On November 9, 2022, Alan Jackson attended the 56th annual Country Music Awards (CMA), where he was awarded the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. While accepting the accolade, the star noted how he had lived the American dream.
Alan Jackson at the 56th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 9, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee | Source: Getty Images
Speaking about the award and what it meant to him, the then 64-year-old artist said he was “still living that honky-tonk dream.” The Grammy Award winner also gave an emotional speech mentioning how a Hank Williams movie inspired him to move to Nashville, Tennessee. 
At the time, Alan only had “three chords and a prayer,” but as his mother always said, he was blessed. The country musician shared how he had a fantastic team throughout his career and incredible songwriters.
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He noted how fortunate he’d been to have all the assistance he needed to get this far. The singer acknowledged how he couldn’t thank each person who’d been in his life but gave a special thanks to his wife, Denise Jackson, sharing how they started as teenagers, before adding:
“I’m probably not always the easiest person to love, but she’s been there and helped me through hard times. And we’ve shared great times.”
Denise and Alan Jackson at the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards on April 15, 2018, in Las Vegas | Source: Getty Images 
Alan explained how they’d gone through the bad, good, happy, and sad times, noting, “we’ve survived a lot.” Speaking to his wife, standing in the crowd, the star said he wanted to thank her because she held him up through the years and was his best friend.
