Alan Jackson (Photo: David McClister)
NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) — Singer-songwriter and Country Hall of Famer, Alan Jackson was the recipient of the Poets Award as part of the 17th ACM Honors celebration in Nashville on Wednesday night.
“I’ve always put songwriting at the top of my list when it comes to making music,” Jackson told the assmebled crowd after receiving the award, adding that he considered it a “high honor.”
“I realized a long time ago life gives you a lot of ingredients for songwriting,” the Country Music Hall of Fame member told the standing-room-only audience at the historic Ryman Auditorium. “It typically makes the best songs. And I’ve been fortunate to pull a lot of stuff out of my life and turn it into music over the years,” he added. “My biggest pride as an artist is to write a song, have people enjoy it and be touched by it or moved by it…[to] help them through a hard time or [to] enjoy a good time.”
“I just appreciate the opportunity to share my music,” he concluded.
Eric Church, who presented Jackson with the award on Wednesday, called the country icon an “institution” and quoted poet Robert Frost. “He said, ‘Poetry is when emotion finds its thought…and then that thought finds its words.’” Church said before adding, “Alan Jackson has always found my words.”
Church went on to perform a rendition of Jackson’s hit “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” for the assembled crowd.
