Alan Jackson is the patriarch of a family of five, including his wife Denise and his three daughters Mattie, Ali and Dani. Even though his daughters are grown, his family still stick to their Christmas traditions.

“Christmas is pretty traditional. We don’t let anybody open any presents until Christmas morning,” says Alan. “We don’t let them get up on their own and take off, you know, everybody has to wait and kind of get situated, and maybe have a cup of coffee, and then we start all of the regular Christmas morning activities, opening presents, taking pictures and video. We have music going, you know, I try to keep Christmas music going in the background. I like to turn that on before I let them come down to the tree and everything.”

Alan has partnered with Ply Gem Industries as the ambassador for their “Home for Good Project” to build more than 300 homes across the U.S. with Habitat for Humanity. As ambassador, Alan will help raise awareness through his fan base, social media following and support in a local Builders Blitz event in Nashville, scheduled to coincide with the 2016 CMA Music Festival in June 2016.

Holiday liners from UMG Nashville artists, including Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, David Nail, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Gary Allan, George Strait, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Kelleigh Bannen, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Mickey, Sam Hunt, Scotty McCreery and more!

The Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth, in the state that’s now known as Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s. People now celebrate the holiday by giving thanks for their blessings over the past year, as well as feasting on turkey and other festive goodies.

Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 26th, and most people will be enjoying time with their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, David Nail, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Josh Turner, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt, Scotty McCreery and more. They share their thoughts, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

Alan Jackson is partnering with Ply Gem Industries as the ambassador for their “Home for Good Project” to build more than 300 homes across the U.S. with Habitat for Humanity. As ambassador, Alan will help raise awareness through his fan base, social media following and support in a local Builders Blitz event in Nashville, scheduled to coincide with the 2016 CMA Music Festival in June 2016. The “Home for Good Project” is grounded in Alan’s song “You Can Always Come Home” from his recently released album Angels & Alcohol. The song is the anthem that will be played throughout the program to remind individuals the importance of having a place to call home.

The first phase of the program, kicking off today, is Alan Jackson’s ‘You Can Always Come Home’ for the Holidays Contest with Ply Gem, where two grand prize winners will receive paid airfare for two to be with family for the holidays. The two-week contest will award additional prizes throughout the duration of the program. Visit http://bit.ly/AJHomeForTheHolidays to enter for a chance to win and for the full contest rules and regulations.

“I’m honored to partner with Ply Gem and Habitat for Humanity on their goal to build 300 homes,” shared Jackson. “Everyone deserves a place they can call home.”

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to put Ply Gem’s products, including performance siding, windows, stone and trim, to support families and communities across the country. Projects of this magnitude, demonstrating unity and passion toward an incredible cause, will no doubt be successful and change lives,” says Gary E. Robinette, Chairman and CEO, Ply Gem. “We are motivated by Habitat for Humanity’s mission of bringing people together to build in partnership and are proud of our alignment with country music icon Alan Jackson. His personal motivation to communicate what home means through his music is now the foundation for the “Home for Good Project.”

The “Home for Good Project” is a multi-year initiative that includes a donation of over $1 Million worth of exterior building products and funds for Habitat for Humanity to use to help families build more than 300 homes throughout the year. In addition, Ply Gem will be the presenting sponsor of Habitat’s Home Builders Blitz, which brings together Habitat for Humanity affiliates and professional builders to build and renovate homes across the United States. The company will support the project with advertising and social media initiatives to encourage its associates, the building industry—including distributors, builders and remodelers—as well as consumers across the country to volunteer in their communities.

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“Hey! This is Clare Dunn, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”

Halloween is Saturday, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes, and they also recall memories of Halloweens past.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (September 15, 2015) – Country superstar and Grand Ole Opry member Alan Jackson continues his 25th Anniversary celebration by playing two shows at the Grand Ole Opry on October 6th in honor and celebration of the Opry’s 90th Anniversary. Jackson, a member since 1991, has said, “The ultimate dream when you’re in the country music is to be asked to join the Grand Ole Opry.” The occasion also celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Jackson’s Grand Ole Opry debut. For tickets and contest information go to
http://www.opry.com/alan-jackson.

“Since making his Opry debut 25 years ago, Alan Jackson has written and recorded songs that will go down as true country music classics,” said Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher. “We are excited to hear some of those great songs and welcome Alan home to the Opry stage next month.”

Jackson has been on a coast-to-coast 25th Anniversary KEEPIN’ IT COUNTRY TOUR and just released his 15th studio album, the No. 1 selling Angels and Alcohol, heralded as “his best in years,” with a major media blitz that included features and performances on NPR, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, TONIGHT SHOW starring Jimmy Fallon and a live performance on the Toyota Summer Concert Series on NBC’s TODAY.

