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MARK CHESNUTT
I Don't Want To Miss A Thing

Being the best at what you do is its own reward, and sometimes it's its own punishment as well. Mark Chesnutt knows all about that. When he released "Too Cold At Home," his first single for MCA, in 1990, fans and critics instantly boosted the young Texan to the top tier of country music traditionalists. He then reinforced their high opinion of him by scoring such other pure country hits as "Brother Jukebox," "Blame It On Texas" and "Old Flames Have New Names." By 1993, his sound was so distinct and his career so hot that the Country Music Association honored him with the Horizon Award.

Over the next few years, Chesnutt saw three of his albums on MCA, Almost Goodbye, Longnecks And Short Stories and Too Cold At Home, go platinum. Two others on Decca Records, What A Way To Live and Greatest Hits went gold.

The only downside to all this good fortune, Chesnutt realized, was that he was being pigeon-holed stylistically. As a die-hard fan of traditional country music, he says he's always been eager to carry the torch for it. As an artist, however, he's also felt the urge to flex his imagination and vocal skills--to be a traditionalist-plus. With his newest release on Decca, I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, he is. The album offers Chesnutt-enthusiasts a full menu of familiar country choices, from western swing to honky-tonk to Cajun. But there's a big ballad (the title cut) and some bluesier, more adventurous fare too.

"I'm proud that people think I'm 'the keeper of the flame' and all that stuff," Chesnutt says. "I like that. It makes me feel good. But, to be honest, that's not all I can do. I can branch out. I can sing songs that are not just straight-down-the-line country. I think I've proven that before. When you really sit down and listen to all the hits I've had over the last nine years, there are some big ones that were not what I'd call traditional, like 'Almost Goodbye' and ‘I’ll Think Of Something.' A lot of people think of ‘Too Cold At Home' when they hear my name. That's a classic country song, so I'm glad people think of me that way. But don't put me in Branson yet, because I can still rock and roll with the best of them."

In selecting songs for this album, Chesnutt and his producer, Mark Wright, cast the widest net possible. "This time," Chesnutt proclaims, "we had more good songs than we could record. That's because we made sure everybody knew we were open to songs, no matter where they came from. I usually know right off, the first time I hear a song, if it's for me. That's why I had no problem with recording “I Don't Want To Miss A Thing."

Chesnutt first heard "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" when he saw the Aerosmith music video on VH-1. (The Diane Warren composition is from the Armageddon soundtrack.) "I listened to it," he says, "and I kept thinking, “That's a pretty song for Aerosmith to be doing. That's a great song." Since he and Wright were looking for a "big ballad" to complete the album, Chesnutt readily agreed to do the song. "I liked it so much, it wasn't hard to sing at all," he recalls. "I wondered a while about what my fans would think. But you can't worry about that. If it's a great song and it feels good, you gotta do it. We're not trying to cash in on the movie's success at all by releasing our own version of the single. If we had wanted to do that, we would have released it as soon as we cut it. We're just offering it to people as a great song."

Although he continues to cultivate his own songwriting, Chesnutt says he is content at this stage to rely on other writers for material. Only one Chesnutt co-composition, "Let's Talk About Our Love," made the current album. "I need somebody to give me a push in writing songs," he explains. "As far as being a creative force in writing, I haven't developed that way yet. But it is something I'm working on. I like to hear an idea and then put my two cents in to help complete it. If I did write my own songs, they'd probably come out sounding like Merle Haggard's songs from the '6Os rather than something from the ‘90s."

In January 1999, Chesnutt will headline the Crown Royal Untamed & True 2 tour, a continuation of a show put together in 1997. His touring partners will be Decca label-mate Gary Allan, and MCA's Chely Wright and Keith Harling. "We'll be going into some large clubs and mid-size venues," he says. "The first Untamed & True tour was real successful -- that's why they wanted us to do it again."

Reflecting on what he wants to achieve with I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, Chesnutt observes, "I've tried to appeal to a little broader -- a little wider -- audience this time. I know there's probably going to be some fans out there who'll say, 'This Heartache Never Sleeps' ain't country. What's he doing singing falsetto?' But I just want to show people I can do that. Others are going to say, 'He's cut an Aerosmith song. Is he going rock 'n' roll on us? Well, I hope people do talk about the album. I don't think I did anything very drastic. I just took my time and found some better songs."

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