At Least The 2018 ACM Awards Will Have Alan Jackson
Everything is better with a little bit of Alan Jackson. Even if it is just a full-sized cardboard cutout of him from the 90’s with a mullet pouring out of the back of his cowboy hat stuck in the corner of a record store, his mere presence reminds you of a time when popular country music didn’t completely suck. His participation in the last few big award show presentations has been one of the very few saving graces, and he will again be enjoying some face time on Sunday (4-15) as part of the 2018 ACM Awards.
Alan Jackson will be appearing with semi traditionalist Jon Pardi when the two perform Jackson’s 1993 hit “Chattahoochee.” Of course it has to be one of Jackson’s biggest commercial songs they choose for him to perform as opposed to something better, but it’s part of a throwback to 1993 the ACMs are doing, celebrating that random, nondescript year in country music 25 years ago. The segment will also include a questionably sober Toby Keith performing his first big hit “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” from 1993 with Blake Shelton, as well as ACM Awards host Reba McEntire singing “Does He Love You” with Kelly Clarkson.
Jackson’s presence always spices up an awards show, from when he insisted his drummer play without sticks to hint to a backing track at the ACMs in 1994, to pulling the “Choices/Pop A Top” play in 1999 at the CMAs. Then of course there was the 2016 CMA Awards where Jackson walked out when pop star Beyonce took the stage with The Dixie Chicks. I’m sure all eyes will be on Jackson’s assigned seat when Florida Georgia Line gets up on stage with Bebe Rexha to perform their pop smash on steroids, “Meant To Be.”
Alan Jackson was inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017, and released a new single in October called “The Older I Get” that was promised to be the precursor to a new album in 2018. Other reasons to watch the 2018 ACM Awards on Sunday are, well, nothing, except to poke fund at everyone and maybe Miranda Lambert’s performance, and perhaps to watch Chris Stapleton whose up for eight awards clean up again. And of course Saving Country Music will be conducting a LIVE blog during the presentation, so put up your internet-connected device Sunday evening and snark along.
Alan Jackson’s mustache could kick Florida Georgia Line’s ass.
April 14, 2018 @ 8:57 am
“at least the acm awards will have Alan Jackson!”
At least the people who broke into my house and stole all my stuff wiped their feet!
At least the bear that mauled my family didn’t have rabies
at least I only had the black plague and not tuberculosis.
Does anybody want to wager that Alan Jackson’s “duet” with Jon Pardi will last about thirty seconds and they’ll sing a verse each!
I remember when they did this first to Hag, then Charley Pride, and lastly the superpicker Roy Clark.
It’s disrespectful, arrogant and incredibly insensitive.
Do the ACMS really think we traditional minded fans are that easy to appease when they shit all over our music?
April 14, 2018 @ 11:52 am
Can’t remember what awards show it was with Roy Clark a few years ago and the extent of his contribution as “I’m a grinnin'” as part of their “tribute to tradition” blah, blah, blah…..Awards shows are for the birds.
April 14, 2018 @ 12:14 pm
exactly. Roy Clark remains quite possibly the most talented person ever in Country Music by sheer variety of skills and experiences. to trot him out with a buddy to play half a verse of a song that wasn’t even his was beyond disrespect it was a complete belittlement of Country Music’s most significant living elder statesmen.
April 14, 2018 @ 1:33 pm
I haven’t watched the CMA in years, I can’t stand listening to the 80’s and 90’s rock/pop that they refer to as country, just on the hope of hearing some actual country. It’s mostly old rockers, and kids that don’t know what country really is, that watch that mess!
April 14, 2018 @ 6:19 pm
A good song for AJ to sing would be “Murder on Music Row” because that’s what I think of modern Country Music!
April 14, 2018 @ 9:14 am
As much as I love AJ, I’ll pass. Why do these award shows continue to cram pop shit and duets down our throats? A ton of great songs came out in ’93, why can’t they just let the artists perform them? I would have loved to have seen Reba and Linda Davis reprise their duet, but I guess that wouldnt appeal to the 15 year olds and fake fans. Besides, to get me to sit through 3 hours of crap you have to promise me more than 3 great songs to look forward to. That only amounts to 1 an hour, and I don’t like those odds!!!
April 14, 2018 @ 9:19 am
Alan is one of my favorite male singers. But,speaking only for myself, I never watch any awards show unless my no1 favorite singer: Loretta Lynn is on.So l will watch a DVD of the Wilburn Brothers TV show with Loretta instead.
