Country cousins Teddy Gentry and Randy Owen grew up on separate cotton farms in Lookout Mountain, Alabama, singing in church together as well as studying guitar. On July 4, 1969 they visited another cousin, Jeff Cook, and began their phenomenal ascent as the singing/songwriting country band Alabama. Nearly five decades later, beginning Jan. 10, 2019 in Detroit, Mich., the trio embark on their 50th Anniversary Tour.
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"It seems only a few days ago, but on the fourth of the July, it will be 50 years since me and Teddy went walking into Jeff's little house," Owen told the Tennessean. "We picked a little bit and we sang a song I'd written and we thought, 'Wow, that's pretty good.'"
Unfortunately, Cook's battle with Parkinson's is expected to interfere unpredictably with some of their 27 dates announced so far. But three separate musicians — a guitarist, a violinist and a singer — are on call to fill in for Cook on days he's unable to perform.
On June 6, 2019 the band returns to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to play the Carolina Country Music Festival.
"We never thought playing for tips at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach, S.C., that 50 years later we would still [be] playing arenas, stadiums and festivals," said Owen, quoted in Rolling Stone. "We are finding out that we are playing to three generations of fans who have followed us and our music."
Their indie debut album, Wild Country, was released in 1976 and their major-label, self-titled debut came out in 1980 on RCA. After placing 30 albums on the Billboard 200 charts, the trio's most recent release, Southern Drawl, reached No. 14 in Oct., 2015. Their pop crossover success through the 1980s proved that a country group could sing, write their own songs and perform their own music live — like the rock bands were doing.
In the category Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, Alabama's two GRAMMY wins were for "Mountain Music" at the 25th GRAMMY Awards and for "The Closer You Get..." at the 26th GRAMMY Awards.
Tickets are on sale at the band's website. So far Sept. 14, 2019 in Peoria, Ill. is their final show, but additional dates are expected to be announced.
