Alan Jackson Dedicates CMAs Lifetime Achievement Award to Wife Denise: 'We've Survived a Lot'

Alan Jackson is a CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recipient!

At Wednesday's 56th annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, the legendary country singer accepted the prestigious honor.

"I've definitely lived the American dream," Jackson said while accepting his award. "And I'm still living that honky-tonk dream, y'all."

In light of the occasion, country stars Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood, Jon Pardi and Lainey Wilson delivered a tribute performance for the 64-year-old Grammy winner.

The performance kicked off with a wholesome speech from Underwood, who told the audience that a Jackson show was her first concert as a kid. She then got things rolling with a stripped-down performance of his 2003 hit "Remember When."

After that, Bentley, Pardi and Wilson also took on some other Jackson classics like "Chattahoochee," "Drive (For Daddy Gene)," and of course "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow." But the real celebration came from the man himself.

Jackson soon appeared in a sequined black shirt with an acoustic guitar in hand, as he threw it way back with 1991 single "Don't Rock the Jukebox" for the performance's grand finale.

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To cap off the moment, Jackson then gave an emotional speech as he was handed his award, touching on how watching a movie about Hank Williams inspired him to head to Nashville with just "three chords and a prayer."

"As my mama would say, I'm so blessed. I've had a great team around me my whole career that have helped me, great songwriters. I've been so fortunate to have all that to help me get this far. I can't thank everybody who's been in my life all these years, but I do have to say thanks to my wife Denise, over there somewhere. We started out as teenagers... I'm probably not always the easiest person to love, but she's been there and helped me through hard times. And we've shared great times. The good, the bad, the happy, and the sad, we've survived a lot. I just want to thank her because she's held me up all these years and she's my best friend. And she gave me a wonderful family over there."

Jackson follows previous recipients of the career-celebrating award including Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson — whom the award was named after, as he won its first iteration in 2012.

Since hitting the scene in 1990 with his major label debut Here in the Real World, Jackson's scored 35 chart-topping songs on country radio including 1991's "I'd Love You All Over Again," 1993's "Chattahoochee," 1996's "Little Bitty," 2001's "Where I Come From," 2003's "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" with Jimmy Buffett and, most recently, 2008's "Country Boy."

In a statement about why Jackson was chosen to receive the award this year, CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern wrote, "A three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, he is responsible for so many iconic moments in CMA Awards history. Just as Alan has been influenced by many Country legends throughout his career, he too has inspired a generation of artists to stay true to the authenticity of Country Music."

The 2022 CMAs are airing live Wednesday night from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.