Alabama

With a recording career that has spanned two decades, produced 40 Number One hits and some 57 million albums sold, it seems almost strange to talk about an upcoming Alabama CD as a renaissance of sorts. But for their legion of fiercely loyal fans, Alabama's 20th RCA album Dancin' On The Boulevard, will be just that--a treasure trove of Alabama music that is both a return to their roots and an affirmation of their collective talents as writers, musicians and entertainers. 
Co-produced by Alabama and Don Cook (known for his work with Brooks & Dunn, the Mavericks, Tracy Lawrence and others), Dancin' On The Boulevard is Alabama the band in one complete package. They serve notice that the same band that revolutionized country music and stood the world on its ear back in the 1980s, is still producing some of its best work ever as the '90s come to a close. 

Not since the days of My Home's In Alabama, Mountain Music and Feels So Right, have so many songs on an Alabama album or CD been written by the band itself. Says lead singer Randy Owen, Our fans have been telling us they wanted to hear more of our own songs, so this collection is 
something truly special. And to have the endorsement of RCA, their stamp 
of approval on songs we feel so strongly about, really means a lot. As 
an artist, this is something you reach for--a project that really comes 
from your heart, that represents your own life's experiences and 
influences, and that allows you to express all those inner thoughts and 
feelings. 

We spent so many hectic years touring and recording, Randy continues, it was difficult to find the time to write. And there were so many good songs coming out of Nashville's writers anyway. A great song is a great song, no matter whose name is on it, and we've been fortunate over the years to have the support of the industry's writers, our record label, and our writers at Maypop Music for coming up with some great songs for Alabama to record and perform. I think, though, that after One More Shot (Owen, Gentry and Rogers) became a Number One record for us in 1995, and the positive reaction we received from a lot of people on the songs we wrote recently for the Alabama Christmas, Volume II album, we felt very strongly about playing these songs for Joe Galante and everyone at RCA. They gave us total support. That means everything. 

A return to the traditional tour bus had a lot to do with Alabama's 
resurgence as writers. When Alabama sold their private plane a couple of 
years ago, some saw it as a sign the band was slowing down. But, in 
reality, touring by bus again allows them the time to unwind between 
shows, and focus more on the creative aspects of their music. It was in 
the back of the tour bus that many of the songs on Dancin' took shape, 
reminiscent of the days when the band would drive from one gig to 
another loaded up in a Dodge mini-van, with little to do but bounce 
lyrics off one another and tighten those trademark harmonies. 
After the band exploded on the charts in the early '80s, schedules got 
tighter and the demands of success had its limitations. Performing as 
many as 300 shows a year can take its toll. 

But the drive to write their own music has never left. Says bass 
guitarist Teddy Gentry, I'd rather write songs than eat. Some people 
like to go hunting with their buddies, but my idea of fun is to get 
together with other songwriters. 

A prime example of Alabama's creative bond is in their first release off 
the new album, Sad Lookin' Moon. Recalls Teddy, We were riding down the 
road up in New York state one night, and Randy was sitting in the front 
of the bus. There was a full moon out, and Randy said something like, 
'That sure is a sad looking moon tonight.' We started thinking, hey, 
that's a great idea for a song. 

A couple of mornings later, piled up in the back of the bus, Randy, Teddy, and longtime friend and fellow songwriter Greg Fowler penned the song on the way out of Buffalo. Greg remembers a humorous footnote to the session, too. We didn't have any recording equipment on the bus, so 
we pulled into a strip mall around Scranton, Pennsylvania, and stopped at an electronics store to buy a cassette recorder and a couple of tapes. Keep in mind, Alabama's tour bus is not marked. So coming out of the store, Teddy and I ran into a couple of kids on bikes and skateboards who stopped us and asked, 'Hey, are you guys The Marshall Tucker Band?' And Teddy smiles and says, 'No. But thanks!' 

With the lyrics and melody to Sad Lookin' Moon safely on cassette, the 
group was on a roll. By the time they pulled into Long Island, New York, 
later that day, another song had made it to the tape recorder--I Just 
Couldn't Say No. Says Randy, We're very proud of this ballad. It has its 
own special place on this album. 

With a mixture of up-tempo country, country rock, soulful balladry, love 
songs and working man songs, all punctuated with Alabama's driving beat 
and artfully laced with the smoothest harmonies in the business Dancin' 
On The Boulevard touches all the nerves of Alabama's enduring talent. 

