I must admit, although I did see the CMA Awards in 1999, I never even noticed what happened during Alan Jackson’s “live” performance.
The story goes that Jackson was asked to play a pre-recorded version of his hit, and he didn’t like it. He may have felt it was lying to fans and viewers, so he told his drummer to play with no sticks. Watch as Bruce Rutherford swings his arms like a madman while holding nothing but the tips of his fingers. The cymbals never move, yet fans hear every crash.
Alan Jackson made several statements at the CMA Awards, including a performance of “Choices” when he was supposed to sing “Pop a Top” in 1999. However, his 1994 performance of “Gone Country” might be one of the funniest moments in ACM Awards history, and most people probably missed the reason.