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Alan Jackson Is the Ultimate Cowboy in Legendary Vintage Photo

Most fans know Alan Jackson for his great songwriting and stellar voice. After all, he penned or co-penned the majority of his songs. He tends to write from his life. As a result, he writes about long-lasting love, small-town life, working hard, and having a good time after the work is done. He doesn’t have many songs about being a cowboy. However, the outfit he’s rocking in this throwback photo makes him look like he’d be more comfortable on a horse or in a saloon than on a stage.

Alan Jackson posted the photo earlier today with the caption, “Did someone say #ThrowbackThursday?”

In the photo, Alan Jackson looks like he just stepped off the set of a Clint Eastwood movie. The cowboy hat and matching duster jacket are a throwback to the wildest days of the West. In fact, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a heavy six-gun in a worn holster hanging at his hip under that jacket.

While many “Throwback Thursday,” pictures look dated, this one doesn’t. With this post, Alan Jackson proved that the western look is timeless. It just goes to show that the classics never go out of style.

An Alan Jackson Throwback of Our Own

Something about Alan Jackson’s post makes brings classic country music to mind. Maybe it’s the timelessness of the photo. On the other hand, it could be the cowboy aesthetic itself. Either way, that’s where my mind went as soon as I saw it.

It doesn’t take much to connect Alan Jackson to classic country, but there is one song in his catalog that stands out. “Midnight in Montgomery,” is about meeting the ghost of Hank Williams while visiting his grave one night. As far as classic country goes, it doesn’t get much better than Hank Sr.

Alan Jackson co-penned the song with Don Sampson after he visited Hank Sr.’s grave late one night in Montgomery, Alabama. He said there was an odd feeling in the air as he knelt beside the legend’s grave. As a result, he imagined Hank’s ghost standing in the shadows watching him.

There are several references to Williams throughout the song. For instance, Alan Jackson sings about traveling to a big New Year’s Eve show when he stopped to pay his respects. That would put the visit on the anniversary of Hank’s death. Additionally, Jackson pulls lyrics from “So Lonesome I Could Cry,” for the final verse of the song.

Jackson released “Midnight in Montgomery,” in April of 1992 as the fourth single from Don’t Rock the Jukebox. It peaked at number three on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.