Alan Jackson.Photo: David McClister
Alan Jacksonis being honored with the 2022 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award!
The “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” icon will receive the prestigious honor at the 56th AnnualCMA Awardsat Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 9 — where country starsDierks Bentley,Carrie Underwood,Jon PardiandLainey Wilsonwill deliver a tribute performance to the Grammy winner.
Jackson, 64, follows previous recipients of the career-celebrating award includingLoretta Lynn,Charley Pride,Kris Kristofferson,Dolly Parton,Johnny Cash,Kenny RogersandWillie Nelson— whom the award was named after, as he won its first iteration in 2012.
“I was in the Green Hills mall when I saw him and his wife Denise. I waited outside for probably a half an hour until he walked out. I shook his hand and told him I was a huge fan,” wrote the “Different for Girls” musician. “That’s all I wanted, was a handshake and to be able to tell him that. Not sure how much it meant to him, but it made a lot to me!”
He then recalled noticing a similarity in the way they both traveled at the time: “I remember watching him drive away in a lifted Chevy Suburban, which I thought was pretty cool, since I drove a lifted Chevy Silverado.”
Writing about the upcoming award show celebration, Bentley continued, “Going to be a special night at the#CMAAwardsthis year… humbled to be honoring Alan Jackson receiving the 2022 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award with a live performance.”
Since hitting the scene in 1990 with his major label debutHere in the Real World, Jackson’s scored 35 chart-topping songs on country radio including 1991’s “I’d Love You All Over Again,” 1993’s “Chattahoochee,” 1996’s “Little Bitty,” 2001’s “Where I Come From,” 2003’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” with Jimmy Buffett and, most recently, 2008’s “Country Boy.”
Peyton Manning and Luke Bryan.CMA/ABC
Beyond the tribute performance to Jackson, Underwood, 39, will also sing her latest single “Hate My Heart,” while Wilson, 30, and HARDY will come together to sing their hit “Wait in the Truck” during the ceremony.
source: people.com
