PR

SRT

ST

DU

S P

osta

ge

PA

IDN

ashv

ille,

TN

Pe

Rm

IT 7

68

r e a l w o r l d n e w sthe official newsletter of the Alan Jackson Platinum Fan Club

alanjacksonr

ea

l w

or

ld

ne

ws

alan

jack

son

is i

t re

ne

wa

l ti

me

?O

n th

is p

age

abov

e yo

ur n

ame

you

will

find

you

r m

embe

rshi

p nu

mbe

r &

exp

irat

ion

date

.If

you

r m

embe

rshi

p ha

s ex

pire

d pl

ease

sen

d in

you

r re

new

al

requ

est

righ

t aw

ay t

o av

oid

bein

g de

lete

d fr

om o

ur d

atab

ase.

P

leas

e ca

ll th

e fa

n cl

ub o

ffice

if

you

have

any

que

stio

ns,

(615

) 32

1-52

19.

Rec

eivi

ng d

uplic

ate

new

slet

ters

? P

leas

e he

lp u

s co

ntro

l was

te —

just

mai

l or

fax

us a

ll th

e ba

ck c

over

s of

you

r du

plic

ate

new

slet

ters

. Tha

nks

for

you

help

.

P.O

. Box

121

945

Nas

hvill

e, T

N 3

7212

-194

5

winter ‘11

w i n t e r 2 0 1 1i s s u e 8 4

Alan Jackson Fan Club

P.O. Box 121945

Nashville, TN 37212-1945

(615) 321-5219 office

(615) 321-5221 merchandise

(615) 321-2112 fax

ajfc@alanjackson.com e-mail

www.alanjackson.com

Real World News

is the official publication of the

Alan Jackson Fan Club.

Newsletters are mailed out in

February, may, August and

November.

Platinum Fan Club Membership includes:

Real World News Newsletter

merchandise Discounts

Alan’s Biography and Fact Sheet

8x10 exclusive Color Photo

Official membership Card

Preferred Concert Seating

(subject to availability)

annual dues:$20 USA

$25 Canada$30 International

Please check your address label

for your expiration date. We do

not send out renewal reminders.

You will have a three month grace

period in which to renew your

membership.

When writing to Alan

or theFan Club,

please remember to include a

Self-Address Stamped envelope

(SASe) for a quick response.

Cindy Hartpresident

Abby Busickadministrative assistant

We reserve the rightto refuse or deny

privileges to anyoneat our sole discretion.

©2011 Alan Jackson materials may not be reproduced without

written permission.

2 3

topnews

congratulationsaJ & Zac Brown BandThe recent #1 smash “As She’s Walking Away” garnered a GRAmmY nomination for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for Zac Brown Band and Alan. Tune in February 13, 2011 for the 53rd Annual GRAmmY Awards on CBS.

superstar’s chart-topping hitused in new ad forGe’s ecomaginationBeginning in February, TV viewers nationwide are in for a “Good Time” as country superstar Alan Jackson’s hit song, “Good Time,” is featured in a new ad for Ge and its ecomagination technology initiative.In the TV ad, people of various professions —from factory assembly personnel to airline pilots and flight crews—are seen participating in a massive “around the world” line dance which begins as “Good Time” is heard on a radio. Check out the commercial on the homepage of Alan’s site.

alan jackson leaves longtime labelAlan Jackson recently announced that he’s left his longtime record label, Arista/Nashville, but he’s already looking ahead to the future!“I’ve had a great run with Arista, going all the way back to the beginning of my career,” Alan says. “I’ve gotten to work with some real great people along the way and we accomplished a lot. It just seems to me like the time may be right to change things up a bit and see what comes next.”He’s gearing up for the first leg of his 2011 tour with sold-out shows in Canada followed by his highly-anticipated first tour of Australia. He is currently writing and working on songs for his upcoming new album—stay tuned!

4 5

alan jacksonsurprises zac brown

presents Brown with a vintage Cadillacand joins the band onstage in Nashville

a lan surprised Zac Brown at the band’s December 29th concert in Nashville by

presenting him with a vintage Cadillac. Alan—who recently topped the charts with the Zac Brown Band on the hit, “As She’s Walking Away”—also joined the group onstage during their sold-out show at music City’s Bridgestone Arena for an unexpected performance of the Grammy-nominated song. Alan arranged for the 1966 Cadillac el Dorado convertible to be brought into the backstage area of the arena and surprised Zac with the gift prior to the show. “I think Zac is one of the coolest new talents to come along and he’s a Georgia boy like me,” Alan says. “It was an honor to be on his record.” Zac was obviously thrilled with the gift, saying, “I will pay it forward. What an amazing night, amazing friend, amazing car... and if I want to pull a Hank Sr., I now have the ride to do it in.”

