ALABAMA
Alabama is an American country, Southern rock and bluegrass band formed in Fort Payne, Alabama in 1969. The band was founded by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry, soon joined by their other cousin, Jeff Cook. First operating under the name Wildcountry, the group toured the Southeast bar circuit in the early 1970’s, and began writing original songs. They changed their name to Alabama in 1977 and following the chart success of two singles, were approached by RCA Records for a record deal. Alabama’s biggest success came in the 1980’s, where the band had over 27 number one hits, seven multi-platinum albums and received numerous awards. (More from Wikipedia)
One thing that has really impressed me in country music is the recent emergence, finally, of genuine country bands – instead of just a singer or singers backed by musicians – like Lady Antebellum and the Band Perry. As I remember it, for seemingly ages, the Statler Brothers, and then Alabama kept winning the Grammy for Best Country Duo or Group simply because there really was no one else doing that.
(January 2013)
* * *
According to Allmusic, Larry Hanson, one of the bandmembers in the Human Zoo, later became part of the touring band with superstar country music band Alabama for 18 years and also performed on a few of their albums. Larry Hanson is also listed as part of the backing band on several albums by the Texas Tenors.
(July 2015)
