23 Facts About Vic Chesnutt

James Victor Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia.

An adoptee, Vic Chesnutt was raised in Zebulon, Georgia, where he first started writing songs at the age of five.

When he was 13, Vic Chesnutt declared that he was an atheist, a position that he maintained for the rest of his life.

Around 1985, Vic Chesnutt moved to Athens and joined the band La-Di-Das with future member of the Dashboard Saviors Todd McBride.

In 1993, Chesnutt was the subject of filmmaker Peter Sillen's independently produced documentary, Speed Racer: Welcome to the World of Vic Chesnutt, which was shown on PBS.

Vic Chesnutt had a small role as "Terence" in the 1996 Billy Bob Thornton movie Sling Blade, which he later described self-mockingly as a poor performance.

In 1996, Vic Chesnutt was exposed to a wider audience with the release of the charity record Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, the proceeds from which went to the Sweet Relief Fund.

Vic Chesnutt collaborated with Bob Mould to record a version of Gram Parsons' song, "Hickory Wind", which appeared on the 1993 compilation, Conmemorativo: A Tribute to Gram Parsons.

Vic Chesnutt made two albums with fellow Athens group Widespread Panic, under the name of brute.

Vic Chesnutt was featured singing on the title track of Elf Power's 2004 release, Walking with the Beggar Boys.

The 2005 album Ghetto Bells featured famed guitarist Bill Frisell, whom Vic Chesnutt met in 2004 at the Century of Song concert series at the German festival Ruhrtriennale.

In 2009, Vic Chesnutt worked with many of the same contributors to the album North Star Deserter to release the album At the Cut in September.

Later in 2009, Vic Chesnutt recorded the album titled Skitter on Take-off with Jonathan Richman which was inspired by the two albums recorded in Montreal and was released on Vapor.

Vic Chesnutt then recorded About to Choke for Capitol Records.

Vic Chesnutt then found a home at the New West Records label, which released two of his albums.

Vic Chesnutt provided a powerful performance of the 1972 Bobby Russell-penned classic song, "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" on Pravda Records' 1994 "Star Power" CD featuring various artists.

Vic Chesnutt was a supporter of medical marijuana, which he said helped with his medical problems.

Vic Chesnutt contributed the track, "Weed to the Rescue", to the 1998 Hempilation II charity album, with proceeds going to NORML, an American organization dedicated to marijuana legalization.

Vic Chesnutt frequently performed Daniel Johnston's song, "Like a Monkey in a Zoo", during live performances.

Vic Chesnutt recorded a version of the song that was released on the 2004 compilation CD, The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered.

Vic Chesnutt appeared as a guest musician on Cowboy Junkies' 2007 album and accompanying DVD Trinity Revisited, a 20th anniversary remake of the Junkies' classic album The Trinity Session.

Vic Chesnutt died on Christmas Day 2009 from an overdose of muscle relaxants that had left him in a coma in an Athens hospital.

Kristin Hersh wrote a book titled Don't Suck, Don't Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt, which was published by University of Texas Press and released on October 1,2015.