34 hidden number ones

Get your 34 Number Ones CD out!! Hidden above are ALL 34 Number One songs featured on Alan’s newest CD 34 Number Ones

Five lucky winners will be drawn from all correct entries to receive a $10.00 Gift Certificate to the Alan Jackson Online Store! Please have entry postmarked by march 31, 2011.

Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________

mailing address ___________________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip _______________________________________________________________________________________

Phone # ________________________________________ membership # _________________________________

email Address ___________________________________________________________________________________

Only 1 entry per person. The winners will be announced in the Spring 2011 newsletter. email address is required as winners coupons will be sent via email.

6 7

snapshots1 “Had to share a

‘sighting’ with you! I received the Alan

cardboard statue for my 50th birthday and it has

traveled around with me several times for ‘photo

ops’! We belong to a gym in Winchester, VA and Tim mcGraw recently

visited there while filming in the area. Well, I wasn’t about to let Tim

get all the publicity so I took my Alan statue and placed him right

in front of the gym and took his picture and

put it on facebook! The caption: ‘Tim mcGraw ain’t got nothin on me.

enjoy your workout!’ my friends loved it!!! Love,

love, love Alan in W. Va.!!!” Brenda Smoot

2 Tammy Taylor

and kids (John and Katherine) made the

3.5 hour drive from San Diego to LA to see Alan in November. They had a fabulous time, singing along to all of his songs.

3 Kathy Burgess

dressed up as AJ last Halloween. “I had a party at my house,

complete with elvis and karaoke. I won

best song of the night for ‘Good Time’ and by the way, we all had a G with an O, O with a D,

T with an I and a m and a e... A Good Time!”

4 “Just wanted you to

know the concert in Orange Beach, AL was

awesome. I enjoyed getting to know other fan club members and the seats were perfect. Thought you might like

to see a few pictures from the

concert. Thanks again for the tickets!” Barbara Christian 5 New York fan Barb Belanga found out her daughter-in-law was going to Hollywood with some friends, so she ask her to take a picture of Alan’s Star. Since Barb couldn’t get her picture with the star, Stephanie was happy to bring back this souvenir 6 Another Star photo on a less busy day in Hollywood, Janis Grogan from Washington sent this one. 7 To celebrate her birthday marcia and Rich Anderson headed to the Great Jones County Fair last July. even though it started “pouring buckets” after Alan went on stage, marcia said everybody “stood their ground and stayed for the duration of the show.” Unfortunately the day after the show, a near by dam broke and flooded the area. We pray the folks in that area are back on their feet and rebuilding! 8 Tina Hinners’ ALAN room! “A perfect memory place of happiness over the past 20 years! I will always be a fan!”

T h a n k s f o r a l l T h e g r e a T p h o T o g r a p h s ! Remember, anytime we use one of your photos in a newsletter, we will send you a $10 gift certificate toward official AJ merchandise. If you’d like your photo returned, please include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.

1

4

56

78

2

3

98

meet & greet photos

are you a friend of alan’s on FaCeBooK? If not go to facebook.com/OfficialAlanJackson and click on LIKe.

We’re trying to reach One million Friends! For every goal, we'll randomly give away prizes & announce the next!

And believe us, the prizes get bigger each time!!

150,000 - 50 Signed Photos (Achieved!)

250,000 - 10 Autographed CD's (Achieved!)

500,000 - 5 Pairs of Concert Tickets

Tell all your friends to LIKe Alan too, so we can give away some concert tickets!

You can alsofollow alan on twitter!You can receive short timely messages from Alan straight to your cell phone!So don’t miss the latest updates when you are away from your computer!Follow Alan

@Twitter.com/OfficialAlanJackson

10 11

superstar reflectson his career,

including his new34 Number Ones

compilationwritten by Calvin Gilbert

few artists in any musical genre ever achieve the level of sustained success Alan Jackson has enjoyed over the past two decades. That success continues with the release of a two-CD compilation, 34 Number Ones, and a Grammy nomination for “As She’s Walking Away,” his hit collaboration with the Zac Brown Band. During a recent interview at CmT’s offices in Nashville, the Georgia native reflected on his

career, including his pre-stardom days spent working in the mailroom at CmT’s former sister network, TNN: The Nashville Network. He also talked about how a leisurely afternoon with his wife, Denise, once prompted him to listen to all of his albums again.

For anybody who comes to work in nashville, it’s a big deal the first time you see some of the stars. it’s still a magical thing.I’ll never forget, when I worked there at TNN, they had that awards show or something. That was the CmAs, I guess, on that compound at the time out at the Opry House. And I got to go on Hank Jr.’s bus to deliver some contracts or papers or something to him. When he came walking out of the back of that bus, man, he looked like he was 30-feet tall! (laughs) I was just a huge fan, and I’ll never forget that.

