Known for being one of the best singer-songwriters in country music today, Alan Jackson just won an ACM Honours ceremony held by the Academy of Country Music.
In the renowned Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, last Wednesday, August 22, Jackson accepted the Poet’s Award, calling it a “high honour.” It was Jackson’s 21st ACM Award overall.
The Poet’s Award was first presented in 2007, however it hasn’t been given out every year since. Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Hank Williams, and Kris Kristofferson are a few of the prior honourees. Country music songwriters who have made “outstanding and longstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their career, with special consideration given to…impact on the culture of country music” are bestowed with this honour by the academy. With 26 country No. 1 songs, including “Don’t Rock The Jukebox” and “Chattahoochee,” and a role in popularising the neotraditional country trend, Jackson most definitely fits that description. Among the several accolades the Georgia native has received in the past are inductions into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017.
“I discovered a long time ago that life provides a lot of inspiration for songwriting,” Jackson remarked as he accepted the Poet’s Award from the Ryman stage. Usually, it results in the greatest tunes. And over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to incorporate a lot of my life’s experiences into my music. “Writing a song, having people enjoy it and be touched by it or moved by it…[to] help them through a hard time or [to] enjoy a good time,” he went on, was his greatest pride as an artist. He concluded by saying, “I just appreciate the opportunity to share my music,” to the assembled audience.
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After covering Jackson’s “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” which brought Jackson to tears, Eric Church was present on Wednesday to give Jackson the Poet’s Award. Alan Jackson is a legendary figure, Church declared from the platform. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Frost once observed, “Poetry is when emotion finds its thought…and then that thought finds its words,” which Church used to summarise Jackson’s influence as a singer. My words have always been found by Alan Jackson.