On This Day in 2008, Alan Jackson Released the Hit Album ‘Good Time’

On this day (March 4) in 2008, Alan Jackson released Good Time, his 15th studio album. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and produced three chart-topping singles. It was also the first album on which Jackson wrote all of the songs.

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Jackson released his debut album Here in the Real World in 1990 and immediately became a dominant force in country music. Many of his contemporaries’ careers lost steam as the ’90s faded into the new millennium. However, Jackson remained popular among fans and critics well into the first decade of the 21st century. In fact, he released five albums between 2000 and 2010 and they all went to No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Three of the five reached the top of the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Good Time debuted at the top of the all-genre chart.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1995 Alan Jackson Scored His 10th No. 1 Single with “Gone Country”]

Jackson made a name for himself as a songwriter early in his career. He wrote or co-wrote many of his biggest career hits. However, his albums also featured outside songs and covers. Good Time features 17 songs that he penned solo. There are no co-writers, outside cuts, or covers on the record. As a result, the 17-track collection gives a closer look into the mind of the country superstar.

Alan Jackson Scores Hits with Good Time

Alan Jackson released five singles from Good Time. The first three singles brought him a run of No. 1 hits.

“Small Town Southern Man” was the album’s lead single. Released in 2007, it was Jackson’s first trip to the top of the country chart since releasing “Remember When” in 2003. The album’s title track and “Country Boy” followed in 2008, giving the singer/songwriter two more No. 1 singles and his first run of more than two consecutive chart-toppers since the mid-’90s.

In an interview, Jackson said he had misgivings about the number of songs on Good Time. However, he was confident that his fans would enjoy it.“Sometimes I think it might be a little bit too much music for people to listen to. It’s hard to sit down and listen to 17 songs that you’ve never heard and absorb it all. But I think over time people who buy the album will be able to pick the ones off there they really like,” he said. “There’s a mixture of styles and subjects on there. So, hopefully they find something on there to like,” he added.

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