March 6, 2019 Mark Leave a comment
Country singer, songwriter and musician born in 1958 in Newnan Georgia.
Jackson sang gospel music as a child, and as a teenager he performed as a country duo. Still in Georgia, he played at local venues with his band, Dixie Steel, and he wrote his first song when he was 25 years old. He got his break when his wife, an airline flight attendant, met Glen Campbell while waiting at an airport. She gave Campbell a demo tape of her husband, and Campbell gave Jackson's wife the contact information for his publishing company. Soon after, Jackson moved to Nashville. The publishing company suggested that Jackson work on his music for a year. Eventually, he was signed as a staff writer. He continued to perform in Nashville clubs, and in 1989, he was signed to a record label.
His debut single was Blue Blooded Woman, released in late 1989, followed by Here In The Real World in early 1990. Both were included in his debut album, Here In The Real World, released in February 1990. His career immediately took off. The album was his first of 7 during the 90s, all of which were certified platinum or multi-platinum, with 1992's A Lot About Livin' reaching the 6x platinum level. Along with Garth Brooks, he became the biggest selling male country artist of the decade. He had 33 singles hit the top 10 of the Country chart, with 17 of these songs reaching #1.
Jackson's appeal was his homage to the old time traditional country music sound from the past. He took a honky tonk approach while still sounding modern and mainstream. Plus, his modest, wholesome image made him a hit with the public – along with his 90s mullet hair style.
He had many classic country hits during the 90s – his biggest include Chattahoochee, Midnight In Montgomery, Don't Rock the Jukebox, I'll Try, There Goes and Right On The Money.
Jackson continued to be wildly popular in the 00s. All 6 of his studio albums from the decade were #1 on the Country album chart, and 3 of them were #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, which crosses all genres. His 2006 Precious Memories album was Jackson's first to feature traditional Gospel music. It was certified platinum, even though there were no singles released from it. Four other albums from the 00s also achieved platinum status.
Three songs in particular stand out as signature songs from the 00s decade – all reached #1 on the country chart, and all crossed over into the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart. One of the most powerful songs I have ever heard is Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning), written by Jackson 7 weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. He first performed it at the Country Music Association's annual awards show on November 7 that year. Jackson earned his first Grammy award with the song. I have heard the song hundreds of times – and I still cry whenever I hear it.
A second signature song from the 00s was his 2003 duet with Jimmy Buffett – It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. A classic party song, it's a perfect fit with Buffett and his beach-bum persona. It was Jackson's highest charting song on the Hot 100, reaching #17. Based on radio play and sales, it was the #3 country song of the decade according to Billboard magazine. Finally, Remember When was released in 2003, and in it, Jackson reflects on his life with his wife. Jackson retains his nostalgic country music sound with this song, while most of the rest of country music was moving to pop-rock country music. It is a beautiful, poignant love song.
Jackson released 5 studio albums during the 10s, including his first bluegrass album and his second Gospel album. He has seen the top of the country singles chart twice this decade – both times as a featured artist on songs by other artists. As She's Walking Away was released by The Zac Brown Band in 2010, with Jackson featured on vocals – it became Jackson's second Grammy winning song. Jackson also was one of 30 artists to contribute to the 2016 song Forever Country, a mashup of 3 country hits from the 70s (Take Me Home Country Roads, On The Road Again, and I Will Always Love You), recorded in honor of the 50th anniversary of the CMA awards. The song reached #1, giving all 30 artists (billed as "Artists of Then, Now & Forever) credit for reaching #1.
Jackson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017. It is richly deserved – Rolling Stone ranked him at #28 on their 2017 list of the Greatest Country Artists of All Time. On my YouTube link, I have to give you that amazing song, Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning). The events of that fateful day were the most impactful in America since Pearl Harbor. No one forgets where they were when they first heard of it. This song helped the country heal. Listen, and shed a tear.
Posted in: 1990s Filed under: Alan Jackson, bluegrass, Country, Gospel
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