Remember When Alan Jackson Released His Debut Album? Here in the Real World, on Feb. 27, 1990. The native of Newnan, Ga., moved to Nashville to chase his country music dreams shortly after marrying his childhood sweetheart, Denise, in 1979, but he was anything but an overnight success. Denise worked as a flight attendant early in their marriage to help pay the bills, and she helped her husband get his first break when she spotted Glen Campbell at the airport. She approached him and explained that her husband was an aspiring country singer, and Campbell gave her a business card for his Nashville publishing company, which ended up signing Jackson to his first songwriting deal.