Alan Jackson Says ‘Country Music Is Gone’ And ‘It’s Makin’ Me Sad’

Alan Jackson is sounding the alarm over Country music just ahead of his new album “Where Have You Gone” dropping. The music legend says the genre is unrecognizable from the traditional Country we grew up with it. 

The “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” singer notices how different Country music is from when he dominated the charts.

If you have not heard his hit song inspired by 9/11 in a while, here you go:

He doesn’t like the Country music trend and wants to see his beloved genre return to its roots. He’s hoping some younger musicians restore it to its glory days. 

“Country music is gone — and it’s not coming back,” Jackson told HITS Daily Double.

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“It’s like the 1980s again. I’m 62 years old; I’m not some 30-year-old stud. It’s not the same, but somebody has to bring it back, because it’s not just people in their 50s, it’s people in their 20s, too.”

“All the kids and young people around my house? The older they’ve got, the more hardcore and traditional what they’ve leaned into has become,” Alan Jackson continued.

“It’s not old-school, it’s the real school. And I’m kinda pissed off … about what’s happened to the format, or whatever they wanna call it.”

Alan Jackson’s New Album “Where Have You Gone”

62-year-old Alan Jackson is staying true to his roots.

The Georgia native’s album “Where Have You Gone” drops today. He describes it “harder Country” than he has recorded in the past. It’s been six years since Jackson has released an in-studio album.

He’s emphasizing the need to return to Country’s roots. He hopes others take notice of the difference between this album and today’s Pop-like Country songs. 

“Real country songs are life and love and heartache. They’re drinking, singing about Mama and having a good time, sad things, fun things,” Jackson said of his upcoming album. “It reflects the sounds of the instruments I grew up on, steel and acoustic guitar, the fiddle and the way they all came together. It gave you a sound, but also a real feeling or emotions no other music really had.”

He also said, “I’m such a fan of country music. I just feel like it’s fading away, the real roots. It’s always been up and down but usually there’s just a little bit of it hanging on. Now I just feel like it’s getting further and further away, and it’s makin’ me sad.”

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“Where Have You Gone” has 21 songs. Many songs are inspired for his family and one is tribute to Merle Haggard. It’s the song “That’s The Way Love Goes,” that was co-written by Lefty Frizzell  and Sanger D. Shafer and that Haggard covered in the 1980s.

Here’s Merle Haggard’s version of the song:

“I’ve been wanting to do something for Merle ever since he died,” Jackson said. “I think it’d been cut by a bunch of people but I always heard [Merle] did [“…Love Goes”] as a tribute to Lefty. … I did it kinda the same way, as a tribute to Merle.”

“Way Down In My Whiskey”

“Way Down In My Whiskey” is a song from Jackson’s new album. It was released in April and has racked up almost 300,000 YouTube views.

Fans who love traditional Country Music will likely appreciate this song.

You can hear “Way Down In My Whiskey” from Alan Jackson’s new album “Where Have You Gone” in the video below.