Zach Top Isn’t Really Alan Jackson’s Son … Is He?

In Zach Top’s first hit song “Sounds Like The Radio,” he sings, “Well, the day I was born the doc couldn’t believe, I came out cryin’ Chattahoochee.”
Some, if not many, are starting to convince themselves that this line isn’t fiction, nor is it a strange coincidence.
What started out as a joke has now blown up into a full-blown conspiracy theory that Zach Top is not only emulating the ’90s country sound of country stalwarts such as Alan Jackson, but that Alan Jackson actually sired Zach Top. Since Alan Jackson is from Georgia, and Zach Top was born in Sunnyside, Washington on the other side of the American continent, this seems implausible on its face.
But this didn’t stop Canadian country DJ Docc Andrews of 93.7 JR Country out of Vancouver, British Columbia from helping to spark the conspiracy theory last week while on the air.
“You guys, Zach Top was born September 6th, 1997, in Sunnyside, Washington, USA. If you go back nine months from his birth date to the winter of 1996. In November of 1996, Alan Jackson played at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington! Have you seen Zach Top’s face? His mustache? His sound? Zach Top is Alan Jackson’s son. Prove me wrong.”
It’s undetermined how many people were actually listening live when Docc Andrews threw out this idea. But after posting a clip of his conspiracy theory on Tik-Tok, it exploded, with over two million views, 144,000 shares, and counting.
Then of course, social media and the viral Hawk-Tuah-style country music websites started spreading the idea like a bad rash all the way to the point that on Friday, January 10th, Zach Top’s Wikipedia page read, “Zach Top was born on September 26, 1997, and grew up on his father Alan Jackson’s ranch in Sunnyside, Washington. He got his musical start performing as part of a bluegrass band with his siblings called Top String.”
The Wiki page has since been changed back to its original verbiage.
So is there really a chance that Zach Top—the reigning Saving Country Music Artist of the Year—is truly the long lost son of Alan Jackson? After all, a check of setlist.fm does indeed verify that Alan Jackson’s final show in 1996 was on November 7th at the Tacoma Dome, which is less than three hours away from Zach Top’s hometown, and where someone would likely go to take in an Alan Jackson concert in the area.
But of course it’s not true. Maybe the sound and some of the physical features are similar, but this is because Zach Top is trying to remind folks of ’90s country. And unfortunately, whenever something like this goes viral on the internet these days, there will be a certain percentage of people who are not in on the joke and take it seriously. That’s how it’s grown into an actual thing. But in truth, it is not a thing at all.
We saw something similar happen with the idea that Kid Rock was truly the son of Hank Williams Jr. after Hank started referring to Kid Rock as his “rebel son” in 2005. Neither Kid Rock nor Hank Jr. took it seriously, but many in the public still did, graduating it to an urban myth. Hank Jr.’s actual son, Shelton Hank Williams III, had to address it in the song “Not Everybody Likes Us,” where he clarified in no uncertain terms,
Just so you know, so it’s set in stone
Kid Rock don’t come from where I come from
Yeah, it’s true, he’s a Yank, he ain’t no son of Hank
And if you even thought so
God-damn, you’re f–kin’ dumb
One caveat to this story is that despite Zach Top’s surging success, it’s probably imperative that he starts putting some distance between himself and the artists he’s influenced by. He started his career in bluegrass, and his first self-titled album from 2022 is a straight bluegrass album. For all we know, Zach’s next record might be outright Outlaw, or he might evoke the Bakersfield Sound, or go Countrypolitan. Or he might ride the ’90s thing for a while.
Zach Top is an American original for sure. But if he wants to take his career to the next level, he’s going to have to find his own original sound and forge his own legacy, just like Alan Jackson did.
January 12, 2025 @ 9:20 am
DJ’s are infamous for starting rumors. While not the creator of the rumor, Fred LaBour aka Too Slim of Riders in the Sky, helped spread the rumor of Paul McCartney of the Beatles was dead. This rumor still persists today.
January 12, 2025 @ 2:26 pm
Someone close to me is prominent in the antivaxx movement, so I’ve met a lot of people in it and attended some of their events. The people in the movement tend to believe in every conspiracy–health-related or not.
