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Alabama (band)

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Alabama is a country music band from Fort Payne, Alabama that was started in 1969 but did not get a recording contract until 1977. Alabama began by singing for tips around Myrtle Beach before going on to sell millions of records. They were among the first successful country groups since the mid-1970s, thanks to their blend of contemporary and traditional country and southern rock. On July 4-93 they opened $7-million, 2,200-seat theater, located in Barefoot Landing-Myrtle Beach South Carolina.

The members of Alabama are:

Along with the Oak Ridge Boys and the Statler Brothers, Alabama is recognized as having paved the way for today's top country groups, including Diamond Rio, Lonestar and Rascal Flatts.

Contents

No. 1 singles

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.

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 33 No. 1 songs according to Billboard magazine's country singles chart are as follows:

While Billboard magazine claims Alabama had only 33 No. 1 hits, the band's official website states that 41 of the band's songs reached the top of the charts. 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 that 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" and "She Ain't Your Ordinary Girl" (1995); and "Sad Lookin' Moon" (1997).

The list of other significant songs is also lengthy. Alabama first hit the Billboard country chart's Top 40 in November 1979 with "I Wanna Come Over"; the song peaked at No. 33. 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. Then came their unprecedented dominance in country music.

Today, Alabama remains arguably the most successful country group of all time.

Awards

The group was awarded the ACM "Entertainer of the Year" for 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 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 22 wins.

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

Trivia

Discography

Albums Singles [Alabama Discography]

See also

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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