Alan Jackson
- Awards And Honors:
- Grammy Award (2010)
- Grammy Award (2002)
Alan Jackson (born October 17, 1958, Newnan, Georgia, U.S.) is an American country music singer-songwriter who was one of the most popular male country artists of the 1990s and early 21st century.
Jackson grew up in rural Georgia singing gospel music and performing, as a teenager, in a country duo. After dropping out of school and wedding his high-school sweetheart, Denise, Jackson worked odd jobs while playing with his band, Dixie Steel. After Denise, a flight attendant, happened upon country artist Glen Campbell in an airport in 1985, Jackson’s demo tape landed him a songwriting contract with Campbell’s music-publishing company. The couple subsequently moved to Nashville.
In 1989 Jackson became the first artist signed to the country division of Arista Records, and he released his debut album, Here in the Real World, that same year. Its hit title track, cowritten by Jackson with Mark Irwin, established the singer as a composer of songs that speak directly about the virtues of rural and small-town life, the vagaries of love, and the value of the country music traditions inherited from predecessors such as George Jones and Hank Williams. Jackson experienced further success with such honky-tonk-inspired albums as Don’t Rock the Jukebox (1991); A Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ’Bout Love) (1992), which featured the hit single “Chattahoochee”; and Who I Am (1994).
A traditionalist in his musical approach, Jackson became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1991, and he acknowledged his roots in 1999 on Under the Influence, an album featuring his interpretations of songs by artists such as Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, and Gene Watson. Jackson also recorded with Jones, George Strait, Randy Travis, and Jimmy Buffett, among others.
In response to the tragedy of the September 11 attacks in 2001, Jackson wrote a song that describes the range of reactions to the day’s events. “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” went on to win awards for song of the year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM) as well as a Grammy Award for best country song. The song was included on Jackson’s 10th studio album, Drive (2002), along with “Drive (for Daddy Gene),” which paid tribute to his father.
In 2006 Jackson released two albums that were dominated by songs written by others—Precious Memories, a collection of 15 hymns, and the intimate Like Red on a Rose. Subsequent releases, such as Good Time (2008), Thirty Miles West (2012), The Bluegrass Album (2013), and Angels and Alcohol (2015), confirmed his enduring popularity. He teamed with the Zac Brown Band on the song “As She’s Walking Away” (2010), earning a share of the Grammy for best country collaboration with vocals in 2011. Jackson’s many industry awards include the CMA award for entertainer of the year in 1995, 2002, and 2003. In addition, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017.