David Lee Murphy, Kenny Chesney Celebrate Spirit-Lifting, Chart-Topping Hit

David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney

Nashville’s ACME Feed & Seed on Lower Broadway was infused with tropical vibes on Wednesday (Aug. 8), as members of the industry gathered to celebrate David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney‘s No. 1 success.

“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” recorded by Murphy and Chesney, was penned by Murphy, Jimmy Yeary and Chris Stevens. The single is the first release from Murphy’s Reviver Records album No Zip Code.

Following his string of hits in the ’90s (including “Dust On The Bottle” and “Party Crowd”), Murphy has penned numerous country hits for others, with songs recorded by Chesney, Jason Aldean, Dan+Shay, Midland, and Thomas Rhett. This collaboration with Chesney marks Murphy’s first return to No. 1 on the country charts as an artist in more than two decades.

“First, I wanna thank Chris and Jimmy. We knew the day we wrote it, this was a hit even if nobody played it,” said Murphy. He gave credit to the Reviver Records staff for their hard work and perseverance. “They were tough as can be, and we had a long haul. They’ve worked really hard on this record. We knew it was going to be a fight, but every regional got in there and gave it their all. We said you can run, but you can’t outrun us.”

Pictured (L-R): Jimmy Yeary, David Lee Murphy, Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney, Chris Stevens. Photo: Allister Ann

Among those celebrating were “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” co-producer Buddy Cannon, Joe Galante, ASCAP’s Michael Martin, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, THiS Music’s Rusty Gaston, Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson, Reviver Records’ Gator Michaels and David Ross, MusicRow Magazine’s Sherod Robertson, as well as the Country Music Association’s Sarah Trahern and Brandi Simms. Capitol CMG Publishing is also a publisher on the song, but could not be in attendance.

Chris Stevens has earned several Grammys and BMI Christian Awards for his work on Contemporary Christian songs including TobyMac’s “Steal My Show,” but “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” marks his very first country No. 1 song.

Yeary commented, “I love being a songwriter. I love to feel, so you can feel it…. If you feel, we connect. If we connect, we form a bond. If we form a bond, you’ll listen to me. And that gives us the opportunity to say things like ‘everything’s gonna be alright.’”

Pictured (Back row, L-R): Doug Casmus, Reviver’s Bob Reeves, Will Robinson, David Ross; David Lee Murphy; Buddy Cannon, Reviver’s Gator Michaels; Kenny Chesney; Reviver’s Hayley Cowoski, Clay Henderson, Ben Bieri; songwriters Chris Stevens, Jimmy Yeary. (Front row, L-R): Reviver’s Rick Hughes, Suzanne Durham, Dave Collins and Paul Williams. Photo: Allister Ann

Replicas of Chesney’s signature old blue chair were placed strategically around the room. The walls were decorated with backdrop-sized photos of Chesney and Murphy, which chronicled their years as both friends and songwriters. The room was filled with good spirits–both from the glow of celebrations, and from the signature Blue Chair Bay Rum cocktail created just for the event – an Everything’s Gonna Be Alright Mojito, which contained high proof white rum, mint, lime and a bit of sugar.

“This all started three, four years ago, because David Lee would send me all these songs–demos that sounded like records–and he was singing so great,” Chesney told the crowd. “I remember thinking, ‘I’d love to hear that on the radio.’ It seemed to me that there were a lotta people who aren’t being sung to, and David Lee could be one of those people who could do that.”

Chesney, who co-produced Murphy’s album, was a champion for Murphy and for the song, and said he feels that same passion in return each time he joins in singing the song for fans on his Trip Around The Sun tour.

“To stand up there in front of 50,000 people every Saturday night, and see a song truly move people, to really feel it is something. This song made me believe in that all over again, because to experience that is really, really beautiful.” Chesney said.

The celebration is another high-mark this week for Chesney, whose own album Songs For The Saints, currently reigns atop the country albums chart. Chesney will bring his Trip Around The Sun Tour to Nashville this weekend.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at [email protected].

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