Alan Jackson Didn’t Think His Iconic Single “Chattahoochee” Would Be A Hit: “Learned Quick That Everybody Has A Chattahoochee”

You always hear that whenever an artist says they knew something would be a hit, it's bullsh*t, but it's hard to believe that Alan Jackson didn't think "Chattahoochee" would be popular . The third single off Jackson's third studio record, A Lot About Livin' (And A Little 'Bout Love), was released on May 17, 1993. "Chattahoochee" is one of Jackson's most upbeat songs and hands down, one of his most (if not the most) well-known songs out of his catalog. Written alongside James McBride, the catchy ditty details being young and falling in love during the summer. The man who narrates the song is hanging out on the bank of the Chattahoochee River, whose banks form the southern border between Alabama and Georgia. While Jackson knew when he wrote the song that those who lived in the Peach State would appreciate the ballad, because the song was so region-specific, he did not think those who lived outside of the South (or Georgia in general) would get down to the tune. In 2023, Jackson appeared on his daughter's podcast, In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson , and opened up to his daughter about how he thought the song would be anything but a hit. “A lot of my songs I write out of my life are true experiences, but at the same time they relate to other people. … When we cut that, it was a fun, uptempo thing about coming [of] age. I thought, ‘Well yeah, it’s a fun song and I like it, and people in Georgia are gonna like it. Nobody in the rest of the country, the rest of the world, don’t know what it is or care about it.'” But after three decades of the song being one of his most streamed, Jackson noted that he quickly realized the physical setting of "Chattahoochee" was a formality, and everyone had a river bank or lake that leads to memories described in the song. “I learned right quick that everybody has a Chattahoochee. It might be called something else, or might not even be a river at all, but the story was something people could relate to in their life, wherever they were from. So you just never know.” "Chattahoochee" definitely proved Jackson wrong. It sat at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Chart for four weeks and won him the CMA Awards for Single of the Year and Song of the Year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW5UEW2kYvc Alan Jackson is currently on his final tour, Last Call: One More For The Road Tour , so if you're hoping to hear this iconic track and more, be sure to grab tickets for a city near you.

Alan Jackson Tour Dates

Saturday, September 28 Fayetteville, AR (Bud Walton Arena) Saturday, October 26 Kansas City, MO (T-Mobile Center) Saturday, November 16 Salt Lake City, UT (Delta Center) Saturday, January 18 Oklahoma City, OK (Paycom Center) Saturday, February 15 Fort Worth, TX (Dickies Arena) Friday, March 7 Orlando, FL (Kia Center) Saturday, April 26 Tampa, FL (Amalie Arena) Saturday, May 17 Milwaukee, WI (Fiserv Forum) And if you want to embrace your inner Chattahoochee, we've got you covered at the Whiskey Riff Shop . https://www.instagram.com/p/C_ygvR8PEqZ/