Grammy Award-winning country music band Alabama was formed in 1977 in Fort Payne, Alabama, although the band was rooted in a 1969 project named "Young Country" that later evolved to "Wildcountry" between 1972 and 1977.
The band emerged in a period of time in which the music scene was predominately led by Country rock and Country Folk bands and musicians such as The Eagles, Bob Seger, Merle Haggard, Charlie Daniels, The Oak Ridge Boys, Pure Prairie League, and Reba McEntire.
Alabama blended southern rock and country music with pop rock to forge a unique style as the Kansas band did several years before. However, Alabama was greatly influenced by The Grand Ole Opry, a Nashville's weekly Saturday night country music radio program that cousins Owen, Gentry, and Cook visited after winning a school prize playing as "Young Country".
After college, the cousins continued playing small gigs as "Wildcountry" until they signed to GRT and released their first album "My Home's in Alabama", peaking at number 3 on Billboard Top-Ten chart and receiving a RIAA 2× Platinum certification.
During their career, Alabama produced a large number of single hits, most of which topped on Billboard charts along with two Grammy Awards and several Country Music Association awards for three consecutive years. In 1999, Alabama was named the “Country Group of the 20th Century†by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Alabama's popularity declined in the 1990s, but from 1977 to the present, Alabama has placed over 50 singles on both national and international charts and they have a profuse discography that includes three pre-RCA albums and 16 full-length studio albums until 2001, plus several compilations, live, Christmas, and Gospel albums.
In 2002, Alabama announced their "Farewell Tour" across the United States throughout 2003 and 2004, which took place across the USA during 2003 & 2004, and although the band is now retired from live presentations, they continue working on inspirational music works alongside other artists.
In 2004, Alabama was inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame and one year later, the band was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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