Joe Galante's Speech At Kenny Chesney 25 Million Party

Music City artist and music advocate Holly Gleason was there:

In a business of bigger, harder, yeah, wow, WOW! more-more-more hyperbole, a party for 25 million records sold seems like the ultimate high dive opportunity. Yet Joe Galante, a small competitive man who knows how to sell records, took the stage at Nashville's Musicians' Hall of Fame and offered the most impassioned comments about an unlikely young man who was not an obvious star, but who had a strength of character and purpose that made people believe long before there was reason to. It was a speech that talked about how hard he worked -- as hard as the best anyone could give, how much he believed there was more -- often beyond what anyone else could see, and made the people around him believe., too; how committed the musician was to giving back, going further, reaching those fans -- and the bitten-to-the-quick nails that demonstrate it. There was so much heart, so much flesh and aching muscle evoked, it became apparent how serious application and sacrifice truly are on the way to “can you believe this is happening?”