Alan Jackson Was Originally Offered “Chicken Fried” But He Turned It Down

Alan Jackson / YouTube

Every now and again, a song comes along that leaves fans begging for more. From modern day country to classic crooners, every genre can relate. While country music is home to an array of chart-topping hits, one special song kick-started this band’s career and it surprisingly almost wasn’t theirs to begin with. Would you believe us if we told you Zac Brown Band‘s “Chicken Fried” was almost recorded by your favorite country legend?

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Behind The Song

The 2008 hit, “Chicken Fried” tells the story of the simple things in life. Released by the Zac Brown Band, it would soon become the beginning of their highly-successful career as a band. After reaching No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, it reached a 6x platinum status. Little did the band members know, that this would be the first of their 13 No. 1s.

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“Chicken Fried” was co-written by the band’s frontman, Zac Brown and songwriter, Wyatt Durrette. Originally, the song was recorded in 2006 but was quickly withdrawn from the radio. Instead, one country legend was inches away from making the song his own.

The Big Decision

Country music legend, Alan Jackson remembers the time that his producer played him “Chicken Fried” before the Zac Brown Band even had a record deal. He told The Boot,

“I liked the song, but I told him, ‘Man I just had a song about cornbread and chicken, and I had a song about bologna. Every album I’ve got has these songs about food, so I just don’t think I want to do one about chicken fried right now.'” Jackson admitted, “In retrospect, I should have done it.”

To no surprise, Brown loved the idea of Jackson recording the song, explaining “He’s a legend. He’s welcome to any song I have.”

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Turns out, Brown and Jackson have been fans of one another since the beginning! The country legend spoke highly of the band saying,

“I love those guys, they’re the real deal. I’m glad that song worked good for them and become their first hit.”

Looks like it worked out just the way it was supposed to in the end. Listen to the feel good song, “Chicken Fried” below.