A documentary producer who works with “Bobby'” [RFK Jr.]’s 501c organization gave me a book on”Billy Shears” the alleged look-/sound-alike who purportedly replaced the “deceased” Paul in the Beatles at the time of the Sergeant Pepper Album–and has been pretending to be McCartney ever since.This producer told me that all pop music since the 1960s has been created by the CIA and is rife with hidden messages designed to undermine religion and civilization.
January 12, 2025 @ 3:23 pm
Some people still believe “burger and a grape snow cone” is a sexual act (that I never bothered to look up on Urban Dictionary)
January 12, 2025 @ 10:00 pm
He dropped her off and picked up a hoochie coochie instead.
Probably cheaper in the long run, too.
January 13, 2025 @ 6:56 am
What is a hoochie coochie? An 80’s fleshlight?
January 12, 2025 @ 10:39 am
It took me awhile to get on the Zach Top bandwagon because all I was seeing was clips of him covering Alan Jackson, George Strait, Keith Whitley, etc. I really thought he was just a cover artist! I’m glad I dug deeper and he is amazing, but I agree, he needs to distance himself from his heroes and forge his own path.
January 12, 2025 @ 11:46 am
BREAKING: thing that is obviously not true is in fact not true
jerome pinnty rippersfield
January 12, 2025 @ 4:35 pm
: D Oh., shut. up.!
Mr. Jeremy Pinnell, was at ⛏️ in’ In The Backwoods, in 2024?!
—————————
Hoosiers
January 11, 2025 @ 1:12 pm
Pickin in the backwoods in Brown County Indiana.
Will j.p. be at Pickin’ In The Backwoods, August 2025, if even “just” for the campfire jams?
January 12, 2025 @ 12:15 pm
This might explain Zach’s decidedly non-Washington accent, especially if he spent time with Daddy Alan in Georgia as a child.
January 12, 2025 @ 1:35 pm
You must be an expert on Eastern WA “accents”. You from around there? You’d be surprised….
January 13, 2025 @ 8:41 am
I’ve heard him talk and I’ve heard him sing. He’s a lot twangier when he sings. It’s not just him. Just about all singers in this genre try, perhaps subconsciously, to sound Southern when singing. Jo Dee Messina is a perfect example — from suburban Boston, but when she sings, you’d never know it.
January 12, 2025 @ 6:59 pm
Even Isaac Brock of modest mouse sounds like a hick, and he grew up just 30 minutes outside Seattle…
January 12, 2025 @ 12:38 pm
You are only a truly important artist when there is a conspiracy theory surrounding you. So everything is brilliant for Zach Top.
January 12, 2025 @ 12:54 pm
Where are the bodies, Zach?
January 12, 2025 @ 1:18 pm
His mother didn’t make Alan settle for a burger and a grape snow cone.
January 12, 2025 @ 3:33 pm
Fake “strait” comment like this makes me despise you!. The real George Strait will never comment about rumors of other fellow celebrities. Alan Jackson knows that and that should be the end of that and apologizes to any other victims in the past and future. Trigger is to be blamed as well for allowing this fake character of “strait” to be posting offensive conspiracy theories in and about “Saving Country Music” in the 2000’s. This childish behavior needs to be stopped. Any takers?
January 12, 2025 @ 3:37 pm
Enough, Sylvia. Everybody knows this isn’t the real George Strait.
January 12, 2025 @ 10:38 pm
I’m betting she’s not the real Sylvia either.
January 13, 2025 @ 3:07 am
Plot twist, it really is the real George Strait and he knows we’d never assume it was him so he says whatever to unwind
January 12, 2025 @ 7:31 pm
Sylvia,
I would never normally post a response in a comment section but thank you for defending my honor. I had a wipe a tear from my moustache.
Alan
January 13, 2025 @ 1:07 pm
I always thought his name wasn’t referring to King George, but rather to clarify that he wasn’t gay in case there was any speculation
January 13, 2025 @ 1:15 pm
Ace in the glory hole
January 12, 2025 @ 4:37 pm
E X C E L L E N T.
You have just earned yourself a solid 10 points.
