Alan Jackson Swimming In "Gravy"

Alan Jackson performs at the Nightly Concert on the Vault Concert Stage LP Field Saturday, June 7 in Downtown Nashville during the 2008 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: John Russell / CMA

Nov. 5, 2008 — Alan Jackson has four nominations for next week’s Country Music Association Awards, which makes him one of the leading contenders for the evening.

And the CMAs have become quite familiar to Alan. After all, he’s been nominated for the organization’s honors a whopping 79 times in his career — more than any artist in history. He’s won some, and he’s lost plenty, and at this point in time, whether he gets a trophy or not isn’t quite as important as it used to be.

"There’s no doubt I’ve been very lucky at the awards shows over the years," he says. "The CMA, I remember the days when early in the career, I’d be nominated five, seven times, and then I’d leave with nothin.’ There was a lot goin’ on at that time, and everybody kept sayin’, ‘Next year is your year.’ I’ve done it all and won it all, and the rest of it’s just gravy. From here on, it really is still a privilege to be included after all this time. I feel that way about the awards shows, but it’s hard [to comprehend]. I mean, I came here however long ago it was, 20-somethin' years; to think I’d be the most-nominated artist here, it was unimaginable."

From his 79 nominations, Alan’s actually collected 16 CMA trophies. This year’s four nominations include Male Vocalist of the Year; Album, for Good Time; and Single and Music Video, both for "Good Time."

Alan is set to perform on the 42nd annual show Nov. 12. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will co-host the ceremony on ABC from Nashville’s Sommet Center.