Angels and Alcohol came 25 years after his debut landmark album Here In The Real World. Since the release of Here In The Real World, Jackson not only became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, but has gone on to release 22 albums including two Christmas albums, two gospel albums, three Greatest Hits collections and a Bluegrass album which included standards and eight original songs written by Jackson.

Among others scheduled for the night’s two shows are Miranda Lambert, Marty Stuart, Del McCoury Band, and Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers.

On September 11, 2001, the world changed forever with the devastating attacks on both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” embodied the thoughts and feelings of millions in the wake of the events that took place 14 years ago.

There is audio from country superstar Alan Jackson sharing memories and thoughts on the events of September 11, 2001 and discussing his song, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” as well as remembrances from Lady Antebellum and Eric Church.

The chorus and melody of “Where Were You…” came to Jackson in the middle of the night several weeks after the 9/11 tragedies. He awoke…sang the words into a recorder and wrote down key elements of the chorus…and completed the lyrics and verses later that same day. Initially reluctant to record the song, he was convinced by family and friends to share it with the world and debuted “Where Were You…” live on national television in early November at the 35th annual CMA Awards.

For many decades, Labor Day was seen as a day for workers to voice their complaints and discuss better working conditions and pay.

U.S. Congress declared Labor Day a national holiday in 1894, and on Monday, September 7th, we will once again celebrate the people in every occupation whose work and dedication make this nation great. Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers.

Labor Day weekend also signals the unofficial end to summer, and many of the hottest country stars are taking a look back at some of the toughest jobs they had prior to making their mark in music or their dream job now.

AUDIO: Alan Jackson says that working man values have always been a part of his music.

AJ (working people songs) OC: … appreciate that. :28
“I’ve always written songs and recorded songs, other people’s songs, about workin’ people, and workin’, the workin’ life ’cause I mean, that’s where I’m from. I mean, I worked…I’d already had jobs and worked as a grown person before I ever even thought about bein’ in the music business, so I come from that background, and…although I hadn’t had a job in a long time (laughs), I still remember a lot about it, you know, and I remember what the lifestyle is, and I still appreciate that.”

Billy Currington recalls some of the jobs he had before landing his record deal in 2003.

Billy Currington (Labor Day) OC: …record deal. :40
“I started working like at [age] 12, landscaping. This was summer, every summers, and roofing. I started when I was about 16 roofing houses, and that was probably one of my toughest jobs because down there in south Georgia, it gets hot, so doing that every day all summer long. The pawn shop when I moved to Nashville was one of my favorites, even though it was one of my least favorites. The concrete job was my least favorite of all – six years of that, and I couldn’t take it no more. After that job, that was my turning point. Either I’m going to do something else for a living [laughs] or quit and try to really focus on music and get this record deal.”

Canaan Smith talks about the bad jobs he had before signing a publishing deal and later a record deal.

Canaan Smith (worst jobs) OC: …of that. [laughs] :54
“I’ve had some terrible jobs. I was a janitor for a while, and I mopped floors, vacuums all kinds of, picking up dog poop, taking out trash, just basically somebody’s beyatch [laughs], that was my job. I did that for two-and-a-half years before I signed a publishing deal. Before that, actually my very first job, I got fired from. It was some sort of candy/chocolate store. My mom dropped me off one time, and I went to work and I was like I think I can do this, and then two shifts later I just didn’t show up because I didn’t understand the concept of having to look at a schedule to see when you come in. I just didn’t show. I just thought they’d call me, ‘Hey, we need you to come in.’ I didn’t know. I was 15 years old, and never worked and that kind of stuff. I always cut grass when I was a kid and cleaned golf clubs – whatever I could do to make some money. But, yeah, I got fired from my first job. I’m pretty proud of that.” [laughs]

Darius Rucker recalls one of his worst jobs before turning to music.

Darius Rucker (Labor Day) OC: …pizza. :15
“I was fifteen, and I worked at a pizza place, and the guy decided that at fifteen, that I could not only clean the floors and wash the dishes, but I also had to make pizza. So, for two months, he taught me how to make pizza.”

David Nail recalls his first job at Dairy Queen.

David Nail (Labor Day) OC: …Dilly Bar. :32
“The first job that I ever had was working at Dairy Queen. One of my very best friends in the world’s mother purchased a franchise, so it was kinda a cool place to work. You put me in an ice cream place, it’s a recipe for disaster. So, Kathy Jeffers, her mother tends to tell people it was a ‘mutual separation,’ but I can vividly remember her saying that they were going to lose money if they continued to let me work, because I was eating more food than I was selling. But, it was a great two days that I spent there, and I had many a Dilly Bar.”

Dierks Bentley makes a living performing for his fans, and he can’t say enough about them.

Dierks Bentley (Labor Day) OC: …generosity. :26
“Personally, the fans give me amazement. That’s the only word to really sum it up. I look out in the crowd, you know, usually see a lot of faces and fans are cheering. I know each one of these like from the road-the signs are from California…Michelle and Kayla live up in the Ohio area. They’re all, I just see them, and I’m like, ‘Wow!,’ they’re all from different regions. You know when you’re in a different region of the country and you just see certain fans. These people are way more hard core than I am, and I’m just amazed by their generosity.”

