The album “34 Number Ones” about sums up the stellar career of Alan Jackson, except for the fact that it just became 35. Born on October 17, 1958 in Newnan, Georgia, USA, Jackson was the youngest of five children. Not exactly a fan of music in his youth, he listened mostly to his mother's favorite gospel music, even singing in the church choir. The Jacksons were simple folk, living in a small home which his mother still lives in today. A friend awakened his interest in music by introducing him to the work of Gene Watson, John Anderson and Hank Williams, Jr., prompting Alan to start a band after high school. In 1979, he married his childhood sweetheart, Denise, and they decided to move to Nashville so Alan could concentrate on a career in music.

In Tennessee, Denise introduced him to Glenn Campbell who helped him get a start on his music career. Their marriage went through a rocky period but finally got back on track, an experience Denise wrote about in her book “It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life” that topped the Best Seller list of The New York Times.

In the course of his career, Jackson has won 13 awards from the Country Music Association, 14 from the Academy of Country Music, 2 from the American Music Awards and 2 Grammies. In 2002, he won the Grammy for Best Country Song with “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” and in 2011 for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for “As She's Walking Away”. In 1991, Alan became a member of Grand Ole Opry, in 2001, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and in 2010 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over the years, he has sold more than 50 million albums.

What puts Alan Jackson apart from other music stars is that he is a singer/songwriter in the true sense, writing most of his materials. His music talks of and speaks for every man. After 9/11, he released “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” to pay homage to those who died in the terrorist attacks. He celebrates the common man in songs like “Little Bitty”, and sings of the passing generations in “Drive (for Daddy Gene)”. He can be warm and tender as in “Remember When” and fun and carefree in “It's Five O'clock Somewhere”.

Jackson's popularity as a musician led Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. to launch a line of Jackson merchandise like cowboy-style shirts, toys, spices, barbecue sauces, a replica of his cowboy hat and even an old-fashioned rocking chair with his autograph. In 1995, his Fruit of the Loom Comfort Tour lasted a hundred dates and earned him $40 million. In 1997, the Ford Motor Company signed Jackson up to a multi-million, multi-year contract to endorse its trucks. In 2011, he headlined the Saturday night act at the CMC Rocks the Hunter Festival at the Hunter Valley in Australia.