ALAN JACKSON TO BE HONORED AS NEXT CMT “GIANT” IN NEW 90 MINUTE SPECIAL “CMT GIANTS” TAPING OCTOBER 30 IN NASHVILLE
10/06/08
George Strait, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley, Lee Ann Womack and Miranda Lambert to Honor Jackson
Tickets Go On Sale Saturday, October 11
NASHVILLE – October 6, 2008 – CMT honors the extraordinary life and music of the legendary Alan Jackson in the 90 minute special, CMT GIANTS: ALAN JACKSON, which will be taped before a live audience on Thursday, October 30 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Tickets go on sale Saturday, October 11 at www.ticketmaster.com. The tribute will feature live performances by superstars including George Strait, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley, Lee Ann Womack and Miranda Lambert with other guests to be announced. CMT GIANTS: ALAN JACKSON will premiere on CMT on Saturday, December 6 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT.
Over the course of his career with 16 Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum albums leading up to the debut at No.1 this past March of Good Time – Alan Jackson has become one of country music’s most respected and honored artists. He has sold more than 50 million albums and has more than 100 major industry awards to his credit. Jackson is a three-time Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year and the most-nominated artist in CMA history. A prolific songwriter, Jackson penned 23 of his 33 No. 1 singles, including his GRAMMY-winning Best Country Song, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
A native of small-town Newnan, GA, Jackson was the first artist signed to the fledgling Arista Nashville record label in 1989, and with the release the following year of his debut album, Here in the Real World, his songs immediately connected with fans – leading to four No. 1 singles from that record alone. Since 1991, Jackson has had 21 No. 1 videos on CMT’s Top 20 countdown including classics such as “Don’t Rock the Jukebox,” “Chattahoochee,” “Pop A Top” and “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere” with Jimmy Buffet. In 2002, Jackson won the CMT Music Award for Video of the Year with his hit “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” Jackson’s most recent collection Good Time became the fourth album of his career to debut simultaneously at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums and all-genre Billboard 200 sales charts. The 17-song release has netted two No.1 hits in the title track and “Small Town Southern Man”, with a third, “Country Boy,” on its way. Good Time marks a career first for Jackson as the only time he has been the sole writer of all the songs on his album.
The CMT GIANTS franchise began in 2006 when Reba McEntire was honored for her stellar career by such stars as Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, Kelly Clarkson, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, LeAnn Rimes, Megan Mullally, Wynonna and Dolly Parton, each of whom paid tribute to Reba by lending their voices to her biggest hits. Last year, Hank William Jr. was honored by superstars Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Steven Tyler, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, Gretchen Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Buddy Guy, who all performed their favorite Hank tunes, while Shooter Jennings and Hank’s daughter Holly also joined the tribute.
CMT GIANTS is produced by Tom Forrest and Taillight TV. John Hamlin and Margaret Comeaux serve as executive producers for CMT.
Visit CMT's press-only Web site www.cmtpress.com for more information and downloadable photos on all of CMT's programming.
CMT, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
For CMT:
Cindy McLean 615-335-8404 cindy.mclean@cmt.com
For Alan Jackson:
Diana Baron 310-315-5444 diana@dbaronmedia.com
