Country music icon Alan Jackson played a hometown show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday (Oct. 8) and he brought…
Country music icon Alan Jackson played a hometown show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday (Oct. 8) and he brought a very special guest along with him: his 28-year-old daughter, Ali.
Jackson invited Ali to join him on stage to perform the touching track “You’ll Always Be My Baby (Written for Daughters’ Weddings).”
Solely penned by the Hall of Fame songwriter, “You’ll Always Be My Baby (Written for Daughters’ Weddings)” was written several years ago for a very special occasion.
“I wrote the song for Mattie’s wedding the summer of 2017, but it was so hard to do. I told ’em, ‘I wrote this for all of you,’” he explained in a media release.
The song finds Jackson promising to always be there for his daughters, no matter what.
“But you’ll always be my baby / No matter where you are / You’ll always be my baby / Forever in my heart,” he sings.
Ali joined the legendary country singer/songwriter as he told the crowd, “We’re going to give this thing a whirl, have a good time baby girl.”
Jackson sweetly looked in his daughters eyes as he sang the emotional lyrics.
As they sang, family photos flashed across the screen behind them, featuring images of Jackson’s wife, Denise, and their three daughters, including Ali, Mattie, 31, and Dani, 24.
“Man, she’s sounding good up here, y’all,” the proud father exclaimed as the audience answered back with cheers and applause.
As the song came to a close, Jackson lovingly kissed Ali’s forehead before she left the stage.
“You’ll Always Be My Baby (Written for Daughters’ Weddings)” appears on Jackson’s recently released 16th studio album, Where Have You Gone.
The project includes 21 tracks and finds the country superstar once again teaming up with his longtime producer, Keith Stegall.
Upon its release, Where Have You Gone topped the country album chart and became the Georgia native’s 15th Top 10 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200.
Jackson released a music video for the title track in late September that pays homage to country music legends Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Hank Williams and Tammy Wynette. Shot on the stage of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, the cinematic music video pairs perfectly with the song as Jackson shares his longing for for classic country sounds that are rarely heard on country radio today.
Check out the music video HERE.
Jackson’s Nashville concert came just days after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with a degenerative nerve condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
The Georgia native appeared on NBC’s TODAY show an opened up about the diagnosis in an interview with Jenna Bush Hager from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
“I have this neuropathy and neurological disease,” Jackson revealed.
He continued to share that the disease, inherited from his father, is progressing and now affecting his ability to walk.
“It’s genetic that I inherited from my daddy… There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years,” the “Where Have You Gone” singer continued. “And it’s getting more and more obvious. And I know I’m stumbling around on stage. And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable.”
The Nashville concert was his last tour date for 2021 and no further dates are booked on his online calendar.