Big Kenny Might Be Insane, But He Makes Good Music

On his son Lincoln's fourth birthday, Big Kenny, formerly of the country duo Big & Rich, came by the studio to play some tunes for the I-Man, and to share his new philosophy on life. Oh, and to promote his forthcoming album, The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy.

The album, Kenny said, allowed him to speak about his life's evolution. "I was bust in the early nineties when the first recession came through," he said. "I had 75 employees in a construction business, and within three months every bank that was around went out of business."

As a construction worker, Kenny had always been singing or humming on the job site, and a buddy suggested he head to Nashville because "they pay people to write songs there."

"I set my framing hammer down and looked at him," Kenny recalled. "And I said, 'You've got to be kidding!"

But head to Nashville he did, where he undertook the equally hard work of songwriting, which has proved quite lucrative, both for Kenny and for others around the world. He and his wife recently helped build a school for girls in the Sudan, and he's spreading awareness of contaminated water in Appalachia. "We've got to let people know water is killing their kids like lead paint was back in the seventies," he said.

Imus begged his guest, "Please don't turn into my wife."

Further proving his Deirdre-like tendencies, Kenny's new album comes not in a plastic CD jewel case, but in a biodegradable cardboard container stuffed with wildflower seeds. He declared, "The world will be paved in flowers!"

Then, because he hadn't yet convinced Imus that he was totally insane, Kenny explained his new outlook on life: love everybody.

"It struck me like a lightening bolt," he said, adding, "It's not the easiest thing in the world, but it can be done."

He hopes that he and John Rich will record together again, but he's proud that they can each record the songs of their lives right now.

Naturally, Imus had to throw something negative into the mix amidst all this loving everybody crap. "I assumed you all couldn't get along," he told Kenny.

-Julie Kanfer