Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett kick Off the 37th Annual CMA Awards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CMA) - It will be 8:00 PM/EST, Wednesday, Nov. 5, when "The 37th Annual CMA Awards" hits the air on the CBS Television Network, but it will be "...Five O'Clock Somewhere" when superstars Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett perform their homage to bardom for the first time together on network television to open the CMA Awards live from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn.
"The song has been a summer phenomenon and we are thrilled to have Alan and Jimmy perform it together to open the CMA Awards," said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson.

"It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" is nominated for Vocal Event of the Year for Jackson and Buffett. The song, which has spent more than seven weeks at the top of the singles charts, propelled Jackson's current project, Greatest Hits Volume 2 And Some Other Stuff, to debut atop both the Billboard Pop and Country Album sales charts with more than 328,000 units sold in its first week - the highest weekly sales total of any Country album release in 2003.

Jackson, who is the reigning CMA Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year, is nominated for three Awards including Entertainer, Male Vocalist and Vocal Event of the Year. The Vocal Event is Buffett's second CMA nod. The first was in 1977 when he was nominated for Single of the Year for "Margaritaville." Buffett has never performed on the CMA Awards.
"The 37th Annual CMA Awards" will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network Wednesday, Nov. 5 (8:00-11:00 PM/EST). All-time leading CMA Award winner Vince Gill will host the gala event for the 12th consecutive year.

The industry professional members of the Country Music Association vote to determine CMA Award winners. The CMA Awards are produced by Walter C. Miller, directed by Paul Miller and scripted by veteran television writer and Rolling Stone Contributing Editor David Wild. MJI Programming, a Division of Premiere Radio Networks, is the official radio packager of the CMA Awards, which includes the stereo-radio simulcast of the gala event.
The Awards will also be seen around the world, including BBC Television in the UK. The CMA Awards became the first music awards show to be broadcast on network television back in 1968. In 2002, the CMA Awards led CBS to its first Wednesday victory of the season in viewers and households attracting more than 38 million viewers.