Alabama

Before Alabama, bands were usually relegated to a supporting role in country music. Alabama was the group that made country bands popular again. Formed in the late 1970s, the band had roots in both country and rock and owed some of their concepts to pop music. However, Alabama are undeniably a country band, their harmonies, songwriting, and approach are indebted to country, particularly the Bakersfield sound of Merle Haggard, bluegrass, and the sound of Nashville pop. Alabama's slick, country-rock sound made the group the most popular in country group history, going on to sell more records than any other artist of the '80s and collecting a stack of awards in the process.

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Biography

Cousins Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook formed the core of Alabama in the early 1960s, later adding drummer Bennet Vartanian to the line-up and finally settling upon the band name Alabama, after previous stints as Young Country and Wildcountry. The group later parted ways with Vartanian and after losing four more drummers, Rick Scott was added to the line-up in 1974. By the end of the '70s, Alabama was playing over 300 shows a year and had had particular success with the single I Wanna Be With You Tonight.

In 1979, Scott left the band and former rock drummer Mark Herndon joined and became responsible for the band's signature sound. Later that year due to contractual issues, Alabama self-recorded and released the album which featured the single I Wanna Come Over. In 1980, the single My Home's in Alabama was released and based on the single's Top 20 success the group were spotted and signed by RCA Records.

Alabama released its first single under RCA, Tennessee River, late in 1980. The song began a remarkable streak of 21 number one hits running until 1987 from various albums including Feels So Right, Mountain Music and Roll On. In total Alabama amassed 27 number one singles during the decade and had seven multi-platinum albums. The band continued to have smaller success during the 1990s and eventually dissolved in 2003.

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