Genuine

Since bursting onto the scene in 1989, Alan Jackson has proved his staying power. In a scene dominated by pop-country and bro-country, Alan has stayed true to his roots, keeping it country and creating some of the most memorable music of recent years.

He spoke out about where he saw country music heading in his mournful duet with country legend George Strait, "Murder on Music Row". With its fiddle and pedal steel underlying the anguished vocal, it went top 40 despite never being released as a single. Fans hailed Jackson for doing his bit to keep the traditional country music sound alive and kicking, and the duo won the CMA duet award and played an iconic version of the song at the ceremony.

Alan also embraces the nostalgia at the heart of country music with his throwback sound and heartfelt lyrics. Songs like the beautiful "Remember When", a love letter to his wife, and the heartbreaking "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)", with its message of grief, shock and compassion, have become classics. And in songs like "Drive (for Daddy Gene)" and "Chasin' that Neon Rainbow", Alan shows a real knack for mining personal experience to tell communal truths. It's part of the reason why he was inducted, in 2018, into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

By his own admission, Alan prefers his tearful ballads, saying they make better records. Maybe it's his co-writer talking - Jackson is said to be fond of sipping Jack Daniels while he writes. Whatever it is, his fanbase is along for the ride — they’ve sent 35 of his songs to number 1.

Under the Influence

From a slow start to his career in the early 80s, Alan achieved massive fame by blending a traditional honky-tonk sound with more contemporary influences. In fact, he owes his career to one of the greatest of all time - when his wife was working as a flight attendant; she handed one of his tapes to Glen Campbell, who quickly signed him up as a staff writer at his own Glen Campbell Music label.

Jackson laid bare his influences on the 1999 covers album Under the Influence. The album, covering songs by his country heroes, including George Jones, Merle Haggard, Jimmy Buffet, Charlie Pride and Hank Williams, revived his career with a string of hits. In 2006, he showed off his formative love of gospel music with the release of Precious Memories, a collection of gospel classics.

As part of the neotraditionalist movement, Jackson's music embraces everything from honky-tonk to bluegrass. His languid and laidback stage presence hides the deeply felt emotion behind his stetson hat. His effortless vocal style has a heartbreaking Appalachian twang that conveys anything from love to longing to grief.

Later career

Alan has never forgotten his blue-collar roots - his parent's first house was an old 12 x 12 ft tool shed. And he continues to make music that reflects those down-home roots. On his most recent albums, he's gone back to bluegrass, and he's still rocking his "Silver Belly" Stetson Rancher hat and towering over most other artists at 6 feet 4 inches.

In 2021 he revealed a decade-long battle with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a hereditary disorder that affects the nervous system and causes loss of feeling and muscle tone in the arms and legs. He announced the Last Call Tour in 2021 but is still playing live - most recently at a Loretta Lynn tribute concert at the Grand Ole Opry.

Over his career, Alan Jackson has won two Grammys, 16 CMAs and 17 awards from the ACM. He's also a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was surprised by Loretta Lynn in 2017 when the country legend inducted him into the Country Music Hall of Fame.