You mentioned that you had some offers from other labels before you signed to arista? How close were you to signing any of those?We had some kind of crazy deal. This guy...came up with this plan where he was going to sign 10 new acts at the same time and put them all on one album. They’d all have one single, and whichever one hit ... We actually had that offer, and I almost did it. I think I finally got some attorney that I didn’t know to help me with it. He said, “I’d pass on it.” He talked me into passing on it because he just felt like I wouldn’t get a really true shot there.

tim duBois started arista nashville from scratch. did you know him? what was it about him that made you trust him?I didn’t know him at all. After I learned about the label starting, they were coming to a showcase or something. I was doing a showcase for some labels. That was the first time I’d really known who he was. I guess initially what impressed me about Tim was that I liked him because he wasn’t just a businessman. He was a songwriter. He wrote the Restless Heart song [“Bluest eyes in Texas”], and Jerry Reed had a big hit with “She Got the Goldmine.” I felt like he had a music ear as well as a business sense to him. And that’s what he was, and I respected that, and he was just a nice fellow.

one song that didn’t exactly qualify for 34 number ones was “Blue Blooded woman.” How much of a disappointment was it in 1989 when your first single only peaked in the 40s on the chart? or were you happy just because it charted?(laughs) Aw, I was heartbroken! I mean, I’d seen too many acts come along that had one or two singles that didn’t make it, and then they’re gone. So I knew you didn’t have many shots. And even worse, after that thing died, my wife came home and said she was pregnant with our first child. We weren’t really planning that, and I thought, “Oh, man. my song died and my wife’s pregnant. I’m gonna have to get a job and end this career.” And then “Here in the Real World” came along.

when did you record your version of “ring of Fire” that’s on the new compilation?We cut part of that thing years ago, and it’s been sitting in the can. We went in and redid it. We used some of it, I think. I resang it and did some other stuff with it. I’d always loved that cut. We just never did anything with it. Gary Overton, who’s running the label now, he’s an old friend who used to manage me. He wanted to put it on there. I’d forgotten about the thing. I went back and listened to it, and got Keith [Stegall], my producer, and I agreed with him. I thought it was a pretty cool cut. I’d never gotten to do a Johnny Cash song, and I’ve covered a bunch of stuff. I always really felt like it was something I wanted to do.

exCerpts Froma Cmt interview

12 13

fanreview

WOW!! I took a ride on the Freight Train and lived the ultimate in fan experience on 3/30/10.Rollback:1) AJ coming back to evansville, IN—FINALLY!2) I got tickets in pre-sale—Sooo excited!3) Found out through the fan club tickets are 2nd row!—OmG4) Scared my cat to death, got an email that I won meet & greet pass—OmG/OmG—I called everyone I knew and ran through the house like a crazy woman.5) OK. Night of show. Took daughter, son and two grandsons (age 12 & 13) along with my camera—of course—and wearing my T-shirt of Alan that my daughter had air brushed for me from a picture of AJ’s 2005 calendar (one of a kind).6) Chris Young and Josh Turner got the train rolling with some awesome opening tunes. Josh could have filled the stadium with that big bass voice of his but I missed part of his performance to go backstage to meet the “conductor” of this train.7) Heart pounding, going to meet AJ! How much better can this get—but it does!8) I was first in line. Picture this: freight train backdrop, AJ music playing and then—WOW—Alan Jackson! He is tall! He reached out his hand and said, “Hi, like your shirt.” Well of course he did, it was HIm! I was kinda disappointed that I couldn’t get it autographed but I got over it real quick when he came out from behind that curtain. As my meet & greet pictures shows I was beaming from ear-to-ear. This was so unreal and the concert hadn’t even started yet.9) So, picture taken with Alan, my autographed picture of him in hand, I followed the group back to my seat

for the concert. my family was all waiting for me asking what did you say, what did he have on, how was it? I couldn’t even remember. my heart still pounding—WOW/OmG!!10) Took my seat and can’t wait for concert to start like everyone else yelling “AJ, AJ, AJ.” And, lo and behold, the Freight Train has “Gone Country.” Out he came in his torn jeans and cowboy hat looking better than ever. I managed to mingle up to the stage with those “itty bitty” girls in the front row and danced the night away to one favorite song after another. What a show, what a night… BUT WAIT…11) After the best two hours of my like, he came back out for his encore of “Where I Come From” and with my heart still pounding he took my T-shirt and marker and AUTOGRAPHeD IT FOR me! He graciously signed autographs for lots of anxious fans and my daughter even got a picture of him signing my shirt on stage for me.

