A sometimes forgotten fact.
On Saturday, the country music world came together at Nissan Stadium in Nashville to honor Alan Jackson with his star-studded Last Call: One More For the Road – The Finale concert. The concert immediately became one of the hottest tickets of the year — the stadium was packed, the streets were packed, a big video board was placed on Broadway for a public showing. Just about everybody in business showed up to send off one of the best to ever play the game.
Along with Alan, the show featured an all-star lineup of Eric Church, George Strait, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Riley Green, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi, Thomas Rhett, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson and Lee Ann Womack
Of course, the living legend wrapped up his career by performing a plethora of career-defining tracks such as “Chattahoochee,” “Drive (For Daddy Gene),” “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning),” “Remember When” and an additional 21 other hits throughout his illustrious career.
Given how lengthy Jackson’s career accolades are, which include 19 ACM Awards, 17 CMA Awards, two Grammys, 50 Top 10 hits and 35 #1 hits, he couldn’t perform every hit. Because of this, Church, Johnson, Combs and the rest of the star-studded cast handled some of his lesser-known hits and a few deep cuts.
In particular, Pardi’s performance of “She Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)” brought about an incredibly touching moment for Randy Travis, who was in attendance in a suite.
@randy.travisWhat a night at Alan’s final concert! Alan & I wrote “She’s Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)” in 1991 together on my tour bus in Columbus, Ohio! We initially intended to pitch the track to blues legend B.B. King. But, Alan decided to record it as a massive 1990s country hit and I’m sure glad he did!!!!
Though both Travis and Jackson were nothing short of pillars of the genre in the ’90s and beyond, the two shockingly never officially collaborated on a song together throughout their careers. With that being said, however, the two co-wrote multiple songs together. The biggest was none other than “She’s Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues).”
As the story goes, the pair wrote the song while they were out on the road together back in 1991 during Travis’ High Lonesome Tour. After writing the track during a stop in Columbus, Ohio, they actually intended to pitch it to the late blues legend B.B. King thanks to its heavy blues and R&B influences.
Despite this, Jackson ended up recording it for himself, and it paid dividends. Being selected as the lead single for Jackson’s iconic 1992 album, A Lot about Livin’ (and a Little ’bout Love), “She’s Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)” quickly climbed the charts and became the Georgia native’s sixth career hit in December of 1992.
This isn’t the only track the two living legends have penned together, however. The two also wrote Travis’ #1 hit, “Forever Together,” the #2 single, “Better Class of Losers” and the Top 20 entry, “I’d Surrender All,” all of which appeared on the “Three Wooden Crosses” singer’s 1991 album, High Lonesome.
“She Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)”
Randy Travis Tour Dates
Aug. 21 – Hiawassee, GA – Georgia Mountain Fall Festival – Anderson Music Hall
Aug. 22 – Richmond, KY – The Vine at Chenault Vineyards
Sept. 23 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
Sept. 24 – Lansdowne, PA – Lansdowne Theater
Sept. 25 – Westbury, NY – Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair
Sept. 26 – York, PA – Pullo Center
Sept. 27 – Albany, NY – The Egg Performing Arts Center
Oct. 1 – New London, CT – Garde Arts Center
Oct. 2 – Keene, NH – Colonial Theatre
Oct. 3 – Plymouth, MA – Plymouth Memorial Hall
Oct. 4 – Northampton, MA – Academy of Music Theatre
Oct. 14 – Austin, TX – The Long Center for the Performing Arts
Oct. 15 – Dallas, TX – Longhorn Ballroom
Oct. 22 – Lubbock, TX – Buddy Holly Hall
Oct. 23 – Albuquerque, NM – Popejoy Theatre
Oct. 24 – Pueblo, CO – Pueblo Memorial Hall
Nov. 6 – Oklahoma City, OK – Civic Center Music Hall
Nov. 7 – Topeka, KS – Topeka Performing Arts Center
Nov. 8 – Branson, MO – Clay Cooper Theatre
