Alan Jackson Before He Got A Record Deal

Years ago, a 27-year-old Alan Jackson appeared on a talent show, "You Can Be A Star." He actually went by "Al" then and he was in the audience, not competing on the show, they just asked him to sing a small part of a song as they went to a break. See it here.

Ironically, Alan's future producer was a judge on "You Can Be A Star" and that was the first time he heard Alan sing.

The show helped launch the career of Trisha Yearwood, too, and turned down Randy Travis when he sent a tape in to be on the show....yes, they turned Randy Travis down. Thought you might want to read that again.

Lots of wanna-be singers are turned down in Nashville every day as they try to get a label deal. Famously Garth was turned down and Alan was turned down by every label in Nashville!

Alan said  “One woman at CBS even told me I needed to go back to Georgia, and seriously!”

Of course, we now know Alan is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, he has sold over 75 million records worldwide.

Alan also has a couple of Grammy Awards, 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards, and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

You still have a couple of opportunities to see Alan on his "Last Call: One More For The Road Tour." He'll be in Greenville and Savannah in August.

I've met Alan a couple of times and found him to be very humble and just a nice guy. His music will always be remembered as straight-up country and he never veered away from that.

Hope you get to see him on the road! See tour dates here.

Alan Jackson celebrates his 61st birthday today (10/17). So, we celebrate this country music megastar in pictures.