By John Gerome
The Associated Press

It was an odd pair: John Mellencamp in denim shirt and sunglasses, smoking cigarettes and dropping curse words. Kenny Chesney in red baseball cap and sandals, nervously tapping his foot and talking about the time he was 10 or 11 and saw Mellencamp perform "Ain't Even Done With the Night."

But that's the point of Country Music Television's Crossroads series, which pairs country singers with performers from rock, pop and R&B.

Mellencamp, a couple weeks shy of his 52nd birthday, cringes at the thought of being 17 years Chesney's senior. But when the lights dim, Mellencamp's smoke-and-whiskey voice is as strong as it was 20 years ago on "Pink Houses" and "Jack & Diane."

The Mellencamp-Chesney episode (9 p.m. next Friday, CMT) kicks off second season of Crossroads. Other confirmed pairings are Dolly Parton with Melissa Etheridge and Martina McBride with Pat Benatar.

Last season, Crossroads paired Hank Williams Jr. with Kid Rock, the Dixie Chicks with James Taylor, Lucinda Williams with Elvis Costello, Travis Tritt with Ray Charles, Ryan Adams with Elton John, Brooks & Dunn with ZZ Top and Willie Nelson with Sheryl Crow.

Brian Philips, senior vice president and general manager of CMT, says the pairings take a little imagination and a lot of coordination.

"It all begins with a wish list," he said. "Every music fan has in their mind's eye the perfect combination of artists."

CMT takes its ideas to the artists to see if it fits their tastes. Sometimes, as with Crow and Nelson, the two are admirers who have performed or recorded together before, or as with Tritt and Charles, who have always wanted to. The biggest obstacle is coordinating two busy schedules.

For Chesney, Mellencamp was an obvious choice - Chesney closes all of his concerts with "Jack & Diane." His own hits, such as "Back Where I Come From," echo Mellencamp's heartland themes.

"The sound is there - it's very common," Chesney says. "You hear John sing and know he means it. I hope when people hear me sing they know I mean it, no matter if there's a steel guitar or five electrics in your face."

"When I was a kid radio stations were not so segregated," Mellencamp said. "I could hear Conway Twitty or Johnny Cash and then James Brown, then Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. It all came on the same radio station. It was all music."

And that, Philips says, is the beauty of Crossroads. It recalls a time when music wasn't so categorized, when a country star like Cash could have a rock star like Dylan on his network TV show.

"We knew it was a good idea from an audience standpoint," Philips said, "when Kid Rock and Hank Williams Jr. had the channel's highest rating ever."