On This Day in 1996, Alan Jackson Appeared on an Award-Winning Sitcom To Perform a Fitting Hit

On this day (February 20) in 1996, Home Improvement viewers tuned in to watch the episode “When Harry Kept Dolores.” That night, they didn’t just get a plot about Tim trying to fix Harry and Dolores’ relationship. They were also treated to a performance from Alan Jackson. It was the perfect combination: one of the biggest country stars of the day appearing on one of the biggest TV shows.

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When it comes to sitcoms in the 1990s, few shows could match Home Improvement in popularity. It was one of the most-watched sitcoms of the decade and won multiple awards. Additionally, it was consistently the No. 1 show on ABC throughout its eight-season run. At the time, Jackson was seeing the same level of success.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1991, Alan Jackson Released His First No. 1 Song—an Anniversary Gift He Penned for His Wife During a Rainy Hotel Stay]

In 1996, Jackson had already topped the country chart with classics like “I’d Love You All Over Again,” “Don’t Rock the Jukebox,” “Chattahoochee,” and “Summertime Blues.” He hadn’t missed the top 10 with a single since his 1989 debut cut, “Blue Blooded Woman.” He had notched a total of 21 hits. “Song for the Life” was his only single to miss the top five. It peaked at No. 6. He had also won several awards, including CMA Entertainer of the Year, and had earned multiple Platinum certifications from the RIAA.

In short, both Jackson and Home Improvements were huge in 1996. Combining the two brought two massive audiences that already had some crossover even closer together.

Alan Jackson Performs a Throwback Hit

In February 1996, “I’ll Try” from The Greatest Hits Collection was making its way to the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. Later in the year, he would begin promoting his next studio album, Everything I Love. However, when he took the Tool Time stage on Home Improvement, he performed his 1993 No. 2 hit “Mercury Blues.”

Alan Jackson’s version of “Mercury Blues” was already three years old when he performed it on Home Improvement. The song was much older than that, though. According to Songfacts, K.C. Douglas and Robert Geddins, a pair of blues musicians, wrote the song in 1949. Originally titled “Mercury Boogie,” the song was inspired by the Mercury Eight, the car driven by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.

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