Alan Jackson Writes & Records Song with Daughter After Tragedy
Alan Jackson’s family experienced an unthinkable tragedy when his oldest daughter Mattie Jackson Selecman’s husband Ben Selecman was trying to help a woman onto a boat while the couple was on vacation near Jupiter, Florida. Ben Selecman fell from the pier, hitting his head and sustaining fatal injuries. He died on September 12th, 2018. Selecman was an Assistant District Attorney in Davidson County, Tennessee, and only 28 years old. The couple had only been married for 11 months.
The tragedy rocked the Jackson family, and it’s one of the reasons Alan Jackson took an extended period off between his album Angels & Alcohol in 2015, and his latest release from May, Where Have You Gone. Now his daughter is releasing a new book about the experience called Lemons on Friday that will be released on November 16th. It is a memoir about her experience, and how she found a way through the grief.
Alan Jackson and his wife Denise wrote the forward to the book, but that’s not all he contributed. As part of the project, he co-wrote a song with his daughter Mattie called “Racing the Dark.” Alan Jackson has written songs for his three daughters before, including two released on his latest album (“You’ll Always Be My Baby” and “I Do”), but he’s never written a song with one.
Don’t bother checking out Spoitfy to hear it just yet though. Apparently it will only be available, at least initially, if you pre-order the book.
Mattie Jackson Selecman is not the only author in the family. Her mother Denise wrote a book in It’s All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life in 2007 that became a New York Times bestseller. And of course, Alan Jackson knows a thing or two about writing. Though he never seems to get enough credit for it, he’s one of the most successful country artists in history who wrote most all of his own material, including many of his biggest hits.
Alan Jackson was supposed to be performing in Detroit on Friday, September 17th, and in Green Bay on Saturday, September 18th, but the concerts were cancelled earlier this week. No reason for the cancellations has been given.
September 19, 2021 @ 10:24 am
I’ve often pondered which would be more difficult: losing a spouse early in a marriage, before having a chance to build a family together, or losing a spouse mid-life? Both would be so sad.
September 19, 2021 @ 10:28 am
Truly a sad story to write I’m sure….
Watched a documentary about Alan a couple nights ago. Quite a remarkable guy.
Truly one of the greats of our generation!
September 19, 2021 @ 10:31 am
I am sure the song will be great, but the subject matter could make it a really depressing song to listen to. Losing some one that close, it has got to be tough to do a song about. I hope the song does well for alan and his daughter though.
September 19, 2021 @ 2:42 pm
That’s how i like my country to be instead of I’m gonna take out on a backroad and fu** you
December 11, 2021 @ 11:19 am
All well-being but wrong! The ultimate unthinkable crushing grief comes when after 20 wonderfully magic years of marriage, two happy babies, building a part time garage business into a million dollar enterprise, touring the world first class and living like royalty, you idolize your beautiful wife and tell her everyday! And then suddenly it’s all over. You learn she has been having an affair with a family member. Shock and disbelief! And your youngest daughter is the one who caught her in the act. You definitely want to save this marriage at all cost and anything is forgivable. But she tells you she’s leaving everything behind to be with him! He is much older than her older enough to be her father. In spite of everything you try she’s determined and she moves out and contacts her lawyer. She gets her half and there’s nothing I can do to stop this. Her daughters call her a whore and lose all respect and she says she doesn’t care what anyone thinks she just wants to be with him, he is broke and very effeminate. I contact her Doctor Who is a close personal friend and he tells me confidentially she has bipolar and is facing midlife crisis. As soon as the divorce is final she buys him a $90,000 sports car. This has been 14 years ago and nothing has changed. Every photo you see on the social media has been retouched and is a glamour type photo. She will be 60 years old in three years. But every time a picture of hers is published to one of her social media accounts it’s been polished to look like she still in her 30s. So we have our holidays without her even though she only lives 10 minutes away. She is dead to us. My daughters go and see her on Christmas for an hour or so just because she is their mother and eventually she will be gone. I never remarried because my commitment to her was forever. But every day I have to suffer with the fact that she still out there and I’m out here and the hole in my heart gets bigger every day. That is what you call grief. If she had died we would have buried her and when I visited the grave I would have known that there is finality. But occasionally I will see a glance of her at a store or hear another rumor about another new car or luxury item to cover up the fact that she really has a very low self-esteem of herself.
December 17, 2021 @ 5:16 am
I love you country!
December 19, 2021 @ 10:06 am
Any chance of a song review?
It is a great song. One of Alan’s best in recent years. Song of the Year material, imo.
December 19, 2021 @ 10:19 am
I don’t do many song reviews, and in this late stage of the year I’m more interested in trying to catch up with some of the album reviews I still want to do before 2022. I already did an article on this song, and I also added it to the Top 25 Playlist and gave it a blurb when it was officially released as well.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/newest-adds-to-saving-country-musics-top-25-current-playlist-94/
December 19, 2021 @ 10:26 am
Sounds good, Trigger.
I just liked hearing your perspective on music.
Keep up the great work!