A sobering reflection on one of the most tragic days in American history.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001, and none other than country music’s own Alan Jackson delivered one of the most heartbreaking, poignant songs about that tragic day, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” which led to a legendary performance just months after the attacks.
On October 28, 2001, just a little over the week before Alan was scheduled to perform his current single “Where I Come From” on the CMA Awards, he had woken up in the middle of the night with an idea for a song. He got out of bed, and sang the chorus into a handheld recorder – while he was still in his underwear – so he wouldn’t forget it:
“I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I could tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran…”
He stayed home the next day and finished the song, but he had no plans or desire to record it. Speaking on the song, Alan said he wanted to try to put into words how he was feeling as he saw the second plane hit:
“I didn’t want to write a patriotic song. And I didn’t want it to be vengeful, either. But I didn’t want to forget about how I felt and how I knew other people felt that day.”
And he was initially hesitant to record it, because he didn’t want it to seem like he was capitalizing on the tragedy. But when he played the song for his record label, they told him he had to record it. According to RCA chair Joe Galante:
“We just kind of looked at one another. Nobody spoke for a full minute.”
And Jackson reluctantly agreed, realizing it was a song that the world needed to hear at a painful time.
“I’m glad that people like it, but I’m a little nervous about the attention. I think it was Hank Williams who said, ‘God writes the songs, I just hold the pen.’ That’s the way I felt with this song.”
When the time came, Alan took the stage, seated in front of a full orchestra, and delivered the first-ever performance of “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” in front of a grieving country, giving a legendary performance.
And today, in honor of the 25-year anniversary, his label released a new live recording of “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” which was filmed on June 27th at his final concert, Last Call: One More for the Road, in Nashville at Nissan Stadium.
Jackson reflected on what that song meant, and still means to him, all these years later, saying he never thought it would become what it has because he never thought people would “want to keep thinking about that.” But ever since he put it out, it’s become a fan-favorite at his concerts and he says he continued to play it all those years for his fans:
“I was so nervous about putting it out. Even after we did, I thought we would perform it for a little while and then it would just go away. I didn’t feel like people would want to keep thinking about that.
But ever since, I see people waiting on that song in the crowd… and I know I have to do it for them.”
Of the aforementioned CMA Awards performance, Jackson says it was a very emotional moment, but he was “proud” he did it:
“Doing ‘Where Were You’ for the first time was so emotional for me. I was proud I did, though… and it’s one I feel like a lot of people want to hear.”
It’s just incredible to think about the lasting impact of this song, and after the CMA Awards telecast at the time, tons of radio stations played the audio next day, so much so that it debuted on the country charts.
Of course, it was subsequently nominated for countless awards, including the CMA, ACM and Grammy Awards, where it was nominated as all-genre Song of the Year. Its words have been read into the Congressional Record, and Alan was asked to sing it in New York City on the six-month anniversary of 9/11, during observances at The Pentagon on the one-year anniversary, and at the Kennedy Center for an official Washington, DC event attended by the president and members of Congress marking the 10th anniversary in 2011.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of what he created with “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” and it’s a fitting tribute once again for him to release this live version on a milestone anniversary, in what was also the last-ever live performance he’ll give of it.
The full concert is set to air in December as an NBC TV special, and will also be released as a live album, Alan Jackson: The Last Show One More for the Road – The Finale (Live from Nashville).
It’s just beautiful, and you can listen here:
If you’ve never seen the CMA Awards performance, you can watch it here:
