Country music icon Alan Jackson is among the 2018 inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Georgia native will formally become a member during this year’s Induction & Awards Gala on June 14th in New York City.
To qualify for induction, a songwriter must be a published writer for a minimum of 20 years with a notable catalog of hit songs. Jackson’s induction comes just months after he was made a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the latest in a long line of accolades that include three CMA Entertainer of the Year honors, more than 25 years of membership in the Grand Ole Opry, a 2016 Billboard ranking as one of the Top 10 Country Artists of All-Time, induction to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Heritage Award as the most-performed country songwriter-artist of ASCAP’s first 100 years.
“I started writing because somebody told me I needed some original material. I’d never even thought about writing or studied songwriting,” Jackson shared in a statement. “There are different aspects of your career, and they all bring different rewards and feelings…but the songwriting is very fulfilling. Songwriting is definitely the most creative part.”
Jackson is one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters in music. He is in the elite company of Paul McCartney and John Lennon among songwriters who’ve written more than 20 songs that they’ve recorded and taken to the top of the charts. Beginning with his first hit, “Here in the Real World,” Jackson’s pen has given us some of country music’s most-memorable songs of the past 30 years – the immediately-recognized “Chattahoochee,” the haunting “Midnight in Montgomery,” the touching “Remember When,” the autobiographical “Livin’ On Love,” “Drive,” and “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” and the inspired “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
The star’s latest release, “The Older I Get,” is the first taste of what’s to come on Jackson’s next album— his first new studio recording since 2015. Watch the official music video below!
“The Older I Get” Lyrics
The older I get
The more I think
You only get a minute, better live while you’re in it
‘Cause it’s gone in a blink
And the older I get
The truer it is
It’s the people you love, not the money and stuff
That makes you rich
And if they found a fountain of youth
I wouldn’t drink a drop and that’s the truth
Funny how it feels I’m just getting to my best years yet
The older I get
The fewer friends I have
But you don’t need a lot when the ones that you got
Have always got your back
And the older I get
The better I am
At knowing when to give
And when to just not give a damn
And if they found a fountain of youth
I wouldn’t drink a drop and that’s the truth
Funny how it feels I’m just getting to my best years yet
The older I get
And I don’t mind all the lines
From all the times I’ve laughed and cried
Souvenirs and little signs of the life I’ve lived
The older I get
The longer I pray
I don’t know why, I guess that I
Got more to say
And the older I get
The more thankful I feel
For the life I’ve had, and all the life I’m living still
Congrats to Alan Jackson! Share this news with other country music fans!
