On November 8th, 2023 Jake Clayton performed with Country Music legend Tanya Tucker on the 57th CMA Awards.
Tanya performed her classic hit “Delta Dawn” that was originally released in 1972 and still remains one of her most recognized songs to date. Here's a photo of Jake and Tanya about 5 minutes before their CMA performance.
Country music group “Little Big Town” started the performance and then joined Tanya on stage for the remainder. The full CMA show is currently available on Hulu. Here is a video of the performance:
Here is the story Jake posted on Facebook a few days before the show:
"Growing up in the Midwest in the 80’s and 90’s we watched every award show that would come on tv. It was our way to see what music looked like, not just hear it. We had a tv with the “rabbit ears” antenna that got 4 channels and MTV wasn’t one of them🤣 One of the biggest award show nights of the year for us growing up was the CMA’s. We would watch all of the artists singing their songs and they would always have a band there with them. It was the only time I could see images of someone playing a fiddle, dobro, banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, etc all while being recorded by our VCR! I could then watch it back as many times as I wanted. We even had a slo-mo feature that helped a lot.
With all that said, this Wednesday night I will be playing the CMA’s with Tanya Tucker and my constant companion for over 25 years, my Great Grandpa’s fiddle. This fiddle and I have been through more BS together than most people would have to deal with in 2 lifetimes. This instrument was in 6 pieces when it was plucked from the family storage shed back in 1997/1998. It was put back together by a luthier outside of Mexico, Mo. It has been to the other side of the globe with me. It has endured freezing cold weather and the sweltering heat of rodeos and county fairs. It has been on a billboard number 1 song and songs by Tanya Tucker, Sunny Sweeney, Chris Young, Donny Osmond, Clint Black, Tracy Byrd and Daryl Hall to name a few. I am so proud to be the current steward for this incredible instrument. I am also proud to share that it plays better now than it has as long as I’ve had it and it’s only getting more seasoned with time. We’ve got a long life left ahead of us🎻
Huge thanks to my Father who would have to have it restrung most times after my nephews would visit. They would get cutters and snip the strings off of it if it were ever left unattended in their presence. Only now is it really sinking in how much “faith” my parents had in me to put that kind of money into a instrument time and time again that was over 100 years old already. Fiddle/violin strings weren’t cheap either. Basically $75 a set installed at the time.
So, be on the lookout for my fiddle and I on the 57 Annual CMA Awards Wednesday Night! 7-10pm Central🎻