Known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds, Alan Jackson’s list of awards is so long that we stopped counting. Among the rest, he is a recipient of two Grammy Awards, 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards and nominee of multiple other awards.

In 2001, Jackson was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, while in 2017 and 2018, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame respectively. Jackson is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Around two years ago, the singer revealed he had been diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a group of disorders that cause nerve damage, which has affected his ability to move and keep balance on stage. His diagnosis was confirmed back in 2011, but he managed to hide it from his fans until symptoms grew worse over the years.

CMT disease ‘causes degeneration of the peripheral nerves, leading to muscle weakness in the body’s extremities,’ according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). There are roughly 126,000 people in the United States and more than 2.5 million people worldwide living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease – nearly all CMT disease cases are inherited. 

Besides the condition, he still does what he loves most, making music. On his daughter Mattie Jackson’s podcast In Joy Life, Jackson said, “I’m always scribbling down ideas and thinking about melodies… I feel like there’ll be some more music to come, yes.” 

He was then asked by fans if he has plans on making a new album to what he answered, “Yes, I would hope so,” to the delight of many. Further, he added that besides not touring around, his ‘creative part jumps out every now and then.’

On the 56th annual CMA, Jackson was presented with the association’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.

The country legend took the stage and had the crowd rise to their feet. Following the performance he said, “Country music’s been really good to me. I fell in love with it when I was a young man.”

But what he enjoys most about his career is writing songs. On his daughter’s podcast, he revealed that writing songs is ‘more fulfilling than anything’ and that he loves it way better than performing on stage.

“When you make an album, or especially when you write a lot of the songs for it, that’s creating something. It’s a challenge, so it keeps you interested a little more. If I didn’t write, I think I would’ve gotten bored just singing a long time ago,” he said.

Jackson started his career back in the day when he started performing at night clubs and local bars while he worked as a mechanic. Then, he signed with Arista Records in Nashville and released his first record, Here in the Real World, in 1985. Well, the rest is history.

The Georgia native has been married to wife Denise since 1979 and they have three children together.

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