Loretta Lynn returns after stroke to honor Alan Jackson

Country star Alan Jackson, the late guitarist and singer Jerry Reed and songwriter Don Schlitz were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. Country icon Loretta Lynn returned to the Hall of Fame for the first time since she suffered a stroke in May to formally induct Jackson. Lynn, who cancelled her tour dates this year to recover, said Jackson was the only person that could make her leave her house.

She recalled meeting Jackson when he was a nervous young artist decades ago and knowing then that he would “be one of the greatest singers in country music.” “He hadn’t let me down,” said Lynn, who is also a member of the Hall of Fame. The 59-year-old Jackson is still one of country music’s most successful solo artists, having sold nearly 45 million albums in the United States and had 26 singles reach the top of the Billboard country charts.

With his baritone voice and knack for telling stories about small town Southern life, the Newnan, Georgia-born singer was among a wave of neo-traditionalists that broke through in the 1990s. He joked that when he was signed to Arista Nashville, a label started by Clive Davis, they had no idea how popular he would become. “I was just a token country singer they signed for that label and bam, I took off,” Jackson said. Many of his hits became instant classics, from the barroom staple “Chattahoochee” to the somber “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” written after the Sept 11 attacks. But he’s also been characterized as shy and uneasy in the media spotlight.

“I am not really shy, just socially awkward,” Jackson said. “I just don’t like to talk too much.” Instead, he let his songs speak for him, often writing about his father, his wife and the everyday joys and sorrows of the average man. Other hits include “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “A Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ‘Bout Love)” and “When Somebody Loves You.” George Strait, Alison Krauss and Lee Ann Womack each performed one of Jackson’s songs in his honor.

Reed, who died at age 71 in 2008, was first known as an in-demand studio musician with a unique finger picking style on the guitar. He played for and wrote songs for stars like Elvis Presley and Porter Wagoner. Reed, originally from Atlanta, became more popular when his songs began charting. His hit song “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” earned him a Grammy award. —AP