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Kenny Chesney must be stewing. The cowrie shell, black-hat-wearing country star thrives on all things beach and Jimmy Buffett (see the song “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems”). For crying out loud, the guy’s new album is called All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan.
So Chesney, you figure, has to be jealous that his mustachioed forebear Alan Jackson has unsurprisingly one-upped him. Jackson and Mr. Margaritaville himself have teamed up for the smart-ass drinking-song duet “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere.” The No. 1 country hit song marks the first time since 1962 that a duet has spent eight weeks in the top spot.
“It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” may seem out of sorts for Jackson, but he has interspersed his tongue-in-cheek humor within his serious side throughout his career. Known for his suave, low-key personality, Jackson is just “a singer of simple songs,” as he so deftly sings in the September 11 ode “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” Jackson also uses his honky-tonk sensibilities in “Where I Come From,” in which he brags about the cornbread and chicken in his hometown.
The key to Jackson’s success is that he doesn’t ride on anyone else’s coattails or adopt someone else’s personality — ahem, hear that one, Kenny? Alan Jackson is just Alan Jackson.
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