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Country Music Star Alan Jackson Champions the Power of God’s Word with First Album in 6 Years

Photo from Alan Jackson’s Instagram

Country Music Star Alan Jackson Champions the Power of God’s Word with First Album in 6 Years

By Movieguide® Staff

Country music icon Alan Jackson took a six-year break from releasing music after the loss of both his mother, Ruth Musick Jackson, in 2017 ,and his son-in-law Ben Selecman in 2018.

The award-winning artist often focuses on traditional themes like country, faith and family in his music but said that the back-to-back losses and the pandemic made it challenging to release new music.

“When you’re the daddy and you kind of feel like you’re the head man, and you’ve got your wife and your daughters and everybody, you really hurt more for them going through it. It just took a long time for me to feel good again, to feel like I actually wanted to sit down and try to write something,” Jackson told Yahoo Music.

“Well, when my mother died, I wrote that song on the album for her and for her funeral, and I went in the studio to do a little demo of it. I ended up cutting a couple of other tracks for when we thought we’d be going in the studio later that year,” Jackson added. “And then that’s when my first daughter, who had gotten married a year before…her husband died actually right before their first anniversary. That kind of put a halt on everything for a while, and so those tracks kind of lay there for two or three years till we got back in the studio.

But in 2021, Jackson announced his new album, “Where Have You Gone.”

“By the time I got ready to get in the studio last spring, the coronavirus really shut everything down again,” Jackson said, adding that he told his producer, “Man, we’re going to make a Country album. I don’t have to worry about radio anymore; they probably won’t play me anyway. I’m just going to make what I like — and what I know my fans like.”

“And we went in there and I brought these old pickers back that played on most of my records, and they played some of the coolest tracks that we’ve played in 30 years. When Keith sent me those first two or three cuts that were kind of half-done, it just about made me tear up,” Jackson continued.

In one of the new songs, Jackson’s late mother is featured reading from the Bible.

“We had already finished the album pretty much last fall, and around Christmastime one of my sisters sent this recording to us that they had found, I guess from a few years ago when Mom was still doing pretty good. They had her read the Christmas story from the Bible and some other things, just to have a recording of her, and they sent that for Christmas,” Jackson said. “And I said, ‘Man, that’s so cool.’ So, we tried to pull out a line that wasn’t so Christmassy in there that would work. I was just so happy to get that. And I just think it makes the song.”

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.