Alan Jackson doesn’t mince words when he shares his thoughts on the current landscape of country music. As a traditionalist who over the years has built his career on a collection of classic country songs like “Drive,” “Remember When” and “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning,” Alan confirms that the country format is nearly unrecognizable to him in its current state.
The country icon while speaking during an interview with Hits Daily Double said, “Country music is gone — and it’s not coming back,” he insists.
“It’s like the 1980s again. I’m 62 years old; I’m not some 30-year-old stud. It’s not the same, but somebody has to bring it back, because it’s not just people in their 50s, it’s people in their 20s, too. All the kids and young people around my house? The older they’ve got, the more hardcore and traditional what they’ve leaned into has become. It’s not old-school, it’s the real school. And I’m kinda pissed off … about what’s happened to the format, or whatever they wanna call it. Real country songs are life and love and heartache. They’re drinking, singing about Mama and having a good time, sad things, fun things. It reflects the sounds of the instruments I grew up on, steel and acoustic guitar, the fiddle, and the way they all came together. It gave you a sound, but also a real feeling or emotions no other music had.”
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American singer-songwriter born October 17, 1958. He is known for fusing his traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country-pop sounds as well as penning many of his songs. Jackson has recorded over 16 studio albums, three greatest hits albums, two Christmas albums, and two gospel albums.
Alan Jackson’s Music Career
Alan Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists, having sold over 75 million records worldwide, with 44 million sold in the United States alone. Jackson has nine platinum certifications for some of his hit songs which appeared on the number one spot of the billboard top country album charts.
Also, Alan Jackson has received two Grammy Awards, 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards, and has been nominated for multiple other awards. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017 by Loretta Lynn and into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jackson’s Early Life
Jackson was born to parents Joseph Eugene “Daddy Gene” Jackson and Ruth Musick “Mama Ruth” Jackson in Newnan, Georgia, with four older sisters. He and his family stayed in a small home built around his grandfather’s old toolshed for many years. His mother lived in the home until she died on January 7, 2017.
Jackson ignited his passion for writing music in 1983. Growing up, he listened to gospel music, until a friend introduced him to Gene Watson, John Anderson, and Hank Williams. The country superstar attended the local Elm Street Elementary and Newnan High School and joined the band, Dixie Steel after graduation.
When he was 27, Alan Jackson and his wife of six years, Denise, moved from Newnan to Nashville, Tennessee, where he hoped to pursue music full-time.
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