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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.

• Randy Owen (vocals and rhythm guitar)


• Teddy Gentry (vocals and bass guitar)


• Jeff Cook (vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin)


• Mark Herndon (drums and percussion)

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. They would have broken Sonny James' record of 16 consecutive No. 1 singles had their 1982 Christmas single, "Christmas in Dixie," (which was released in between their eighth and ninth chart-topping singles), made it to No. 1. However, some sources - including Joel Whitburn's "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005" - disregard non-No. 1 Christmas singles in determining chart-topping streaks and consider Alabama to have scored 21 consecutive No. 1 hits, which would surpass James' record.

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."

For the record, the 32 No. 1 songs according to Billboard magazine's country singles chart are as follows (other #1 singles from other trade magazines are not listed here):

• 1980: "Tennessee River"; "Why Lady Why"


• 1981: "Old Flame"; "Feels So Right"; "Love in the First Degree"


• 1982: "Mountain Music"; "Take Me Down"; "Close Enough to Perfect"


• 1983: "Dixieland Delight"; "The Closer You Get"; "Lady Down on Love"


• 1984: "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)"; "When We Make Love"; "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)"


• 1985: "(There's a) Fire in the Night"; "There's No Way"; "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')"; "Can't Keep a Good Man Down"


• 1986: "She and I"; "Touch Me When We're Dancing"


• 1987: "You've Got the Touch"


• 1988: "Face to Face" (duet with K.T. Oslin); "Fallin' Again"


• 1989: "Song of the South"; "If I Had You"; "High Cotton"


• 1990: "Southern Star"; "Jukebox in My Mind"


• 1991: "Forever's as Far as I'll Go"; "Down Home"


• 1992: "I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)"


• 1993: "Reckless"

While 32 songs reached the summit in Billboard magazine, the band's official website acknowledges 41 of its songs reached the top of the various charts (which include Cash Box and Radio & Records among others). Furthermore, a best-of album, titled For the Record: 41 Number One Hits, was released.

Those songs that went the distance on other charts, but not Billboard (although all were top five hits on the Billboard chart), are "Here We Are" and "Then Again" (1991); "Born Country" and "Take A Little Trip" (1992); "Once Upon a Lifetime" (1993); "Give Me One More Shot," "She Ain't Your Ordinary Girl" and "In Pictures" (1995); "Sad Lookin' Moon" (1997); and "How Do You Fall In Love" (1998).

In May 2002, the band announced its "Farewell Tour", which took place across the USA during 2003 & 2004. They are now retired from touring, but released two albums of inspirational music in 2006 and 2007.

As of early 2007, Jeff Cook has teamed up with former AllStar Goodtime Band member Mitch Glenn; the two have formed a new duo called Cook & Glenn.

The group has won two Grammy Awards for "Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal", in 1982 for Mountain Music and in 1983 for The Closer You Get.

The group has won a number of Country Music Association awards, including the "Entertainer of the Year" award in 1982, 1983, and 1984. The group was also won the ACM "Entertainer of the Year" award each year from 1981-1985. They were also recognized by the ACM as "Artists of the Decade" for the 1980s, and in 1999 the band was named Recording Industry Association of America's "Country Group of the 20th Century."

The group has collected more American Music Awards than any other artist in history, with 23 wins, including the Award of Merit.

According to Billboard Magazine, a holiday release does not interfere with the streak; however, if it goes #1, it will be included. They have the record for 21 consecutive #1's.

Alabama was inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.

Although they have achieved superstardom, the men who make up Alabama have never forgotten their roots. From 1982 until 1997, they held an annual "Alabama June Jam" in Fort Payne, Alabama. Proceeds from these events were distributed to various charities and school organizations and have also been used to set up an escrow account which continues to distribute money to worthy causes. Each of the band members is also active in fundraising for a charity of his choice, and several of them have set up their own charitable foundations.

In honor of their good works, the group has been the recipient of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, Country Radio Broadcasters' Humanitarian Award, and the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award. Alabama was also awarded the B.M.I. President's Trophy for Public Service, which has been awarded only four times (and never before to a group). They were also the inaugural recipients of the "Spirit of Alabama" medal awarded by Governor Bob Riley.

In their live shows, Alabama often made a point of recognizing the men and women in America's Armed Forces. They have volunteered to visit injured soldiers at military hospitals, and have participated in the "Laying of the Wreath" ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. For their efforts, they have been awarded the USO Rising Star Award and the Pentagon 9/11 Medallion.

• On July 4, 1993, they opened a $7-million, 2,200-seat theater, located in Barefoot Landing-Myrtle Beach South Carolina where they began their careers. Their song "Dancin', Shaggin' on the Boulevard" pays tribute to Myrtle Beach's nightclubs.

• In 2001, Randy Owen performed the songs "Angels Among Us" and "Goodbye (Kelly's Song)" at the funeral for NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.

• On November 15, 2005, Alabama was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during the 39th annual Country Music Awards in New York.