been chasing this since we were little kids.”

Swift added, “I don’t think I ever thought I’d meet a guy who had that same trajectory… You can have the two passions coexist, and they actually fuel each other.”

The couple has been publicly supportive of one another, with Kelce even joining Swift onstage during her Eras Tour stop in London. Fans cheered as he danced and helped carry her across the Wembley Stadium stage.

“The fans absolutely love Travis,” Swift said, adding that Swifties admire “the way he treats me.”

The couple announced their engagement on Instagram on August 26, marking another milestone in a love story that began with a friendship bracelet and a missed meeting.





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US issues sanctions on family members and associates of Venezuela’s Maduro

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US issues sanctions on family members and associates of Venezuela’s Maduro


Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro attends an event in Caracas, Venezuela, May 1, 2023. — Reuters

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on family members and associates of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as Washington ratchets up pressure on the Venezuelan president.

The US Treasury Department, in a statement, said it had imposed sanctions on seven people it said were tied to Maduro and his wife. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused them of “propping up Nicolas Maduro’s rogue narcostate.”

“We will not allow Venezuela to continue flooding our nation with deadly drugs,” Bessent said.

“Maduro and his criminal accomplices threaten our hemisphere’s peace and stability. The Trump administration will continue targeting the networks that prop up his illegitimate dictatorship.”

Venezuela’s information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Maduro and his government have vehemently denied links to crime and say that the US is seeking to oust him to take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

In recent months, the administration of US President Donald Trump has been ratcheting up pressure on Maduro, executing a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean.

It has carried out strikes against suspected drug vessels in the region, seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, and declared a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

Trump has also repeatedly said that strikes on land in Venezuela are coming soon.

Friday’s action sanctioned relatives of Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, the nephew of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores. The US says Malpica Flores was involved in a corruption plot at state oil company PDVSA. He was sanctioned by Washington last week.

His mother – the sister of Maduro’s wife – as well as his father, sister, wife and daughter were hit with sanctions on Friday.

The Treasury on Friday also extended a general license protecting Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors through February 3 that was set to expire on December 20. It was a far shorter extension than the last one the Treasury issued in June, which had a six-month duration.

Washington has protected the Houston-based company from creditors in recent years, even amid a court-organised auction of shares in its parent company, PDV Holding. The license temporarily bans transactions with a Venezuela-issued bond collateralised with Citgo equity.

A US judge in November authorised the sale of shares in the parent of Citgo Petroleum to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, following his approval of a $5.9 billion bid from the company in a court-organised auction to pay Venezuela-linked creditors.

The sale order, which is pending Treasury Department approval, was the last major legal step to wrap a two-year auction aimed at paying up to 15 creditors for debt defaults and expropriations.





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Zoe Kravitz teases fans with ring in wedding finger

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Zoe Kravitz teases fans with ring in wedding finger


Zoe Kravitz and Harry Styles spotted in Rome

Zoe Kravitz has set off a fresh wave of speculation after being spotted wearing a ring on her wedding finger during a recent outing with Harry Styles, a detail that quickly caught the attention of fans. 

The actress was seen strolling arm in arm with the pop star in Rome, looking relaxed and affectionate as the pair enjoyed time together, with the ring adding fuel to ongoing engagement rumours that first surfaced weeks ago.

The 37-year-old actress appeared comfortable and content alongside her 31-year-old boyfriend, choosing a casual look that included a cape-style jacket and a bright purple scarf.

As spotted by The Sun, Styles kept things low-key in a long grey coat, sunglasses resting on his head, while carrying a shopping bag after a stop at a jewellery store during what appeared to be a Christmas shopping trip. 

The timing and setting only added to the curiosity surrounding the gold band on Kravitz’s ring finger.

The couple’s relationship became public earlier this year, with reports revealing they began dating casually in August after years of friendship.

An insider offered insight into why the couple seems less concerned about public attention this time around, saying, “Harry is a very private man – it’s no secret he’s dated lots of people but it’s not always so public.”

“If he wanted to, Harry knows exactly how to keep things underwraps. He’s been in this industry a long time and he knows how his fanbase reacts to things,” the source added. 

“He doesn’t take introducing the world to a new girlfriend lightly. He has thought long and hard about it but he’s prepared for the backlash because he thinks Zoe is the real deal.” 

The insider added, “It’s never easy for someone to date Harry and they’ve definitely chatted about what it will be like – and Zoe is fully on board. It’s not just a fling and them happily being snapped really shows that.”

Both stars come from recent high-profile relationships. 

Styles previously dated director Olivia Wilde, while Kravitz became single in October 2024 after ending her engagement to actor Channing Tatum.

For now, neither has commented publicly on the ring, but the subtle detail has already spoken loudly to fans watching closely.





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