On this day (October 5) in 1992, Alan Jackson released “She’s Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)” as the lead single from A Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ‘bout Love). Later that year, it became Jackson’s sixth No. 1. He co-wrote the song with fellow neotraditional country star Randy Travis while they were on tour together the previous year.
By the early 1990s, both Jackson and Travis had proven themselves to be expert songwriters. Both artists had already sent multiple songs they had written to the top of the country chart. In 1991, they toured together. In their downtime between shows, they wrote some songs together. One of them was “She’s Got the Rhythm (I’ve Got the Blues).”
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In a social media post, Travis recalled writing the song with Jackson in his tour bus in Columbus, Ohio. However, neither of them planned to cut the song.“We initially intended to pitch the track to blues legend B.B. King,” he revealed. “But Alan decided to record it as a massive 1990s country hit and I’m sure glad he did.”
Alan Jackson Recalls Meeting Randy Travis
When Alan Jackson first came to Nashville, he worked in the mail room at TNN. At the same time, Randy Travis was working at the Nashville Palace not far away. He washed dishes and sang at the club until after his career took off. That’s where the two stars met.
“The month I moved to Nashville, September 1985, I went over to the Palace and ‘On the Other Hand’ or ’1982,’ I can’t remember, was out at that time,” he recalled. “[Travis] was still singing and washing dishes over there. I met him in the crowd one night. I was just in awe. Somebody had a record deal and record out, and he was just so nice,” he added. “What I like about him is, this last year on tour with him, he’s the same guy he was five years ago.”
Featured Image by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
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