A
monument to the 1980s country music super group in its hometown of Fort Payne, AL. Three of the members grew up there, and all four have lived in the vicinity.
- No lewd or satanic lyrics
- No unsettling rhythms
- No unnecessary amplification
A credit to their state
The Alabama Band is most successful band in country music history:
They have over 41 number one country records on the Billboard charts and have sold over 75 million records!
2006 COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
IN THE LATE 60s, COUSINS RANDY OWEN AND TEDDY GENTRY DISCOVERED THEY SHARED A COMMON INTEREST IN MUSIC. JOINED BY JEFF COOK. THEY STARTED PLAYING ON REGULAR BASIS. WORKING THEIR DAY JOBS AND PLAYING ANY PLACE THEY COULD LOCALLY IN THE EVENINGS. THE "BOYS IN THE BAND USED WHAT LIMITED SPARE TIME THEY HAD TO COMPOSE AND PRACTICE THEIR UNIQUE STYLE OF HARMONY.
IN 1973, IN TANDEM WITH RANDY OWEN'S GRADUATION FROM JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY, THE BAND SAID GOODBYE TO THEIR DAYTIME JOBS AND PART-TIME WEEKEND GIGS. BRAVELY, "WILDCOUNTRY", AS THE BAND WAS KNOWN, LEFT THEIR LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AND FORT PAYNE ROOTS AND BEGAN PERFECTING THEIR LIVE PERFORMANCE SKILLS IN THE CLUB SCENE AROUND COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA PLAYING SUCH POPULAR NIGHTSPOTS AS THE BOWERY IN MYRTLE BEACH.
IN 1977 THE BAND CHANGED IT'S NAME TO THE ALABAMA BAND, AND FOLLOWED THAT IN 1979 BY ADDING DRUMMER MARK HERNDON, SETTING ITS SIGHTS ON NASHVILLE. AFTER AN APPEARANCE ON THE NEW FACES SHOW AT THE COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR IN 1980 RCA'S JOE GALANTE CAME BACK TO HIS OFFICE RAVING ABOUT A YOUNG BAND HE'D SEEN.
ON APRIL 21, 1980, ALABAMA SIGNED WITH INDUSTRY GIANT RCA. THE LABEL QUICKLY PRESSED ALABAMA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ANTHEM "MY HOME'S IN ALABAMA" AS A SINGLE. THAT MAY, RCA RECORDS ISSUED "TENNESSEE RIVER" AS THE FIRST NO. 1 ALABAMA HIT, STARTING WITH "TENNESSEE RIVER", THEY WOULD RACK UP A STRING OF 21 CONSECUTIVE NUMBER ONE HITS. 21 MORE WOULD FOLLOW, REWARDING THE BAND WITH 42 NUMBER ONE SINGLES.
ALABAMA BECAME, SEEMINGLY OVERNIGHT, A DRIVING FORCE IN COUNTRY MUSIC. ESSENTIALLY CHANGING IT FOREVER. THE GROUP BEGAN TAKING THE GENRE IN NEW DIRECTIONS AND REACHING OUT TO AN INCREDIBLY DIVERSE FAN BASE. MANY OF WHO HAD NEVER BEFORE LISTENED TO COUNTRY MUSIC. A SELF-CONTAINED BAND THAT PLAYED THEIR INSTRUMENTS AND SANG, ALABAMA INFLUENCED AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF COUNTRY GROUPS ALONG THE WAY.
They played instruments and sang too:
In contrast to vocal groups such as the Oak Ridge Boys or the Statler Brothers, Alabama was a self-contained unit, playing instruments as well as singing. This was unprecedented for a country music band as successful as they were.Rock & roll formula:
Professional studio musicians did contribute to Alabama's records, but Jeff Cook (guitar), Teddy Gentry (bass), Randy Owen (guitar) and Mark Herndon (drums) provided their own accompaniment on the road, where legions of fans flocked to their shows.Adapting the rock & roll formula of the self-contained band to country.
Quit their day jobs:
As teenagers, Cook, Gentry, and Owen all born in Fort Payne, Alabama, formed a band called Wildcountry. The trio quit their day jobs in 1973, concocted their own potent blend of southern rock and country-pop, and began working show dates across the South. They were special favorites at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Wildcountry changed its name to Alabama in 1977 and two years later hired rock & roll drummer Herndon a permanent basis.Alabama BandIn 1998, the band was honored with its own star on the Hollywood Walk of FameIn 2005 the group was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Best Alabama Songs Ranked:
The Alabama Band amassed an incredible 26 No. 1 hits in the 1980s alone, on their way 33 total number ones on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.So you can understand picking the top 10 Alabama songs isn't easy.
Heck, any time a band has multiple "greatest hits" albums, it never is.
- Song Of The South:
- Dixieland Delight:
- If You're Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band):
- Born Country:
- I'm In A Hurry (And Don't Know Why):
- Mountain Music:
- The Closer You Get:
- Tennessee River:
- Love In The First Degree:
- High Cotton:
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][https://www.thealabamaband.com/]
Alabama headquarters is located in Fort Payne, AL at 101 Glenn Boulevard SW near the intersection of State Hwy 35 & U.S. Hwy. 11 and less than a mile off I-59, Exit 218
The most successful band in country music history: Over 41 number one country records on the Billboard charts and over 75 million records sold!
