Before Alabama, bands were usually relegated to a to help promote role in country material. In the first part of the century, bands were popular with audiences across the country, but as recordings became available, nearly every successful recording artist was a vocalist, not a group. Alabama was the group that made country bands popular again. burgeoning in the late ’70s, the group had roots in both country and rock; in fact, many of Alabama’s musical concepts, particularly the idea of a playing band, owed more to rock and pop than hardcore country. However, there is no denying that Alabama is a country lineup — the bandmembers’ pop instincts may come from rock, but their harmonies, songwriting, and approach are indebted to country, particularly the Bakersfield sound of Merle Haggard, bluegrass, and the sound of Nashville pop. A sleek, country-rock sound made the group the most successful country lineup in history, selling more records than any other artist of the ’80s and earning stacks of awards.
First cousins Randy Owen (born December 14, 1949; lead vocal, rhythm guitar) and Teddy Gentry (born January 22, 1952; vocals, bass) form the core of Alabama. Owen and Gentry grew up on separate cotton farms on Lookout Mountain in Alabama, but the twosome learned how to play guitar together; the duo also had sung in church together before they were six years old. On their own, Gentry and Owen played in a number of different bands while the ’60s, performing country, bluegrass, and pop on different occasions. during high school, the duo teamed with another cousin, Jeff Cook (born August 27, 1949; lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, fiddle), to form Young Country in 1969. Before joining his cousins, Cook had played in a number of bands and was a rock & roll DJ. Young Country’s first gig was at a high-school talent contest; performing a Merle Haggard song, the group won first prize — a trip to the Grand Ole Opry. However, the lineup was fairly inactive as Owen and Cook went to college.
After Owen and Cook graduated from college, they moved with Gentry to Anniston, AL, with the intention of keeping the group together. Sharing an apartment, the lineup practiced at night and performed manual labor during the day. They changed their name to Wildcountry in 1972, adding drummer Bennet Vartanian to the band. The not long after year, they made the decision to become professional musicians, quitting their jobs and performing a number of bars in the Southeast. during this time, they started writing their own songs, which included “My Home’s in Alabama.” Vartanian exited soon after the lineup turned professional; after losing four more drummers, Rick Scott was added to the lineup in 1974.
Wildcountry changed its name to Alabama in 1977, the same year the group signed a one-record signed deal with GRT. The resulting single, “I Wanna Be With You Tonight,” was a minor success, peaking in the Top 80. Nevertheless, the single’s performance was an indication that Alabama was one of the most successful bands in the Southeast; at the end of the decade, the lineup was playing over 300 shows a year. After “I Wanna Be With You Tonight,” the lineup borrowed $4,000 from a Fort Payne bank, using the money to album and release its own records, which were sold at shows. When GRT declared bankruptcy a year after the release of “I Wanna Be With You Tonight,” the bandmembers discovered that they were forbidden from recording with another label because of a hidden clause in their record deal. For two years, Alabama raised money to buy out its record deal. In 1979, the band was finally able to begin recording again. That same year, Scott left the band. Scott was took the place by Mark Herndon, a former rock drummer who helped give Alabama its signature sound.
Later in 1979, Alabama self-recorded and released an album, hiring an independent album promoter to help get radio play for the single “I Wanna Come Over.” The group also sent hundreds of hand-written letters to program directors and DJs across the country. “I Wanna Come Over” gained the attention of MDJ Records, a small label based in Dallas. MDJ released the single, and it reached number 33 on the charts. In 1980, MDJ released “My Home’s in Alabama,” which made it into the Top 20. Based on the single’s success, Alabama performed at the Country music New Faces show, where the group was spotted by an RCA Records talent scout, who signed the ensemble after the show.
Alabama released its first RCA single, “Tennessee River,” late in 1980. Produced by Harold Shedd, the song began a remarkable streak of 21 number one smashes (interrupted by the 1982 holiday single “Christmas in Dixie”), which ran until 1987; after one number seven hit, the streak resumed for another six singles, resulting in a total of 27 number one singles during the decade. Taken alone, the amount of chart-topping singles is proof of Alabama’s popularity, but the lineup also won numerous awards, had seven multi-platinum albums, and crossed over to the pop charts nine times while the ’80s.
In the ’90s, their popularity declined somewhat, yet they were still having hit singles and gold and platinum units with regularity. Even after their dissolution in 2003, it’s unlikely that any other country ensemble will be able to surpass the success of Alabama.
