Kenny Chesney was a guest on Anderson Cooper’s CNN All There Is podcast, where he got extremely candid about a connection he has with a Sandy Hook Elementary School family, and how he has become good friends with the family one of the victims.
Grace McDonnell was among the children killed in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary back in 2012, and it was when Cooper interviewed her family, days after the tragedy, that he contacted Chesney to tell him how he is connected to Grace and her family.
Cooper recalls the day in 2012 to Chesney as they both get emotional.
“Before that interview, I was in their kitchen and I was talking to them, and this was days after their daughter was killed, and there was a photo of you on the refrigerator,” Cooper relates.
Holding back tears, Cooper continues. “I said to Lynn [Grace’s mother], ‘Oh, do you like Kenny Chesney?’ Her whole face lit up, and she was just like, ‘Ya know, Grace loved Kenny Chesney, and in fact the morning she was killed we were waiting for the bus and we were singing a Kenny Chesney song.'”
Chesney is visibly taken aback by Cooper’s story as he takes it all in.
Cooper then tells Chesney, “I texted you and was just like ‘Hey, I just wanted you to know that you really touched this family’s life.’ You texted me right back and you said you wanted to reach out to Lynn. You called Lynn and you spoke for a long time.”
The “You and Tequila” singer says, “Yeah, and we have since then become really good friends. I can’t tell you how many shows her and Chris have come to over the years. They actually brought me a piece of art that Grace had painted and gave it to me.”
Chesney says he had it framed, and it was on his bus for years.
As Chesney was telling Cooper the story, he paused and said, “You know what’s crazy? I’m a very spiritual person, and I believe in people pushing people together.”
Chesney continued, “Today is Nov. 4, I’m not sure when this is running, but as I’m sitting here talking to you today, Nov. 4 is Grace’s birthday, she would have been 20 years old today. I get chills thinking about it.”
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Kenny Chesney was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025.
What Is Kenny Chesney’s Book Called?
Kenny Chesney’s book is called Heart Life Music, and it hit store shelves earlier in November.
25 Best Kenny Chesney Songs That Prove He’s Country Music Hall of Fame Worthy
What truly separates Chesney — a 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee — from other artists is his third act. Six of the 25 songs on this list of Kenny Chesney’s best were released after 2010. It’s there he took some of his biggest risks, rewarding fans with some of the greatest lyrical moments and sounds of the 21st century.
We ranked the Top 25 Kenny Chesney songs using chart data, streaming and airplay numbers and staff/reader opinion. The year listed alongside the title is the year it was released as a radio single. The No. 1 song on this list exemplifies the best of what the Tennessee native is capable of.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
PICTURES: See Inside Kenny Chesney’s Spectacular $11.5 Million Tennessee Estate
Kenny Chesney has sold his 4-bedroom, 9-bathroom, 12,599-square-foot hilltop estate in Tennessee for $11.5 million, and pictures show an opulent Mediterranean villa that is lavish even by the standards of other celebrity mansions.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
