At a time when superficial “Urban Cowboy” music was infiltrating the beloved genre of country music, the man who was “too country for country” used his admiration of “real country music” to help save it. Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man, now available on DVD, tells not only of the rise of Alan Jackson’s career but also the background of this humble, grateful and brilliant man who helped turn the tide and create music as iconic as those he was inspired by.
Images from Jackson’s childhood during the 1950-60s, concert footage (including clips from Alan Jackson: Keeping It Country – Live at Red Rocks) and intercuts of his popular music videos are showcased throughout the 2 hours and 30 minutes. Fans are given an inside look to Jackson’s personal life via interviews with members of his immediate family: his wife Denise, his four sisters (Cathy Wright, Carol Glover, Diane Dawson and Connie Davis) and archived footage his late mother and father, “Mama” Ruth and “Daddy” Gene Jackson. The stories shared by his sisters are very special, as they speak so candidly about their parents, childhood home and memories of their little brother.
Interviews by industry executives Tim Dubois, Mike Dungan, Cindy Mabe and Barry Coburn, writer/editor Peter Cooper, collaborators Jim McBride and Keith Stegall, bandmates Cody Deal (Dixie Steel) and Danny Groah and Bruce Rutherford (The Strayhorns) and others put together the path that Jackson traveled from the moment he moved from Georgia to Nashville and beyond. For example, Coburn remembers when he asked Jackson if he had any original material during their first meeting, and from a bag of cassettes he selected three songs that he didn’t think were really good enough: “Home,” “Wanted” and a song called “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.” Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Easton Corbin and Carrie Underwood are also featured and give further insight into how incredible of an artist and person Jackson is.
Every major moment of Jackson’s career is mentioned in this documentary: his meeting with Clive Davis and becoming the first artist signed to Arista Nashville, his first #1, his decision to film the video for “Chattahoochee” despite everyone’s lack of enthusiasm, his collaboration with Jimmy Buffett, his Gospel album that he promised his mother, his song that helped mend the hearts of Americans after the tragedy of 9/11, his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and others in-between.
Perhaps the final two segments of the DVD summarize Jackson the best. During his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Jackson was introduced by the one and only Loretta Lynn who upon announcing his name impulsively declares “You should be here!” His acceptance speech shows how genuine and humble he is, stating how he doesn’t feel like he belongs in the Hall of Fame as he’s just “a singer of simple songs” (he’s even shown ushering for the crowd to sit down after he’s done speaking).
The second shows Jackson on stage with the late great George Jones. As Jackson comments how he couldn’t believe Jones was there with him, Jones says to him ”I’d do anything for you. You know why I’d do anything for you? Because you are the only one in country music today that has kept it country. I love you.”
Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man is a must-have not only for Alan Jackson fans, but for any country music fan.
Debuting on AXS-TV last fall, Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man is now available on DVD and digital platforms via Eagle Rock Entertainment here.
For more information on Alan Jackson, visit his website at www.alanjackson.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.