April 14, 2018 @ 10:50 am
Here here! dilly-dilly!
April 14, 2018 @ 8:50 pm
Loretta Lynn is about 107. Sheesh. Give it a break.
April 14, 2018 @ 11:03 pm
She is not that old! She will forever be my favorite singer.So I make no apology for defending her.
July 2, 2018 @ 3:38 am
Alan Jackson is the best there is he keeps it real country music that’s why I’m his number one fan
April 14, 2018 @ 9:41 am
I’d like to see ’em launch into “Gone Country” by surprise and see if anyone gets the joke.
But even if they don’t, that’ll still be the best part of the show.
April 14, 2018 @ 9:43 am
I actually feel like there’s a good amount of singers for the ACMs. Lauren Alaina, Carrie Underwood, Reba all come to mind. I’m excited for Lady Antebellum as well. I’m looking forward to the ACMs.
April 14, 2018 @ 10:13 am
”I’m excited for Lady Antebellum as well.” So YOU’RE the one Raymond .Man…..Sorry man…but I have yet to hear anything by Lady A that even approaches ” excitement ”
I guess the business IS always and will always be about just that ….THE BUSINESS
But I have to wonder if the legends feel (or if it even matters to them ) that they are ignored by radio and mainstream and labels UNTIL someone sees a way to USE their talents ,to exploit their names and their accomplishments only to promote a newer and often non-country act .
Why else are we watching AJ sing Chattahoochee when he’s released some incredible material in the past several years that has been COMPLETELY ignored by mainstream and denied to his fans by radio ?
Why does Kelly Clarkson get to be on a country show whenever her handlers ( or her mother-in-law ) feel like putting her there when there are an uncountable number of GREAT straight-up country artists releasing terrific new material true to the genre and promoting it from the shotgun seat of a van year -round ? Why does the ACM think that throwing us a bone by letting AJ sing with Pardi is somehow pacifying folks who KNOW AJ is writing and recording material far far better than what radio wants to feed us ? Shouldn’t I feel exploited along with A J and Toby and others who’ve been locked out of radio ?
April 14, 2018 @ 2:54 pm
I like Lady Antebellums latest single and the female in Lady Antebellum imo is a great singer.
April 14, 2018 @ 3:32 pm
Kelly Clarkson gets to be there (and mentioned on every Country website but this one thank god) because like you said her mother in law wants to keep her name alive in musical circles after her last album stiffed and oh yeah she’s “thinking” about doing a “Country” record sometime “in the future”…lol
April 14, 2018 @ 4:22 pm
A couple of years back, the ACMs nominated Kelly Clarkson for Female Vocalist of the Year over probably two dozen more eligible mainstream country women. There’s been a love fest there for a while.
April 14, 2018 @ 7:18 pm
I just checked and she was never nominated for Female Vocalist. I think the CMAs nominated her in 2012, not ACM. Personally that year i would’ve nominated Jana Kramer as she had that song “Why Ya Wanna” that hit the Top 5. Where as Kelly Clarkson had a song that missed the Top 20 on country radio.
April 14, 2018 @ 10:19 am
1993 was a great year in country music, I’m glad they choose to randomly celebrate it.
Now, if they could only get rid of FGL, it would be better still. God forgive me, but I really hate them.
Lady A are merely a snooze-fest, Rascal Flatts are just a bad old joke, but FGL really get on my nerves
April 14, 2018 @ 10:24 am
If LA plays Pontoon, I’m throwing a brick thru my TV screen. Gawwwd I hate that song.
April 14, 2018 @ 11:10 am
I’m a confused old man… I meant Little Big Town.
Apologies to LA. Note to self: Coffee first, then you may go online.
April 15, 2018 @ 4:56 pm
It’s all the same. I don’t think many people would have caught the mistake. I actually would have been upset with myself if I did catch the mistake!
April 14, 2018 @ 10:28 am
I’d rather watch the worst moments ever of the Golden Guitar awards before i listen to all the (nash-)pop acts on a country music show & now i’m off to Tassie.
April 15, 2018 @ 5:41 am
They suck just as bad. I haven’t been in years since i discovered the national finals rodeo walking distance from the boring awards. Give me a break, the Aus scene is dead as a dodo, with the exception of the occasional alt country performer, they’re a giftless mob.
