Song:Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)
Album:34 Number Ones
Alan Jackson was one of the top country music artists of the 90s. Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning) is probably his biggest hit to date and crossed over to the pop charts for obvious reasons. He's still very popular in the country market but has recently left his longtime label Arista and it should be interesting to see how things develop with his new label. He was born Oct. 17, 1958 in Newnan, GA and grew up singing in church. He started performing as a teenager and married his high school sweetheart Denise. She's an airline stewardess. Jackson worked all kinds of jobs while working on his songwriting and playing local clubs with his band Dixie Steel. One day Denise spotted Glen Campbell waiting for a flight. She gave him her husband's demo and he gave her contact info for his publishing company. The Jacksons picked up and moved to Nashville. Veteran producer Keith Stegall signed Jackson to Arista Records in 1989. His 1990 debut CD Here In The Real World reached #4 on the Country Album charts and was certified 2XPlatinum. I'd Love You All Over Again was his first #1 country single. There's nothing mysterious about Jackson's appeal. He's an updated version of a 50s honky tonk singer and his songs are very relatable. He is singing to regular folks. Jackson's success continued through the 90s. Where Were You was a bit different. Of course Jackson wrote the song in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Jackson was reluctant to record or perform the song because he didn't want to capitalize on a tragedy. But after Denise and Keith Stegall heard the demo, he did record it. Stegall played it for RCA execs and it left them speechless. Jackson was scheduled to perform his #1 hit Where I Come From on the CMA Awards ceremony Nov. 7, 2001. When Jackson's manager Nancy Russell played Where Were You for CMA execs, they insisted that he perform it on the live telecast. The song became a huge hit and even crossed over to the pop charts. The song was first released as a single and then added to Jackson's 2002 CD Drive. Alan Jackson continues to have success but on Mar. 23, 2011 he announced that he was following former Arista exec Mike Dungan to EMI Nashville. He is working on a new CD. This 2CD comp is a reasonably priced intro to Jackson's music. Here's Alan Jackson performing Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning) on the CMA Awards Nov. 7, 2001.
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