Chris Cagle "Gone" to Jail...& Back

Chris Cagle photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

May 29, 2008 — In the chorus of Chris Cagle’s "What Kinda Gone," he questions, "Is it whiskey night or just a couple of beers?" And if he had it to do over again, his Tuesday night would likely have involved a little less alcohol and a little more control.

Chris and his girlfriend, Jennifer Tant, were booked at 4:40 a.m. yesterday after a domestic dispute in which both suffered minor head wounds, according to Nashville’s WTVF-TV. Police indicated both were intoxicated and had gotten into a dispute on the way home from a local bar. They reportedly hit each other with a purse and an umbrella, and both refused to leave the house, which police indicated they share.

Tennessee law requires defendants in domestic abuse cases remain jailed for 12 hours, requiring Chris to remain incarcerated until 4:40 p.m. Central Time. That made for a tight schedule. He had been slated to leave earlier in the day on his tour bus for Ocala, Fla., where he is slated to perform at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time tonight. An Associated Press story that ran in the afternoon noted that Chris’ managers still expected him to play the date. Ocala is a 600-mile drive from Music City. Despite their early-morning rancor, Chris and Jennifer left the jail holding hands.

Chris has undergone enormous personal challenges and has said repeatedly in recent interviews that he was focused on ending the negativity that has dogged him. In 2005, he told The Tennessean he had given up alcohol, inspired by the impending birth of his son. Two months later, he posted a note on his website indicating the baby was not his. He has heard people publicly discuss his career as if it was history and was charged in December with assault over a dispute with a fan who wanted multiple autographs.

His most recent album, My Life’s Been A Country Song, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart.