Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, Jeff Cook & Mark Herndon named Alabama after their home state. Despite humble backgrounds Alabama became the most successful group in the history of country music. 

The longest lasting hit maker's although now disbanded they sold over 57 million records and are the ninth biggest selling group of all time this list includes bands such as Led Zepplin, The Doors, Queen, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd and The Who.

Second only to Conway Twitty as having the most No 1 Records in all of music, they have sold 20, Million selling albums 12 American Music Awards as the public’s favourite country group, 41 Chart-topping hits, more concert tickets sold than any country band in history and more than 200 major showbiz awards.

The first No 1 was in 1980, there is literally no one else from that era who is still in the top 10 today, George Strait, Steve Wariner began topping the charts in 1981, Reba McEntire in 1982 in an here today gone tomorrow world, Alabama did what no one else could it endured. 

Randy Yeuell Owen - Lead Singer

Randy Yeuell Owen was the Lead Singer, Rhythm Guitarist and songwriter he was born to a cotton farmer and his textile worker wife, in the northeast corner of Alabama, The family were so poor they didn’t own a radio until Randy was 12.  Before achieving success in music, Randy worked as a bricklayer, painter, farmer and drywall hanger.

His cousin bass player and harmony vocalist Teddy Wayne Gentry came from an even more impoverished back ground, He was raised by his grandfather on a homestead that didn’t even have an outdoor toilet.  Teddy grew up working hard for every dollar he earned, he laid carpet, bagged groceries, worked as a farm labourer and did a variety of other minimum wage jobs before Alabama struck it rich.

Distant cousin Jeffrey Alan Cook was the son of an auto parts dealer, like Randy and Teddy he wanted to better himself, he performed in gospel acts as a boy, worked as a Radio DJ at 14, earned an electronics degree after high school and worked for Western Electric, along the way he became a  multi instrumental wizard a songwriter a fine singer and a showman.

Mark Herndon (the last member to join the band,) dropped out of college in South Carolina to become a full time drummer he played for a lot of rock groups, lounge acts and small club bands before signing up with the three Fort Payne cousins.

Initially the 3 cousins became Wildcountry and began pursuing that dream, they roomed together, practiced, and worked together at low pay day jobs to come up with the rent for their apartments, they became full time professional musicians in 1973, becoming the resident band in an Honky Tonk called The Bowery in Myrtle Beach SC.

The Bowery was on a little side street with its doors open to let the smell escape, this came from a combination of spilled beer, cigarette butts, sweat and suntan lotion. The band played 13 hours a day, they went through three drummers in a period of 6 years, to survive you not only played all the time you had to play a little of everything Rock, Country Pop, Dance Music, whatever. 

One of their biggest hit albums Dancing on the Boulevard paid tribute to those days.

Although resident at the Bowery like most bands they took work where they could get it. They took a gig at the Thunderbird Motor Inn in Florence SC, lucky for Mark is mother was working at the desk when the group arrived to perform in the lounge.  They were fired for not playing enough disco music, but not before she mentioned she knew a drummer that would be just right for the act, in 1979 Mark became the fourth member of the band.

That same year that Mark joined the band a single called ‘I Wanna Come Over’ climbed halfway up the hit parade. It was enough to land Alabama a slot on the influential New Faces Show in Nashville at the Country Radio Seminar.

The first of Alabama’s No 1 hits began in 1980 with Randy’s song “Tennessee River.’ This made Alabama the first country group to top the chart with its first major label release.

By the touring season of 1981 Alabama had three straight No 1 hits, the long hair and country rock sound gave the band a great youth appeal, but an entire string of concerts had been booked before stardom.  They were paid $5000 per show. 

Being offered a lot more to cancel shows and perform elsewhere they refused and honoured the contracts that people had made before they were famous. “we live up to our commitments as a band, My daddy taught me that if you owe somebody $5 you pay them $5, we owed them those dates and we made them all good. And that made our name, we just finished working for some of those people for the 12th or 13th time at a state fair and they’d say.  “Tell us what day you want to work next year”.

The boys have a sense of ethics and morality and it is in fact an hall mark of the band.  Extending this to the songs they wrote and performed, you never hear cheating, drinking and sinning in a Alabama song.

By 1981 the band were crossing over to the pop charts on a regular basis their biggest pop hit was one of its most ‘country’ performances ‘Love in the First Degree’.  Suggested albums Dancing on the Boulevard which is a great album or 41 No1 hits my favourite Alabama songs Jukebox in my mind and Is the Magic still there.