Alabama

ALABAMA

Formed: 1969, Fort Payne, Alabama; Disbanded 2003

Members: Jeff Cook (born Fort Payne, Alabama, 27 August 1949); Teddy Gentry (born Fort Payne, Alabama, 22 January 1952); Mark Herndon (born Springfield, Massachusetts, 11 May 1955); Randy Owen (born Fort Payne, Alabama, 14 December 1949).

Genre: Country, Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Pass It on Down (1990)

Hit songs since 1990: "I'm in a Hurry (and Don't Know Why)," "Reckless," "Sad Lookin' Moon"

Combining country songwriting with the easy percussive sound of pop and rock, Alabama emerged as the most commercially successful country band of the 1980s, scoring twenty-seven number one singles over the course of the decade. Often dismissed by critics because of their slick style, Alabama deserve credit for popularizing the concept of the musical group within mainstream country, a genre in which most stars had been single vocalists during the 1960s and 1970s.

The key to Alabama's enduring appeal was its consistency. Although its albums of the early 1990s made a few concessions to the tougher neotraditionalist sound popular during the era, Alabama's musical foundation of electric bass, hard drums, and cheerful harmony singing did not change. Likewise, the durable appearance of its members—long hair, beards, and blue jeans—cultivated a "just folks" image that appealed to the band's working-class fan base. Blending predictability with professionalism, Alabama continued to score sizable hits throughout the 1990s.

The first cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry, who grew up on separate cotton farms on Alabama's Lookout Mountain, formed the first incarnation of the group in 1969, naming it Young Country. Adding a third cousin, Jeff Cook, to its lineup, Young Country won first prize at a high school talent contest, performing a song by country star Merle Haggard. In 1972, after their members graduated from college, the band adopted the name Wildcountry and began attracting a loyal following through appearances in bars in the southeastern United States. Making one final name change to Alabama in 1977, the group achieved a minor country hit, "I Wanna Be with You Tonight," for the small GRT label. Unfortunately, GRT declared bankruptcy soon after, and, because of hidden contractual obligations, the band was prevented from recording for the next two years.

After addding the talents of the rock drummer Mark Herndon, Alabama reemerged in 1979 with the hit "I Wanna Come Over," released on the small MDJ label. The following year Alabama was signed by the major label RCA and quickly earned a number one country hit, "Tennessee River" (1980).

During the 1980s Alabama issued a slew of albums, each divided thematically between devotional ballads and nostalgic odes to the band's southern upbringing. Of these albums, Mountain Music (1982) is often cited by critics as the finest. The title track, sporting the steady kick of Herndon's drums, became a crossover pop hit because of its smooth, radio-groomed sound. Meanwhile, the string-drenched "Close Enough to Perfect" extols traditional marital values, a theme that resurfaced in the band's later work. Although none of the band's members were especially strong vocalists, their voices blended well together, creating an appealing harmony sound that recalled 1970s pop groups such as Three Dog Night. Despite the group's unprecedented chart success, critics were, for the most part, unkind. The 1982 edition of the Rolling Stone Record Guide, for example, characterized the band's music as "flaccid country-rock." Although albums such as The Touch (1986) and Just Us (1987) sounded even slicker than their predecessors, the band returned to form with Southern Star (1989). Featuring production assistance from R&B keyboardist Barry Beckett, the album is enlivened by traditional-sounding harmonica and banjo on tracks such as "High Cotton."

By the early 1990s Alabama's albums were incorporating a slightly harder-edged sound that reflected neotraditionalism, a popular movement that returned country to a more basic, roots-oriented sound built upon fiddles, drums, and acoustic guitar. "I'm in a Hurry (and Don't Know Why)" (1992) uses this style to achieve a loose, free-spirited quality that contrasts favorably with the band's earlier recordings. At the same time Alabama continued to hit with syrupy ballads such as "Once upon a Lifetime" (1993), in which a father speculates on how his "first born" views the world: "through the innocence you see/the value of a family." Often the group's members displayed their true talent on nonhit album tracks, which allowed them a greater sense of freedom from the dictates of formula. Although In Pictures (1995) promotes the band's standard combination of religion and romance on the hit "The Maker Said Take Her," it also contains "I've Loved a Lot More Than I've Hurt," a rewarding slice of down-home philosophy. Set against gently strumming guitar and rustic-sounding barrel-house piano, the song conveys the wise, seasoned perspective of an aged romantic: "I've hurt a little now and then / But once you're broke you learn to bend." Likewise, "A Better World for Love," from Cheap Seats (1993), is a restrained, ruminative ballad, an anomaly within Alabama's catalog.

By 2001 Alabama no longer scored as high on the charts as it had in the 1980s and 1990s, but they continued to release successful albums such as When It All Goes South (2001). By this time critics observed that the group's lyrical emphasis on nostalgia and southern values was sounding dated, even inappropriate, within the modern climate of multicultural awareness. The album's title track, for example, seems to extol southern Confederate ideology with lines such as "Get yourself some rebel pride." Elsewhere, the song culls slogans that have often been used by racist and segregationist groups: "It really don't matter what state you're in / Some day the South's gonna rise again." While of dubious sensitivity in a thematic sense, "When It All Goes South" benefits from a rhythmic, funky supporting band. The album also features a strong track in "Wonderful Waste of Time," a breezy song whose gentle, Caribbean feel is enhanced by a full-bodied horn section. In 2003, after enjoying more than twenty-five years of success, Alabama's members made the decision to disband.

Alabama's rock-influenced sound and radio-friendly harmonies paved the way for the success of 1990s groups such as Lonestar and the Mavericks. Maintaining a reputation for consistency and professionalism, Alabama deviated little from the successful formula they developed during the 1980s and 1990s, performing songs of tradition and devotion with an assured, polished sound.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

My Home's in Alabama (RCA, 1980); Mountain Music (RCA, 1982); Southern Star (RCA, 1989); Pass It on Down (RCA, 1990); American Pride (RCA, 1992); Cheap Seats (RCA, 1993); In Pictures (RCA, 1995); Twentieth Century (RCA, 1999); When It All Goes South (RCA, 2001).

david freeland