Having sold out arenas all over the United States and released platinum-selling albums for nearly a decade, singer/songwriter Kenny Chesney is indisputably one of the biggest crossover successes in modern country music. His forthcoming album, Lucky Old Sun is shaping up to be another chart-topper, based on its end-of-summer hit single and video "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven."
Despite Chesney's easygoing vocals and the song's twangy guitars, "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" is an oddity on modern country radio. The song's skanking rhythm, steel drum percussion and piping organ give it a distinct Caribbean flavor that is all but unheard of in popular country music. The song's reggae leanings are unexpectedly realistic for a Nashville-based crooner like Chesney. This can be attributed to Chesney's employment of the most famous backup band in reggae history, Bob Marley's Wailers, to give the song an authentic reggae tinge.
Nearly three decades after Bob Marley's passing, the Wailers are still an internationally popular concert act that releases new albums from time to time. Besides Marley, the band also launched the careers of reggae icons like Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Aston "Family Man" Barrett, the latter of whom performs and records with the Wailers to this day with the stage energy that took the band to the forefront of world music in the 1970s.
Unlike many backup bands for iconic singer/songwriters, the Wailers played a major role in Bob Marley's success, providing tight harmonies and melodic rhythms to Marley's songs. The band's indisputable musicianship and stage energy earned them a devoted fanbase that has carried on to this day, and it is a fanbase that Chesney is proud to be a part of.
"They were so generous with us in terms of their time and the stories they'd tell us," Chesney told country music news source GACTV.com. "We sat up one night on the beach, and they shared the whole history of the band, the struggles they had. I got to interview them for something we may do later. Those guys are a huge part of history, whether people realize it or not. The music they had a hand in creating is so universal. It doesn't matter where you go, you can hear the Wailers drifting out of some club or shop or car or boat, and they are so humble for everything they've been a part of."
Based around a quote often attributed to legendary boxer Joe Louis, the song has an instant chorus ("Everybody wants to go to Heaven/But nobody wants to go now") that begs to be sung on beaches and around campfires. The accompanying video, filmed in Jamaica, features footage of Chesney performing with the Wailers, along with some beautiful shots of the island and glimpses into the lives of its residents. Hearkening to Bob Marley's spiritual and celebratory sides, "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" reflects Marley's influence seeping into the country genre.
On paper, an influential Jamaican reggae band and an American country superstar may seem like a strange pairing, but the famed musicians all sound right at home on "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven," a song that has something to offer for anyone who enjoys a good tune.