Acclaimed Country Music Superstar to Receive Songwriting’s Highest Honor
Nashville – Alan Jackson takes his place among music’s most-notable composers and lyricists as it was announced on Tuesday (2/6) that he is among the 2018 inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He’ll formally become a member during this year’s Induction & Awards Gala June 14 in New York City.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of composers and lyricists who create music. To qualify for induction, a songwriter must be a published writer for a minimum of 20 years with a notable catalog of hit songs. Jackson will become one of just over 400 songwriters so honored.
Jackson’s induction to the Songwriters Hall of Fame comes just months after he was enshrined as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the latest in a long line of accolades that include three CMA Entertainer of the Year honors, more than 25 years of membership in the Grand Ole Opry, a 2016 Billboard ranking as one of the Top 10 Country Artists of All-Time, induction to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Heritage Award as the most-performed country songwriter-artist of ASCAP’s first 100 years.
“I started writing because somebody told me I needed some original material. I’d never even thought about writing or studied songwriting,” Jackson recalls. “There are different aspects of your career, and they all bring different rewards and feelings…but the songwriting is very fulfilling,” the humble Georgian has said. “Songwriting is definitely the most creative part.”
Jackson is one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters in music. He is in the elite company of Paul McCartney and John Lennon among songwriters who’ve written more than 20 songs that they’ve recorded and taken to the top of the charts. Beginning with his first hit, “Here in the Real World,” Jackson’s pen has given us some of country music’s most-memorable songs of the past 30 years – the immediately-recognized “Chattahoochee,” the haunting “Midnight in Montgomery,” the touching “Remember When,” the autobiographical “Livin’ On Love,” “Drive,” and “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” and the inspired “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
The man from rural Newnan, GA has sold nearly 60-million albums worldwide and ranks as one of the 10 best-selling male vocalists of all-time in all genres and one of the best-selling artists since the inception of SoundScan. He has released more than 60 singles – registering 50 Top Ten hits and 35 #1s (including 26 Billboard chart-toppers). He has earned more than 150 music industry awards – including 18 Academy of Country Music Awards, 16 Country Music Association Awards, a pair of GRAMMYs and ASCAP’s Founders and Golden Note Awards.
Jackson’s membership in the Songwriters Hall of Fame is a career-defining moment. The Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates and honors the contributions of our great popular music songwriters, while developing new writing talent through workshops, showcases, scholarships, and digital initiatives. Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honors those whose work represents a spectrum of the most beloved songs from the world’s popular music songbook. Out of the tens of thousands of songwriters of our era, there are just over 400 inductees who make up the impressive roster enshrined. The list includes Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier & Brian Holland, Hal David & Burt Bacharach, Bob Dylan, Carole King, Merle Haggard, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Elton John & Bernie Taupin, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond and Loretta Lynn. Jackson’s fellow 2018 inductees are John Mellencamp, Kool & the Gang members Robert “Kool” Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown & James “JT” Taylor, Jermaine Dupri, Allee Willis, Steve Dorff and Jackson’s fellow Opry member Bill Anderson.
Jackson recently released new music for his fans. “The Older I Get” – a first taste of what’s to come on Jackson’s next album – is his first new studio recording since 2015.