Remember When Alan Jackson Released ‘Drive (For Daddy Gene)?’

On this day in 2002, Alan Jackson released “Drive (For Daddy Gene).” The track served as the second single from his tenth studio album, Drive.

The two-time GRAMMY winner wrote the heartwarming song as a tribute to his father, who passed away in 2000. The lyrics recall memories of driving around in the country with his dad and later sharing those same experiences with his three daughters.

“I played a show a show down in Georgia Saturday night, and I flew home late. I got up at three or four in the morning, and that’s when the song came, just out of nowhere… I got up, came down here, and put on a digital recorder,” Jackson once recalled to Billboard. “I just sang it, didn’t even play guitar. I just sang the melody and lyrics right into it and went back to bed. I got up the next morning, and the girls went to Sunday school while I finished writing the verses. It just came out. I think it was a gift and I’m just a messenger for it. It’s a very special song.”

“Drive (For Daddy Gene)” peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart and finished No.2 on the year-end U.S. Billboard Country Songs. It also reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The music video for the hit features scenes described in the song presented as animated pictures to resemble the story like a picture book. The “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” video garnered critical acclaim, winning him the award for Video of the Year at the ACM Awards and nominations for Music Video of the Year at other top award shows.

Click above to watch the video and take a trip down memory lane with Alan Jackson‘s “Drive (For Daddy Gene).”