Alabama Information

Alabama is a country music band that was formed by Randy Owen (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Teddy Gentry, (vocals and bass guitar), Jeff Cook (lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, bass, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin) and Mark Herndon (drums and percussion). The band was formed in 1969, at a time when country music was growing mostly because of the release of the movie Urban Cowboy which starred John Trovolta at the leading role. The band was started first by cousins Randy Owen (born December 14, 1949) and Teddy Gentry (born January 22, 1952), who grew up up working the fields and picking cotton on Lookout Mountain, outside of Fort Payne, Alabama. They lived in separate cotton farms but the pair learned how to play guitar together.

They had also sung in church together before they were six years old. Money was tight for the families, and they spent much of their time and entertaining themselves by singing and playing gospel music. Randy, his parents and sisters started a gospel group, The Singing Owens. On their own, Gentry and Owen played in a number of different bands during the 1960s, playing country, bluegrass, and pop on different occasions. The duo teamed up with another cousin while in high school Jeff Cook (born August 27, 1949)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 band won first prize as well as a trip to the Grand Ole Opry.

However, the group was fairly inactive as Owen and Cook went to college. Randy Owen and Jeff Cook graduated from college and moved with Teddy Gentry to Anniston, Alabama, with the intention of keeping the band together. They shared an apartment and practiced at night while performing manual labor during the day. They changed their name to Wild country in 1972, adding drummer Bennet Vartanian to the lineup. The following year, 1973, the band made the decision to become professional musicians, quitting their jobs and playing a number of bars in the South East. They relocated to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to become the house band for a club called The Bowery.

Working for tips, they played six nights a week honing the harmonies that would later become a trademark. During this time, Wild country began writing their own songs, including "My Home's In Alabama." Vartanian left the band soon after they turned professional; after losing four more drummers, they added Rick Scott to the lineup in 1974. In 1977, they changed their name to Alabama, that same year the signed a one-record contract with GRT. They released a single "I Wanna Be With You Tonight," which was a minor success and peaked in the Top 80.Nevertheless, the single's performance was an indication that Alabama was one of the most popular band in the Southeast; at the end of the decade, the group was playing over 300 shows a year. After "I Wanna Be With You Tonight," the group borrowed $4,000 from a Fort Payne bank, using the money to record and release their own records, which they sold at their shows. When GRT declared bankruptcy a year after the release of "I Wanna Be With You Tonight," Alabama discovered that they were forbidden from recording with another label because of a hidden clause in their contract. For two years, the band raised money to buy out their contract.

In 1979, they were finally able to begin recording again. That same year, Scott left the band. Scott was replaced by Mark Herndon, a former rock drummer who helped give Alabama its signature sound. From then on they have been together recording twenty four albums and they have won the ACM "Entertainer of the Year for 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.Alabama signed a recording contract with RCA Records in 1980 launching a career that to date has resulted in 21 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums, 42 number one singles and over 65 million records sold. Alabama has received over 150 industry awards. 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." They have also been Country Music Awards (CMA) Entertainers of the Year for three years in a row and have won two Grammy's, two Peoples Choice Awards and their very own star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame. Alabama has also received the Bob Hope, Minnie Pearl and Country Radio Broadcasters' Humanitarian Awards and the B.M.I. President's Trophy for their public service contributions. Randy Owen was on hand to receive the President's Award which has only been presented three other times.

Alabama has also been the recipient of 23 American Music Awards since 1983, including their prestigious Award of Merit. Alabama's twenty four albums, for all releases have grossed a total of International sales $4.5 million. They are My Home's In Alabama (May 1980),Feels So Right (February 1981),Mountain Music (February 1982),The Closer You Get (March 1983),Roll On (January 1984),40 Hr. Week (January 1985),Alabama Christmas (September 1985),Alabama Greatest Hits (January 1986),The Touch (September 1986),Just Us (September 1987),Alabama Live (June 1988),Southern Star (February 1989),Pass It On Down (May 1990),Alabama Greatest Hits II (October 1991),American Pride (August 1992),Cheap Seats (October 1993),Alabama Greatest Hits III (September 1994),In Pictures (August 1995),Alabama Christmas Vol. II (September 1996),Dancin' On The Boulevard (April 1997),For The Record (August 1998),20th Century (June 1999),When It All Goes South (January 2001),In The Mood: The Love Songs (February 2003) and The American Farewell Tour (October 2003).Their Greatest Hits Video Package made total sales of 90,000. For more information on Alabama visit www.alabamaband.com. In May 2002, Alabama announced its "Farewell Tour", which will took place across the USA during 2003 & 2004.

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