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In 1989, Alan Jackson became the first artist signed to the fledgling Arista Nashville label.  By the time of his departure from its roster in 2010, Jackson had recorded sixteen albums and accumulated such honors as a Grammy Award, two American Music Awards, fifteen trophies from the Country Music Association, and fourteen recognitions from the Academy of Country Music.  Known for blending traditional honky-tonk songwriting with contemporary country production, the superstar is marking his 25 years as a major label artist with the release of a new 3-CD, career-spanning box set from Arista Nashville and Legacy Recordings.  Genuine: The Alan Jackson Story features 59 songs, eight of which are previously unreleased.  It’s due this Friday, November 6, as a Walmart-exclusive release.

The Georgia-born artist moved his family to Nashville in the 1980s in the hopes of pursuing music full time.  Championed by Glen Campbell, he found his home at Arista Nashville with the release of 1990’s debut album Here in the Real World.  Although its first single “Blue Blooded Woman” stalled outside the top 40 of the Hot Country Singles chart, Jackson didn’t lose faith.  The next four singles from the LP all went Top 5 – and one even went to No. 1.  Those five singles – “Blue Blooded Woman,” “Here in the Real World,” “Wanted,” “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” and the chart-topping “I’d Love You All Over Again” – kick off the box set.  Here in the Real World, produced by Scott Hendricks and Keith Stegall, surrounded singer-songwriter Jackson with a number of famed Nashville session musicians including the legendary Harold Bradley on bass, Paul Franklin on steel guitar, Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano, and drummer Eddie Bayers.

Such a success might have been difficult to top, but not for Jackson.  His sophomore LP, 1991’s Don’t Rock the Jukebox, yielded five more singles – and five more No. 1s.  (Again, all of those hits are included here.  Note that all but two of the previously released tracks on CD 1 are No. 1 hits, and the percentages are almost as good on the second and third discs!)  Clearly, Alan Jackson wasn’t going anywhere.  George Jones even gave his stamp of approval with his cameo on the album’s “Just Playin’ Possum.”  Jackson continued to deliver multi-platinum albums and No. 1 singles not to mention Christmas and gospel albums, and a covers set which gave songwriter Bob McDill a No. 1 with “It Must Be Love.”  Equally impressively, Jackson scored crossover success to the pop chart with 2002’s Drive.  Featuring the 9/11-inspired single “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” Drive topped the Billboard 200 as well as the Country chart.  All four of its singles also hit the Top 40 of the Hot 100.  All told, 35 No. 1 singles are here per the box set’s discography, culled from fifteen albums including three compilations.

Genuine: The Alan Jackson Story includes chart-toppers as well as album tracks and personal favorites of the artist’s, including duets with Jimmy Buffett (the No. 1 Country/No. 17 Pop “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”) and The Zac Brown Band (the No. 1 Country/No. 32 Pop “As She’s Walking Away”).  The sturdy, compact slipcase-style box boasts a 60-page full color booklet with Maurice Miner’s liner notes as well as testimonials from colleagues such as Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, Allison Krauss (producer of a number of tracks on this set), Steven Tyler and the late George Jones.  The eight previously unissued bonus tracks include covers of Steve Young’s Eagles favorite “Seven Bridges Road” and “The Star Spangled Banner,” a pair of tunes co-written with Randy Travis (“Born Too Late,” “If Tears Could Talk”), Jackson’s own compositions “Love is Hard,” “Ain’t Just a Southern Thing” and “Wings,” and “Seguro, Que Hell Yes” written by Alex Harvey, Michael Blakey and John Arthur Martinez.  The box also includes a fold-out pamphlet with images from Jackson’s 25 Years of Keepin’ It Country exhibit which was housed at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame this year.

You can find Genuine: The Alan Jackson Story at Walmart stores and Walmart.com beginning this Friday, October 6, and you can peruse the track listing below!

Alan Jackson, Genuine: The Alan Jackson Story (Arista Nashville/Legacy 88725406392, 2015) (Walmart Exclusive)

CD 1

1. Blue Blooded Woman
2. Here in the Real World
3. Wanted
4. Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow
5. I’d Love You All Over Again
6. Don’t Rock the Jukebox
7. Someday
8. Dallas
9. Midnight in Montgomery
10. Love’s Got a Hold on You
11. She’s Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)
12. Tonight I Climbed the Wall
13. Chattahoochee
14. Mercury Blues
15. (Who Says) You Can’t Have It All
16. Summertime Blues
17. Gone Country
18. Born Too Late (previously unreleased)
19. If Tears Could Talk (previously unreleased)
20. Seven Bridges Road – Live (previously unreleased)

CD 2

1. Livin’ on Love
2. I Don’t Even Know Your Name
3. Tall, Tall Trees
4. I’ll Try
5. Home
6. Little Bitty
7. Who’s Cheatin’ Who
8. There Goes
9. Between the Devil and Me
10. A House with No Curtains
11. I’ll Go On Loving You
12. Right on the Money
13. Gone Crazy
14. Little Man
15. Pop a Top
16. The Blues Man
17. It Must Be Love
18. Wings (previously unreleased)
19. Seguro Que Hell Yes (previously unreleased)
20. The Star Spangled Banner (previously unreleased)

CD 3

1. Where I Come From
2. When Somebody Loves You
3. Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)
4. Drive (For Daddy Gene)
5. Work in Progress
6. That’d Be Alright
7. It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere – with Jimmy Buffett
8. Remember When
9. Too Much of a Good Thing
10. Monday Morning Church
11. Like Red on a Rose
12. A Woman’s Love
13. Small Town Southern Man
14. Good Time
15. Country Boy
16. Sissy’s Song
17. As She’s Walking Away – The Zac Brown Band feat. Alan Jackson
18. Love is Hard (previously unreleased)
19. Ain’t Just a Southern Thing (previously unreleased)

CD 1, Tracks 1-5 from Here in the Real World, Arista Nashville 8623, 1990
CD 1, Tracks 6-10 from Don’t Rock the Jukebox, Arista Nashville 8681, 1991
CD 1, Tracks 11-15 from A Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ‘Bout Love), Arista Nashville 18711, 1992
CD 1, Tracks 16-17 & CD 2, Tracks 1-2 from Who I Am, Arista Nashville 18765, 1994
CD 2, Tracks 3-5 from The Greatest Hits Collection, Arista Nashville 18801, 1995
CD 2, Tracks 6-10 from Everything I Love, Arista Nashville 18813, 1996
CD 2, Tracks 11-14 from High Mileage, Arista Nashville 18864, 1998
CD 2, Tracks 15-17 from Under the Influence, Arista Nashville 18892, 1999
CD 3, Tracks 1-2 from When Somebody Loves You, Arista Nashville 69335, 2000
CD 3, Tracks 3-6 from Drive, Arista Nashville 67039, 2002
CD 3, Tracks 7-8 from Greatest Hits Volume II and Some Other Stuff, Arista Nashville 53097, 2003
CD 3, Tracks 9-10 from What I Do, Arista Nashville 63101, 2004
CD 3, Tracks 11-12 from Like Red on a Rose, Arista Nashville 88172, 2006
CD 3, Tracks 13-16 from Good Time, Arista Nashville 19943, 2008
CD 3, Track 19 from 34 Number Ones, Arista Nashville 88697 78681, 2010