Richie fully expected Kenny Chesney to pick the good-timing ‘All Night Long’ to cover, so he was stunned when Kenny expressed his admiration for the ballad ‘My Love.’ Chesney’s adoration was so ardent, “he drunk dialed me at 2:00 AM and said he was going to sing the song to me,” Lionel recalls. He added that Kenny’s mom, who Kenny claimed had never attended one of his recording sessions before, dropped by to hear her baby sing with Lionel.

The album, titled Tuskegee, will be released in March. Pre-order now at Amazon.

Chesney will also duet with Richie at an ACM special the day after the ACM Awards are held. The program will be broadcast at a later date. Read more.

It’s possible but not set in stone, Kenny told reporters Jan. 17 at the Grammy nominees party in Nashville. Kenny noted that he and Tim would like to cut a tune together, but added, “We haven’t found the song yet.”

With a joking smile, Kenny said, “We might do a bluegrass thing. We may do some version of [Kenny's recent hit] ‘You and Tequila.’ No, really, I just don’t know yet.”

“Tim and I have been great friends since we first toured together, and I can’t wait to get back on the road with him,” Chesney said. “He’s one of my closest friends in music and in life, and I know this tour is going to be something special.”

“Our friendship was forged on the road, so it’s going to be a blast heading out with Kenny again,” said McGraw. “We’ll be having as much fun on stage as the fans will be having in the audience.”

‘Brothers of the Sun’ will be the first time in 10 years that Chesney and McGraw have hit the road together. The reunion will kick off June 2 in Tampa, FL and will feature stadium shows on weekend dates at venues across the country. ‘Brothers of the Sun’ will also feature special guests Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Jake Owen.

‘Brothers of the Sun’ Tour 2012:

Sat. June 2 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium
Sun. June 3 – Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome
Sat. June 9 – Dallas, TX – Cowboys Stadium
Sun. June 10 – Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium
Sat. June 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field
Sat. June 23 – Nashville, TN – LP Field
Sun. June 24 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium
Sat. June 30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field
Sun. July 1 – Cincinnati, OH – Paul Brown Stadium
Sat. July 7 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
Sun. July 8 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Field
Sat. July 14 – Anaheim, CA – Angels Stadium
Sat. July 21 – Denver, CO – Sports Authority Field at Mile High
TBA – Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium
TBA – Cleveland, OH – Cleveland Browns Stadium
Sat. August 11 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
Sun. August 12 – Washington, DC – FedEx Field
Sat. August 18 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
Sat. August 25 – Foxboro, MA – Gillette Stadium

Tickets for the Dallas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, East Rutherford, Detroit, and Foxboro shows will go on sale Saturday, December 3 through Ticketmaster. On-sale info for the remaining dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Kenny Chesney Fan Club will be the place to get tickets before they go onsale to the general public. Click here to join today and be first in line when tickets go onsale.

Here’s the video announcement that aired on Good Morning America, including an interview with Chesney and McGraw:

Kenny and Taylor sang “Big Star” together. Also joining Taylor at other times during the show were Tim McGraw and Andy Grammer.

Watch a clip of Kenny and Taylor here.

(photo: @kirstenstucki)

On the reunion tour with Tammy Wynette, Kenny Chesney opened up the show. Kenny has come a long way since then, and it appears the two of you still work together, as his latest album features you on the track ‘Small Y’all.’ How did your friendship with Kenny begin, and why is he one of your favorite modern singers in country music?

I love Kenny, and he has remained as close as a son to me. My stepdaughter with Nancy worked for Morris Management, who manages Kenny. Kenny was just starting out and we all agreed to bring him along on the tour. He took his first private plane trip with me and he was just thrilled. In fact, he wore overalls that day and gave them to me. I have them framed down in my memorabilia basement! Through the years, Kenny always stayed in touch and, as he became such a big star, he never forgot me. We do little surprises for each other. Just a couple of months ago, I surprised him on tour and walked out onstage singing to him. He just about fell over. He was so happy and emotional. He knows I don’t normally show up at other people’s shows, and it was a wonderful moment between us. We had dinner back in Nashville a couple of nights later. Kenny is a good, good man and I think of him as a son — and he calls me “Dad.” I am so proud of all that he’s accomplished, and he has stayed the same down to earth humble guy that he’s always been.

He and Potter sang “You and Tequila,” with Chesney briefly bestowing Potter with his trademark cowboy hat, before Chesney declared “I think I’m going to spend the night.”

He stuck around for cover versions of the Bad Company rocker “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and the Tom Petty tune “Free Fallin’,” alternating verses with Potter. Chesney left the stage with high praise for Potter and the Nocturnals: “This is the best band in America, the world, right here,” he said as the show ended.

Watch a video of Kenny and Grace singing “Free Falling” here.

Chesney previously joined Grace last November when she played the Ryman in Nashville, and just last month she joined Kenny at Red Rocks in Colorado.

(photo by Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist/Free Press)

She told me yesterday (June 2) that when she and Chesney were recording the song and making the video, she found him “so devoted to his craft.”

She added, “He has an incredible amount of depth, and is so diverse as a musician. He’s capable of anything,” she added. Chesney discovered her soulful, folk-rock band, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, when he heard their 2007 song “Apologies.” So his people called her people, a demo was sent and voila. Written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter, “You and Tequila” is a poignant song that compares love to a vice. (Chesney has said he loved the song because it’s about being addicted to a person and how that can run in your blood.)

Chesney and Potter shot the sexy video mostly in Malibu, Calif. “That’s the essence of the song, a very romantic setting. And the house where we shot it really lent itself to the song. It was built to look like a Spanish villa, like it belonged on Majorca in the Mediterranean.” On set, Potter said Chesney was very involved. “He and Shaun (Silva, the director) have this kind of shorthand. Kenny even ran around with his own camera. And he’s so well-versed in videos. Even though that’s not his job to know all that, he does know it,” she said. “I was a bit of a film nerd as a kid. So I was obsessed with angles and lighting, too.”

(H/T Rosi)

See photos and watch video clips below:

(hat tip to Lisa for the photo and video)