Alan Jackson Enjoys His ‘Surprisingly Normal’ Friends
You won't often see Alan Jackson at any of the hotspots in Nashville, or anywhere else for that matter. Even though he is one of country music's biggest stars, the small-town Georgia boy prefers to either be on stage and in the recording studio, or at home with his family and a few close friends. Among those close friends is a legendary performer who took Alan under his wing when he first started hitting the country charts.
"I've met a lot of people, artists, writers, music industry people that I never would never have gotten close to or had the opportunity to [had it not been for my career]," Alan tells The Boot. "We're not real social kind of people. In other words, we don't really hang out with other people that much, but the ones that I've gotten to know have always been just regular people and down-to-earth people. You think a lot of people get to be big stars and get a little crazy, but most of the ones I've ever met have always been surprisingly normal, and I've enjoyed that. I called George Jones [recently] for his 79th birthday at home, and he was just talking up a storm about the football game and who was going to win and that kind of stuff. He's always been real nice and respectful to me."
Alan still gets a thrill out of meeting people whose talents he respects and admires. "The other day they did this thing for me, and Steve Earle came out and sang 'Here in the Real World.' I don't know Steve that well, but I've met him a couple of times and I'm a big fan of his style and his writing," the iconic entertainer explains. "I got to talk to him a minute, and of course, everybody thinks Steve Earle is this eccentric kind of rebel character, and then all the time backstage he was talking about his new baby that weighed 20 pounds. [laughs]"
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