Alabama Biography, Photos and Posters

Alabama

Biography

Started: 1969, 1972
City and Country of Origin: Fort Payne, Alabama
Music Training:
Awards: CMA 1984 - Entertainer of the Year; 1983 - Entertainer of the Year; 1983 - Vocal Group of the Year; 1983 - Album of the Year, The Closer You Get; 1982 - Instrumental Group of the Year; 1982 - Entertainer of the Year; 1982 - Vocal Group of the Year; 1981 - Instrumental Group of the Year; 1981 - Vocal Group of the Year
Top Recordings: "Tennessee River," "Why Lady Why," "Old Flame," "Feels So Right," "Love in the First Degree," "Mountain Music," "Take Me Down," "Close Enough to Perfect," "Dixieland Delight," "The Closer You Get," "Lady Down on Love," "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)," "When We Make Love," "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)," "(There's a) Fire in the Night," "There's No Way," "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')," "Can't Keep a Good Man Down," "She and I,; "Touch Me When We're Dancing," "You've Got the Touch," "Face to Face" (duet with K.T. Oslin), "Fallin' Again," "Song of the South,; "If I Had You," "High Cotton," "Southern Star," "Jukebox in My Mind," "Forever's as Far as I'll Go," "Down Home," "I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)," "Reckless"
Alabama Biography: Alabama is a Grammy Award-winning country music band that originated in Fort Payne, Alabama. They were the most commercially successful country act in the 1980s and remain one of the bestselling American musical acts of all time. The band is often credited with bringing country music groups (as opposed to solo vocalists) into the mainstream, paving the way for the success of today's top country groups.

The band's blend of traditional country music and southern rock combined with some elements of pop music gave it a crossover appeal that helped lead to their unprecedented success. They also toured extensively and incorporated production elements such as lighting and "sets" inspired by rock concerts into their shows. The band has over 30 number one country records on the Billboard Magazine charts to their credit and have sold over 73 million records to date.

The band was started in 1969 by cousins Owen, Gentry, and Cook as Young Country. Their first gig was playing for a high school talent contest, and they won first prize, a trip to the Grand Ole Opry. After a hiatus for Owen and Cook to attend college, the band reconvened in Anniston, Alabama in 1972 as Wildcountry. In 1973 they made the decision to become professional musicians, quitting their day jobs and playing in various clubs across the Southeast.

The band went through five drummers in the next four years. In 1977 they chose to change their name to Alabama, and the same year signed a one-album recording contract with GRT. Their single, "I Wanna Be With You Tonight", broke the Top 80. GRT declared bankruptcy a year later, and the band was surprised to find that a clause in their contracts forbade them from recording with another label. It took over a year to raise the money to buy out their contract, but in 1979 they were free to record again. However, once again, the band's drummer had quit. Owen, Gentry, and Cook hired Mark Herndon, a former drummer for a rock band, to join the group. These four musicians remained the core of the band for the rest of their career.

In 1979, the band self-recorded an album and hired a promoter to help get radio airplay for their single, "I Wanna Come Over". MDJ Records, a small label based in Dallas, Texas agreed to release the single, which peaked at No. 33 on Billboard's country chart. The follow-up, their signature song, "My Home's in Alabama," reached the Top 20 in March 1980; both songs are on their first album, My Home's in Alabama. The band was noticed by RCA Records and with the marketing and distibution power of their new label behind them, Alabama soon shot to the top of the country record charts.

Alabama was so dominant in the early- and mid-1980s that 21 of their single releases reached No. 1 on Billboard's country singles chart. This streak also included a holiday single called "Christmas in Dixie", which reached the lower regions of the Top 40. However, non-No. 1 Christmas singles are usually disregarded in determining chart-topping streaks, so Alabama is frequently cited as having had the longest streak of consecutive No. 1 singles. (The streak also disregards Lionel Richie's 1987 single, "Deep River Woman", which featured harmony vocals from Alabama and peaked at No. 10.)

The No. 1 hits continued through April 1987, when "(You've Got) 'The Touch'" became their 21st chart-topper. After "Tar Top" peaked at No. 7 in the fall of 1987, Alabama started a new No. 1 string of six straight, and went on to have five more No. 1 hits through 1993's "Reckless."

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