Joe Nichols Recalls Getting Chewed Out By Alan Jackson’s Manager (EXCLUSIVE)

Alan Jackson is set to play what is expected to be his final concert on June 27 in Nashville. As we look back on his storybook career, we've been asking fellow country artists to share their favorite Alan Jackson memories.

Joe Nichols was a guest on Taste of Country Nights, where he recalled the time, around 2002, when he was an up-and-coming country singer and got the call to open for Jackson on tour.

It was the first major tour of Nichols' career, and he says Jackson couldn't have been more welcoming. The two spent time hanging out backstage, sharing a few beers while Nichols was on the road with the country legend.

"I only had one song, 'The Impossible.' It was doing well — I think it might have been in the Top 10 at the time — and he offered me a 20-minute set," Nichols recalls. "He extended that tour, and I toured with him for like a year and a half."

Nichols said after a while, Jackson moved his set up some and allowed Nichols to play for 40 minutes. But there were strict rules. He had to play for only 40 minutes, not a minute longer or shorter.

Read More: Alan Jackson’s Cover of ‘Still the One’ Celebrates 50 Years With His Wife Denise

Joe Nichols Recalls Getting Chewed Out By Alan Jackson's Manager

One day during the tour in the early 2000s, Nichols admits he got a little too confident and decided to stretch his opening set to 50 minutes by going onstage 10 minutes early.

Get our free mobile app

"I pulled that stunt, and the tour manager, Tony Stevens, pulled me aside. He used about every cuss word in the book," Nichols recalls. "He said, 'You go on by God at 7 o'clock, and 7:40 is when you end. If you do a damn thing after that, I'll have your a--.'"

Nichols says he was a little taken aback, but he understood the message.

"'Okay, I appreciate your input. Tomorrow, we'll be offstage at 7:40 according to the atomic clock of the world.'"