April 14, 2018 @ 10:32 am
I would love to hear George Jones & Conway Twitty most popular hits but they must be lost or vanished cause never hear any more also other that have passed on
April 14, 2018 @ 11:22 am
I would rather watch my Timberwolves lose by 30 to the Rockets than watch the ACM with their bought awards and crappy lineup.
April 14, 2018 @ 1:10 pm
Do what I do. DVR and skip the suck. I’d rather crash my car than listen to some of this pop trash.
Wonder what Aldean is going to do. He’s been pretty much under the radar in all the tributes. Must be tough on everyone coming back to Vegas.
April 14, 2018 @ 1:32 pm
If these ’93 tribute performances are brief (minute and a half or less each), then I’ll be even more disappointed that I already expect to be. I’ll be watching, ’cause I’m still a sucker for these things. Even if the wins are partly a scam, I still feel a leap of joy every time Keith Urban loses. I’m also curios to see what happens with Sam Hunt’s noms for that damn song of his. So far, the CMA’s and ACM’s have been mostly ignoring Hunt, aside from some token performance slots and some nominations. I hope that continues.
April 14, 2018 @ 1:35 pm
I Do Love Alan Jackson and some of the older country singers and they have great songs but the fact is you people act like they don’t have any choice if they feel like they are being exploited or s*** on then they should band together and turn it around and tell the people that are in control how it’s going to be or they can do it without them
April 14, 2018 @ 1:56 pm
I only listen to Willies Road House on SIRIUS XM nothing but straight country. Nothing country comes out of Nashville anymore.
April 14, 2018 @ 2:07 pm
I’ll pass–I’ll be reading your live blog for more entertainment.
He should have taken “Murder On Music Row” more literal?
Currently listening to Hobo Song, at least Jerry liked and respected roots music.
Quit pandering Alan, take a stand. As an (overrated) elder statesman stop participating in shitfests.
April 15, 2018 @ 4:59 pm
Do you realize by singing a country sounding song he is taking a bigger and more widely seen stance than boycotting would ever do?
April 14, 2018 @ 2:46 pm
Country music is not like it was before what happened to it.Its like alternative rock .I miss the country singers my favorites are Alan Jackson, George Strait,Travis tritt, Trace Adkins, Hank Williams Junior, and several other country singers.
April 14, 2018 @ 3:00 pm
Still listen to real country music on Sirius xm, refuse to listen to the crap Bobby Bones says is country music, like everything else in our southern country roots it’s been hijacked by libtards
April 14, 2018 @ 3:33 pm
Very well written article about Alan Jackson. He is my favorite singer.
April 14, 2018 @ 4:07 pm
Wow that’s good I will be watching
April 14, 2018 @ 4:18 pm
If you grew up in the 90s you might as well face it, Alan Jackson was your generations Hank Williams. In my opinion nobody else was close, and yes including Garth. The passion he has for the traditions of country music is undeniable. Hope he and Pardi blow the roof off the joint and Chris sweeps everything! The Older I Get was a phenomenal song, 2018 sure could use a new record from Alan.
And PS, couldnt agree more with his ass kickin mustache. Lol
April 14, 2018 @ 4:31 pm
Awards shows are just self-serving, self-congratulatory orgies of who. One country music singer in a forest of pop-wannabes does not a country awards show make. Ms. McEntire will be there in a vain attempt to remain relevant. The Statlers were right 45 years ago. Nobody wants to be country; they want to go pop.
April 14, 2018 @ 4:39 pm
Alan Jackson’s mustache could kick Florida Georgia Line’s ass.
Alan’s mustache should be put in a time capsule, preserved for future generations.????
April 14, 2018 @ 4:43 pm
Who wants to watch old Alan being trotted out as a token?
April 14, 2018 @ 5:12 pm
I like the cut of your jib, king.
April 14, 2018 @ 5:40 pm
‘Chattahoochee’ is one of the few Alan Jackson songs i dont like. Just sayin’…
April 14, 2018 @ 5:59 pm
“His participation in the last few big award show presentations has been one of the very few saving graces”
I absolutely have to disagree, at least as it relates to the CMAs. If this article and the above quote was only for the ACMs, I wouldn’t take exception, but the last 2 CMA awards have been about as good as we could ask for. Unlike the ACMs, they actually paid tribute to country music past for their 50th show and followed it up last year with several great performances and tributes, topped of course by Carrie Underwood’s tribute to the Vegas Shooting and others that country music lost. Remember the CMAs gave Alan not one, but two songs in the fall (although one was during the closing credits).