12) OK, my night is over now but it couldn’t have been any better than this. AJ you are an evansville Walk of Fame Star in my book and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. All I can say is keep on rolling that Freight Train cause “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere”!!

yo l A n dA h A R dyEvansville, InMarch 30, 2010

Remember to send your concert reviews into the Fan Club for a chance to win tickets to the next AJ show in your area. See your membership packet for complete details.

autographed itemwinners

front rowwinners

meet & greetwinners

Randy Hopson, Colorado

Twyla Martin, missouri

Toni Hopper, Oregon

Jennie Stringer, Kentucky

Thea Wiley, Texas

Valarie Boultinghouse, California

Rebecca Price, North Carolina

Judith & William Halstead, maryland

Chris Shellhammer, California

Rosemary Deangelis, Connecticut

Victoria LandisPatricia ToomeyCecilia Navarro

Jennifer EllisBradford Palmer

Kari KuttlerBrian Ring

Megan Clopton

Triscia TouchetMichelle KittokBobbie BartonCobey Michael

Crystal RobertsonKristina Van Geyten

Amy NoeKristy Cook

JJ SasakiMelissa Turner

Hope CarpenterCynthia TorresMarty Hansen

Kathy RichardsAlaine Balsamo

Janice LeeseMichelle Bounds

Kathy HawGordon Avery

Stacy SwanClydene Farris

Freddie BaumgartnerKeri Wood

Natasha Robin Weeks

Whitney TorresPaula Daigle

Marilyn BridgesKacey Smith

Mandy MyersNancy Fulenwider

Rosedale YannayonWanda BaileyAngela PartinCathy Taylor

Louisa HassenfeltWendy Motsinger

Rick KislingGina Galvin

David MoyersCharlene Gabbard

14 15

heyy’alla note from the fan club

tourscheduledaTe ciTy, sTaTe / venue TickeT info

march 3/4 melborne, AUSTRALIA / Rod Laver Arena SOLD OUT

3/6 Hunter Valley, NSW, AUSTRALIA / CmC Rocks ON SALe NOW

3/7 Sydney, AUSTRALIA / Acer Arena SOLD OUT

3/10 Brisbane, AUSTRALIA / Brisbane entertainment Centre SOLD OUT

3/11 Brisbane, AUSTRALIA / Brisbane entertainment Centre SOLD OUT

3/12 Brisbane, AUSTRALIA / Brisbane entertainment Centre SOLD OUT

3/18 Houston, TX / Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo ON SALe NOW

3/29 Calgary, AB, Canada / Scotiabank Saddledome ON SALe NOW

3/30 edmonton, AB, Canada / Rexall Place ON SALe NOW

3/31 Dawson Creek, BC, Canada / enCana event Centre ON SALe NOW

june 6/25 Grand Junction, CO / Country Jam ON SALe NOW

august 8/10 eskilstuna, Sweden / Vilsta ON SALe NOW

8/12 Skien, Norway / Stevneplassen ON SALe NOW

8/13 Stavanger, Norway / Forus Travbane ON SALe NOW

For the most current tour schedule, log onto www.alanjackson.com and click on tour

* * S P e C I A L S e AT I N G F O R P L AT I N U m FA N C L U B m e m B e R S AVA I L A B L e . Please check your local listings as all dates and times are subject to change. For updates on Alan’s tour schedule, check out Alan’s website at www.alanjackson.com or send in a Self-Addressed Stamped envelope to the Fan Club. Shows are usually confirmed and announced about 4-6 prior to the actual date of the show so check back often.

We are starting 2011 off with a BANG! Alan’s taking his first trip to AUSTRALIA! I’m so excited for all

the Aussie fans to finally see ALAN! I know a lot of you have ventured over to the States to see AJ. But

the majority of you have never seen him live, after supporting his music over the past two decades.

What a treat you are all in for! Be sure to check out Alan’s website for updates on his Australian tour

while he’s gone. We’ll be posting pictures and videos from the march tour.

For those of you who have not utilized our fan club area on the website, be sure to check it out! If

you were a member prior to August 2009, the FIRST TIme you sign in, you’ll need to create your own

Username and Password by simply signing in with your current membership number (leave off PL-).

Then you’ll use it every time you log in. And if you’ve joined by mail since August 2009, your Username

is your Last Name PLUS the first two initials of your First Name. (Type in ALLCAPS/NOSPACeS.)

There’s lots of good stuff on there including signing up for meeT AND GReeT Passes and FRee

FRONT ROW TICKeTS!

I hope you enjoy the Word Search Puzzle Abby created. I tried to do it and it’s kind of hard! But it was

fun especially if you put on the CD and listen while you search! Be sure to send your entry in, you could

win an online store gift certificate!

We’ve got some big changes in store for us this year. I think they’ll be ALL GOOD. The powers that be

are working on finding Alan a new label “home.” Hopefully we’ll have some new music by the end of the

year. We are all excited about the new possibilities of the future! And we’ll be working towards Alan’s

next 34 Number ones!