The album, though, takes its heart and soul from the title cut, a trip 
back to the beach front clubs and music of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 
It was there that the aspiring young musicians paid their dues in a 
steamy bar called the Bowery, playing for tips six nights a week for 
seven long years. In Dancin' Alabama pays tribute to the music of that 
era, to the free-wheeling, fun-loving crowds that still shag down the 
boulevard to a non-stop festival of summer fun and beach music. No 
matter in how many hundreds of cities and towns since that Alabama has 
played its music, no matter how many television specials, state fairs, 
or coliseums have stood in awe of those tight Alabama harmonies, Myrtle 
Beach will always be special. That's where it started for Alabama, and 
these songs are reflective of those early influences on the band while 
playing at the beach in Carolina. 

A big part of our lives is entwined in these new songs, says Teddy. 
There was so much music, and different music, you couldn't be there 
without being touched by all of it. 

And back then, you played what people wanted to hear, what was hot on 
the radio, recalls lead guitarist Jeff Cook. You also tried to work in 
some original material during those long, long sets. So we worked on our 
own songs when we could, but we still spent a lot of time picking up 
songs from the radio--country, pop, r&b, whatever was popular--and doing 
our own versions at the Bowery. 

Dancin' On The Boulevard brings back two of those tunes in Alabama 
fashion, songs that Alabama has long loved and performed, now covered on 
their own album. Teddy's version of the Smoky Robinson classic My Girl 
has always brought thunderous response from concert audiences, and Jeff 
showcases his own vocal abilities in Hey Baby, originally written by 
Bruce Channel and Margaret Cobb. It was great having Bruce Channel come 
in and sing with me on that song, too, says Jeff. Both these songs were 
part of that era, and have a natural place on this Alabama album. It's 
also a chance to pay tribute to radio, and how important radio was then 
and still is today, to any musical artist. 

A consummate musician, Jeff rates each Alabama performance on its 
technical merit, and each album on its live audience appeal. I'm as 
excited about this album as anything we've ever done, he says. These are 
songs we can certainly enjoy doing live. And that's important--to be 
able to bring to life, on stage, what we've done in the recording studio 
and what our fans hear on the radio. 

Drummer Mark Herndon, an integral part of Alabama's energy on stage, 
agrees. Myrtle Beach brings back a lot of memories, and this album is 
really Alabama, the band, doing what we do best--entertaining on stage, 
with all the parts working together as one unit, creating the chemistry 
that is Alabama. 

Mark's enthusiasm for the project spills over into the new set design 
for Alabama's 1997 tour, as he works behind the scenes to bring Dancin' 
to life on the stage. When Alabama takes to the road to showcase their 
latest work, Mark's own creative influence will reach beyond his 
thundering drum stand. I'm ready and roaring to go. We're all excited 
about playing this new material in concert. Nowhere on the new album 
does the excitement and energy come to the surface more profoundly than 
in One More Time Around, a true Alabama group effort in the writing. 
Joining Randy, Teddy and Greg on the writing credits are stage musicians 
Larry Hanson and Tim Briggs, with a song that typifies the day-to-day 
grind of every working man. You have to include bar bands and musicians 
in those sentiments, observes Teddy. Larry and Tim are a big part of the 
Alabama family, and it was the first time they've joined us in writing 
an Alabama song. It was a lot of fun working on that song on our bus 
while we were out on tour. 

But the talent of other songwriters isn't overlooked, either. Calling 
All Angels by Jeff Jones and Of Course I'm Alright, written by Billy 
Kirsch fit the mold for inclusion on Dancin' On The Boulevard. Like the 
rest of the package, those songs also extracted a measure of 
introspection from a lifetime of music. Add Randy's seasoned vocals, and 
the cuts take on an Alabama style that is unmistakable. 

On another cut, She's Got That Look In Her Eyes, Randy and Teddy 
collaborate on a song that combines introspection with a bit of mystery. 
Explains Randy, This song takes its influence from those Farrah Fawcett 
posters that every guy--and a lot of girls--used to have tacked up in 
their rooms. There was just something about that look. We believe this 
song will appeal to anyone who has ever been stirred by the look of 
someone else, and felt the mystique. 

The band also collaborated on several songs with frequent Alabama writer 
Ronnie Rogers of Dixieland Delight fame, penning the winsome Is The 
Magic Still There, and the bluesy Anytime I'm Your Man. Says Randy, 
Ronnie is an old friend with a flair for Alabama music. Whenever we get 
together, a song usually comes out of it. In fact, Anytime came about 
during a social gathering before last Christmas at my cabin on Lookout 
Mountain. We call it the 'Old Pals Club,' and the ideas just start 
flowing whenever we do it. 

The laid back, personal approach to Dancin' On The Boulevard carried 
over to the final selection process, as the guys got together and did 
acoustical demos of each potential song for RCA executives at Randy's 
home in Fort Payne, Alabama. The result is an album that embodies the 
same passion that Alabama brings to every stage performance, which is 
the ultimate test for any song that makes the cut.

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