Eric Church talks about one of his worst job.

Eric Church (Labor Day-odd jobs) OC: …bought at 2am. 1:27
“I had an awful job. I’ve had a lot of awful jobs…my worst one was when I first came to Nashville. I got a job at the Shop at Home Network. I worked midnight, graveyard, midnight to eight. That was bad enough but then I would work all night, go home, shower and then I had writing appointments all day because I was trying to get a career started. I’d go write songs and get meetings just trying to get signed. And end up getting done at 3 of 4 with all of that, I’d go home, take a shower or sleep for a little bit and then I had to be at work again at midnight. So the schedule was bad enough, however, what I had to do at the job…I sold knives from midnight to 7 or 8am. And, anytime somebody calls you at 3 or 4am and needs 200 knives for $19.95, it’s automatically an alarming situation. And I just, I was young and I’d been in a lot of these people’s shoes, I had done this…I knew they were drunk. I knew what they had done. They’d just come home from the bar, flipped on Shop at Home and said, ‘You know what? I need that.’ So the reason the job didn’t last long for me is that I was maybe the worst salesmen in history because I ended up talking a lot of these people out of it, I’d say, ‘I’ll tell you what man, go to bed, call me, I’ll be here in the morning. If you get up in the morning and want these knives you call me back.’ Because I knew what was going to happen, you know. They bought 200 knives for $19.95…first of all some of these people you didn’t know whether you should call the cops. What do you need 200 knives for? Even though I’m selling them…what do you need them for? So, it was awful doing that job. And then they got rid of me because, they were like, ‘You’re the worst. I can’t believe you’re talking people out of it.’ I was like, ‘Man I know…I’ve been there.’ [laughs] I’d want some to talk me out of buying some of the stuff I’ve bought at 2am.”

Eric Paslay talks about his first job…printing logos on fanny packs.

Eric Paslay (Labor Day) OC: …could print. :34
“My first official job was working at a screen printing place in Texas during the summer in a metal building that had no AC. We printed on fanny packs – really cool — and these other little bags. And it was eye doctors that, some company if you bought supplies through them, they’d put your logo on fanny packs for your customers to put in a drawer somewhere. Fanny packs are cool, if you like ‘em. You know, we’d like time ourselves to see how many fanny packs you could print.”

Jon Pardi talks about his worst job, which was at a grocery store.

Jon Pardi (Labor Day) OC: …so bored! :17
“The worst job I ever had was at Hometown Grocery Store. I didn’t want to work, I was 15, and I did not want to work at the grocery store. Bagging was fun, but they sent me down the aisles to pull up cans and turn ‘em around and face ‘em, and I would just get so bored!”

Kip Moore recalls his worst job…ever.

Kip Moore (Labor Day-worst job) OC: …than that. :21
“I’d have to say my worst job ever was laying sod in the south Georgia heat. There’s nothing than that, especially when somebody would think that you’re waiting for the next sod patch to be thrown to you and you got your back turned, and all of a sudden, that big ole piece of sod hits you right on the back. You got nowhere to clean up, and you’re just stuck with dirt on your back for the rest of the day. It doesn’t get any worse than that.”

Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum tells us what he used to do to make a buck before finding success as a musician.

Lady A (Labor Day) OC: …I had a lot of crummy jobs. :31
CK “I used to…” HS: “… knock out asbestos walls.” CK: “I did that for a long time. But even before that, I used to do lawn care every summer. Oh, man, I do not miss that. Just glad those days are over. I get out here and play music for a living. It’s a lot more fun. But yeah, I used to do that, and I used to work as a bag boy at a golf course once. I did that for a couple of summers. I had a lot of crummy jobs.”

Luke Bryan talks about the different jobs he worked in and around Leesburg, Georgia, before heading to Nashville to pursue a career in music.

Luke Bryan (Labor Day-jobs) OC: …Nashville… 1:07
“At age 12 thru 13, I worked at Rubos IGA Supermarket in Leesburg, GA. I worked during the summers on Monday and Tuesday. I stocked and cleaned up the produce.  They paid me under the table…I peeled off all of the brown lettuce. Let’s see, when I was 15, I was a cashier at K-Mart for two months. I worked at K-Mart for two months, and then I reverted back to Rubos because it didn’t really make sense for me to drive all the way into Albany and work for K-Mart. The benefits were great though-you’d get an hour-long on the blue light special. So I started back at Rubos, and then I quit Rubos and worked for my Dad-just awful just driving tractors through cotton all day, and spraying pesticides that eventually would turn your hair green. And then at some point, I started playing guitar. And well, after college I went back and worked for my dad and continued to spray and haul fertilizer around. And then I moved to Nashville…”