: D
This was funny as he**
January 12, 2025 @ 2:10 pm
I seem to recall that Alan Jackson and his wife disclosed that their marriage was on the rocks in the early years of his career, due to his infidelity–but they patched things up and stayed together.
This Zach story may be a big joke, but it could also be causing pain in the Jackson household.
January 12, 2025 @ 10:05 pm
She stays for the money.
Now, joke aside; artists should just stay single, a marriage seldom lasts.
As for many of them (hi, Haggard, Nelson and Earle), I blame the wives themselves. What makes you wanna be wife number five, six or seven? Greed?
January 13, 2025 @ 10:13 am
You are assuming that all women value fidelity over being with a famous moustached millionaire who sometimes cheats. Months ago I got roped into an argument and attempted shaming on Instagram by a woman who messaged me about how disgusting it was that Zach Top, who is married, is openly cheating on his wife. I made the point that while I don’t agree with infedility, the dude is also getting tons of women throwing themselves at him and that while I don’t agree, I understand.
January 13, 2025 @ 10:40 am
Oh, women value fidelity.
Trust me on this.
The FBI guy (Can’t stand the freebies) wanted to come home, 15 months after he left.
Simply asked him, “What’s The Matter Chuck, did her lips stop working?”
We had been together 24 years.
2 dating,
22 married,
Had our son 3 and 1/2 years into the marriage.
Not only did i not let him come home, i could blow your mind how GOD brought me through the divorce, & the tragedy of our family being blown apart.
Am most Grateful that GOD brought our son through the divorce.
Of this one thing am i the most G R A T E F U L, to the LORD. Our Abba Father.
January 13, 2025 @ 11:50 am
This is the problem with discussing dating/relationships with women. You did what all women do, which is superimpose your beliefs and your past with what you think ALL WOMEN want. It’s objectively true that a certain percentage of women will excuse infedility with famous/rich men – otherwise they wouldn’t remain married.
January 13, 2025 @ 12:21 pm
None of this is relevant to Zach Top and Alan Jackson. Please only leave music related comments. In fact, this whole comments section is a mess. Everyone please stay on topic.
January 13, 2025 @ 1:11 pm
The whole point of the article is whether or not Zach’s mom had unprotected sex with Alan Jackson. What did you expect exactly?
January 13, 2025 @ 1:19 pm
Trig, if you will permit another comment to Strait, would appreciate it.
Will not further comment on this article.
@Strait.
I am hardly ALL WOMEN.
You made a crucial error in thinking that we lived only on Fed. money.
So, yes, many women have carved a future for themselves, and walked away from 7 figures.
At 16 months and 1 day, instead of continuing down the road of undisciplined harassment, from the FBI, I walked away from what was definitely mine, per U.S. Law, and gained PEACE.
Best decision ever.
January 12, 2025 @ 3:25 pm
Are people completely mad these days? They believe any nonsense they are told? What’s wrong with everyone? No wonder the whole world is such a mess. Social media has a lot to answer for.
January 12, 2025 @ 9:55 pm
Never believe anything until it’s been officially denied.
January 12, 2025 @ 3:51 pm
Somebody once started a rumor that Tim McGraw is the son of a famous baseball pitcher…..Oh, wait.
January 12, 2025 @ 6:41 pm
Beat me to it!
January 12, 2025 @ 4:51 pm
Why does he need to forge his own path? Colter Wall is doing just fine.
January 12, 2025 @ 9:53 pm
And Keith Whitley was Lefty Frizzell”s offspring, obviously by a poodle, if voice and hair is something to go by.
Now, that’s two juicy scandals in one.
January 13, 2025 @ 3:33 am
…the comeback of the evolution in conservative circles?
January 14, 2025 @ 9:08 pm
I’ve heard that I’m Alan Jackson’s elder brother.(Oh,that’s right;I’m a black man born July 6,1953 in Windsor,Ont.,Can; Jackson’s a white man born in Georgia Oct.17,1958).Guess almost ANYTHING’S possible,right,boys and girls ?
January 15, 2025 @ 5:59 pm
More click bait. Of course he’s not Alan Jacksons son.
Should be pretty easy to find out who his parents are and actually incredibly insulting to Zach, his parents, and Alan Jackson.