7 Things We Learned From the ‘Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man’ Documentary
A documentary spotlighting Alan Jackson's career highlights includes interviews with the singer's sisters, and they've got stories to tell. For example, the Country Music Hall of Famer first announced his plans to move to Nashville to an older sister, but he didn't get the response he expected.
Early on during Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man (available digitally and on DVD), viewers learn that no one in his family even knew he could sing! As you'll see below, it wasn't exactly common knowledge. Jackson was somewhere between mild-mannered and painfully shy growing up in Newnan, Ga., in the 1960s and '70s. A country music career was this lifelong dream he'd talked about since he was barely taller than a peanut. He graduated high school, got married and started several careers before convincing himself it was worth a shot. Mama Ruth Jackson wanted to talk him out of it, but his sisters and Daddy Gene told him to do while he was young and kid-free, so he did.
Spoiler alert: it didn't go well for a long time. Like seemingly every country legend alive today, Jackson was told his sound wasn't quite right for the radio. He was deemed "too country" and turned down by every record label in town. Just as he was about to quit, he caught a break, met the right people and (eventually) became the first artist signed to Clive Davis' new Arista Records.
Perhaps you know how the story goes from there. This 7 Things We Learned From Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man (Eagle Rock Entertainment) lis focuses on his early years, but includes fascinating nuggets about songs like "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" and his career-defining hit "Chattahoochee." Who'd have thought that song was the black sheep of his catalog?
Of course, true Alan Jackson fans know he's a man willing to fight for what he believes in. This new documentary is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon Prime and on DVD through the Eagle Rock website.