One of the best aspects of American country and western music is that it has always created a public and secular arena for traditional Christian music. Many country stars over the years have had great success performing classic hymns for the public.

We just found a heartbreakingly beautiful performance of one of our most beloved sacred songs, “Amazing Grace.” performed by country legend Alan Jackson, this is one version that is sure to stir your soul and open your heart to the power of sacred music. You have to hear him sing this song.

Alan Jackson has been making music since he was a child, first performing in the church choir in his hometown of Newnan Georgia. Growing up, he mostly listened to gospel music until he was in high school and a friend introduced him to country music singers like Hank Williams Jr.

His first big break came in the mid 1980’s when his wife introduced him to Glenn Campbell. Jackson became the first artist to sign to Arista records fledgling Arista Nashville imprint, and went on to become a living legend in the country music world, with millions of loyal fans.

While he has certainly had a huge amount of success as a country singer with affinity for other traditionalists like George Strait and George Jones, in early 2006, Jackson released his first gospel music album entitled Precious Memories. He put together the album by the request of his mother, who enjoys religious music. Jackson considered this album a “side project” and nothing too official, but it was treated as such. More than 1.8 million albums were sold.

According to the Dictionary of American Hymnology “Amazing Grace” is John Newton’s spiritual autobiography in verse.

In 1725, Newton was born in Wapping, a district in London near the Thames. His father was a shipping merchant who was brought up as a Catholic but had Protestant sympathies, and his mother was a devout Independent unaffiliated with the Anglican Church. She had intended Newton to become a clergyman, but she died of tuberculosis when he was six years old. For the next few years, Newton was raised by his emotionally distant stepmother while his father was at sea, and spent some time at a boarding school where he was mistreated. At the age of eleven, he joined his father on a ship as an apprentice; his seagoing career would be marked by headstrong disobedience and a wayward lifestyle of substance abuse and lechery.

After many years of trials and tribulations including time in a prison and being shipwrecked, Newton finally came to find peace through faith, and his life turned around. After getting married and working in a customs office, he became a clergyman.

Newton’s preaching was unique in that he shared many of his own experiences from the pulpit; many clergy preached from a distance, not admitting any intimacy with temptation or sin. He was involved in his parishioners’ lives and was much loved, although his writing and delivery were sometimes unpolished. But his devotion and conviction were apparent and forceful, and he often said his mission was to “break a hard heart and to heal a broken heart”. He struck a friendship with William Cowper, a gifted writer who had failed at a career in law and suffered bouts of insanity, attempting suicide several times. Cowper enjoyed Olney – and Newton’s company; he was also new to Olney and had gone through a spiritual conversion similar to Newton’s. Together, their effect on the local congregation was impressive.

According to Wikipedia, the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” were written in late 1772 and probably used in a prayer meeting for the first time on January 1, 1773. A collection of the poems Newton and Cowper had written for use in services at Olney was bound and published anonymously in 1779 under the title Olney Hymns. Newton contributed 280 of the 348 texts in Olney Hymns; “1 Chronicles 17:16–17, Faith’s Review and Expectation” was the title of the poem with the first line “Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound).”

“Amazing Grace” has become one of the most beloved songs in the world. How did you like Alan Jackson’s version? Who sang your favorite rendition of this classic hymn? Share your thoughts with us here.