Leave it to Chief to put a new spin on an old classic.
For my money, Alan Jackson is one of the best to ever do this thing called country music. Granted, I was born in the late ’80s so I’m well aware of how much nostalgia plays a part in that. Nevertheless, the ’90s country era is near and dear to my heart, and Alan Jackson is a cornerstone of it.
He was honored last month during the 17th Annual ACM Honors Ceremony, held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was presented with the ACM Poet’s Award. That honor is presented to a country music songwriter for “outstanding and longstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their career, with special consideration given to a song or songs’ impact on the culture of Country Music.”
The ceremony aired tonight, which means we finally get to share some of it with our loyal readers, and one of the immediate highlights for me is Eric Church’s unique arrangement of the 1990 hit “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.”
Just Eric and an acoustic guitar, he delivered a performance of the song unlike any I’ve ever heard before. Written by Alan Jackson himself, along with Jim McBride, it was originally released in September of 1990 as the fourth single from Jackson’s debut album, Here in the Real World.
Just one more reason nobody does it quite like Eric Church does it:
Following the performance, Alan accepted the award and even praised Eric’s arrangement:
“Thank you Eric, that was a very cool rendition of ol’ ‘Neon Rainbow.’ Got a little new life to her, that was wonderful, thank you.”
Alan went on to say that it even brought a tear to his eye to think back on when he first wrote it, nearly 40 years ago:
“I’ve always put songwriting at the top of my list when it comes to making music and hearing that song tonight, that made me tear up back there… it was such a soulful rendition but it brought back a lot of memories. Jim McBride and I wrote that song almost 40 years ago down on Music Row.”