April 14, 2018 @ 6:03 pm
“they actually paid tribute to country music past for their 50th show”
By publicly insulting them? the show should have been ABOUT them!
you can’t just trot somebody more talented than you out for thirty seconds and let them sing a verse and say you “paid tribute” to them.
you wasted their time, is what you’ve accomplished.
people who sell out shows and especially people who sell out shows, write, record and release their own music, host programs, and generally accomplish much more than your paid beer commercial singers like Fluke Bryan deserve more than just thirty seconds “oh look at the senior who used to play music”
it’s not a damn petting zoo.
and it was beyond disrespectful to each of the legends they brought out for their “awards” show, but especially insulting to Roy Clark.
April 14, 2018 @ 6:21 pm
Just face, it all modern award shows are tributes to hegemonic record labels are producers that maximize shareholder profit. No small feat in the digital era to be sure. Morally bankrupt? You betcha.
April 14, 2018 @ 7:13 pm
Hey, 1993 was actually a pretty big year for country music. Lots of good debut albums from the likes of Doug Supernaw, Clay Walker, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, and Tracy Byrd. Tracy Lawrence, George Strait, and many others put out kickass albums too.
April 14, 2018 @ 9:22 pm
1993 was the year I first discovered country music as a teenager. Before that, it was only what was on the top 40 station. To me, ‘93 will always be the best music year.
April 15, 2018 @ 7:23 am
Hey, somebody else who remembers Tim McGraw’s debut album! It was pretty good — better than the albums that followed that made him a star, even.
April 15, 2018 @ 10:49 am
My pickup truck I got after my dad passed in 04 a time the time had a broken radio. Only the cassette player worked. Had just a few tapes. Only one that was on loop whenever I drove was “not a moment too soon”
‘93 was the year I started listening to country music.
April 14, 2018 @ 8:33 pm
Alan Jackson has gotten 3 full songs (by award show standards, plus your 30 second bit of a 4th) in the last 2 years. George Strait had a song. Brothers Osbourne did a decent tribute to Don Williams. Little Big Town didn’t completely butcher Wichita Lineman, in large part because they had Jimmy Webb playing piano for them. Heck, even Ben Haggard got his 15 seconds of fame as part of the 50th. You’ll never get an awards show that is 100% about the past, so be thankful you got what you did out of the last 2 CMA Awards shows because they are about as good as you can possibly hope for.
If the 50th CMA awards was a waste of Alan Jackson’s time, then why did he agree to play not one, but two songs in this year’s show? It’s not like he one to bow down to award show requests.
April 16, 2018 @ 1:46 pm
I think he plays the award shows to remind fans there is more to the genre than what they are getting.
April 15, 2018 @ 4:57 am
I’d rather listen to this song on a loop all night than watch the ACM’s. Pretty much captures how depressed you’d be watching them anyway. And it’s better than any song you’ll hear all night during that dumpster fire.
https://youtu.be/BNj2BXW852g
April 15, 2018 @ 6:37 am
Thank you Alan Jackson for keeping it Country your the only reason ill be watching the show tonight !!!Your #1Fan
April 15, 2018 @ 7:18 am
Fgl aside, there are actually a few decent performances lined up, and one or two that promise to even be country. I’ve spied some fiddle and steel guitar being used in rehearsals.
April 15, 2018 @ 7:23 am
what difference does it make? Sure, maybe it looks better than 2 years ago.
But for a “Country” awards show that falls on Roy Clark’s birthday and features such embarassing disgraceful arrogant meatheads as Jason Aldean an LOTRASH it’s one big pile of shit.
I hope Chris Stapleton wins all the awards just so I can watch the obnoxious twenty-something Aldean fans whine like big babies on Twitter.
April 15, 2018 @ 8:17 pm
One of these years someone needs to plan some mass opposition event that has some of the few well known still living actual country music artists and maybe some new talent, who would likely not get a second on most any popular radio station. At the very least you could stand outside the ACMA and blast Hank Williams and just about as many of the oldest country legends to make a point.
April 15, 2018 @ 8:48 pm
That was kind of the inspiration behind Dale Watson’s Ameripolitan Awards.