For four decades Alan Jackson has entertained his millions of fans with his wonderful mix of honky tonk and traditional country music.
He has sold more than 80 million records, is a member of the Grand Ole Oprey and became a Country Music Hall of Famer in 2017.
Despite his incredible achievements and success the modest star didn’t feel worthy to be inducted into such a star-studded hall.
Now his daughter has come out with a rare insight into the Alan Jackson she knows behind the scenes.
For four decades, Alan Jackson has entertained millions of fans with his wonderful mix of honky tonk and traditional country music.
He has sold more than 80 million records, is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and became a Country Music Hall of Famer in 2017.
Now his daughter has come out with a rare insight into the Alan Jackson she knows behind the scenes.
We’ll also take a look at what really happened when the country legend walked out of the 2016 CMA Awards…
Alan Jackson is the man, he stayed the same with his music. I’ve been listening to his music since I was a kid, and it never gets old. His songs are real life for everyday folks, and that’s what makes his music great.
Despite his rise to stardom, the 64-year-old has always been very modest about his success, preferring to focus on his music rather than fame.
Despite his incredible achievements and success, the modest star didn’t feel worthy to be inducted into such a star-studded hall as the Country Music Hall of Fame.
On his induction in 2017, he told Rolling Stone:
”Even though I’ve done a lot, I still don’t feel quite worthy, but I feel like it’s an honor to qualify for what it requires to be in here with these great people. I’ve always tried to make music my first priority – not being a star, not being in the spotlight, just trying to make music that I loved.”
But one person who knows he deserves all the recognition is his 26-year daughter Alexandria Jane Jackson, or ”Ali”.
In 2017, when her father was inducted, she wrote down a very touching letter to her father, straight from her heart. To the world, he is a country music star, but to his middle daughter, he is something different.
”I see you as: my best friend, the guy that taught me how you treat people matters more than anything else and taught me just how to stand on my own two feet,” she said.
Ali concludes her touching tribute with, “You’re every daughter’s dream father. Thank you for raising us in a house filled with Jesus and music, and always making sure we knew whatever our dream was could be our reality.”
Jackson married his childhood sweetheart, Denise Jackson, on December 15, 1979. As well as Ali, the couple have two other daughters 32-year-old Mattie Denise and 25-year-old Dani Grace.
The country music star credits his wife with getting his career off the ground after Denise told Glenn Campbell about her talented husband.
While Denise and Alan have gone through some rough times, they’ve always made it work and come out stronger than ever.
The two were actually high school sweethearts, and tied the knot when they were 19. Over the next few decades, Alan would become a major star… and as is often the case, fame took a toll on their relationship.
“Alan has such a strong personality, and the more his career grew, the more insecure I felt, and the more I absorbed myself into his world,” Denise told Today in 2007.
“My dreams became his dreams, and it was all about him and his goals, and I kind of lost myself.”
In the 90s, the couple went trough a painful separation, but Denise, through her religious faith, found the strength to forgive her husband, who recommitted to their marriage.
“Life is not a fairy tale, and even the most perfect spouse can not be your all-in-all,” Denise said. “We all have our faults, and every adult alive has regrets.”
“The greatest blessings in my life have come out of my worst shattering,” she told People. “His betrayal and our separation were what led to this new, passionate love relationship with God and also led to us being able to have the kind of marriage that we both always wanted but just didn’t know how to have.”
Their time apart also inspired one of Alan’s most famous songs, “Remember When.”
Denise was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2010. She later beat the disease through chemotherapy, and Alan says it made them appreciate life all the more.
“It made us change our whole outlook on life, what we value and what’s important,” Alan told the Palm Beach Post. “That’s what happens in situations like that.”
Walking out of the CMA
Alan Jackson boasts two Grammy awards, 16 CMA awards and 17 ACM awards as well as being a member of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
But his relationship with the CMA Awards has been complicated. Back in 2016, the country star reportedly walked out of the ceremony. Allegedly, Jackson didn’t appreciate when Beyonce went up on stage and joined the Dixie Chicks for a performance celebrating 50 years of the CMAs.
Alan, who always has been fearless in speaking his mind, stood up and walked out from it. According to Billboard, the iconic singer ”stood up from the front row and walked out in the middle of the performance”.
Prior to the ceremony, Alan had expressed his concerns about pop stars performing at country music award shows. In 2016, he was asked what he wanted from that year’s gala.
”Yeah, they may play some real country music. But I understand the dang television station trying to get the ratings with whatever they think is gonna prop it up, with some big event with some other type of artist on there,” Jackson said.
It’s clear from his daughter’s tribute that despite Alan Jackson’s success, he has never forgotten his duty as a dad.
It’s not often we hear celebrity offspring praising their parents – and it’s not often we see a celebrity showing class, standing up for what they believe in.
Watch him in action in the video below and don’t forget to share with all the Alan Jackson fans you know.