Since the beginning of this blog, we've been experiencing an international tour of music around the world. In addition to that ongoing series, let's check out some music a little closer to home as well. Have you ever been curious what artists hail from your particular home state? Most musicians are proud of their hometown, knowing it helped shape them into the person they are today and, in many cases, can credit that place with helping shape their sound through its musical culture.
This week, we're starting with the southern state of Alabama. Also known as the Yellowhammer State, the Heart of Dixie, and the Cotton State, Alabama was the 22nd state admitted into the Union in December 1819. Like we do with our countries, let's check out a quick fact dump about this state:
-Capital City: Montgomery
-Area: 52,419 square miles (30th largest state)
-Population: 5,039,877 as of 2021 (24th most populous state)
-Big 4 Major League Professional Sports Teams (Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey): 0/4
-Named College: University of Alabama (est. 1820)
-State Bird: Yellowhammer
-State Flower: Camellia
-State Butterfly: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
-State Tree: Southern Longleaf Pine
-State Gemstone: Star Blue Quartz
-State Quarter: Released March 2003 (first US coin that features Braille writing)
For this series, we'll be looking at artists that were born and bands that were established in Alabama. This is obviously not all of them, but it's a good sampling to get ya'll some cool music to check out. Let's dive in!
Dixieland Delight by Alabama (written by R. Rogers)
Alabama was formed in Fort Payne, Alabama (about 181 miles northeast of Montgomery) in 1969. Proper country music legends, the band has undergone multiple lineups over the years, with the current one including Randy Owen on vocals and guitar and Teddy Gentry on bass and vocals. Shockingly, the group has only won two Grammy Awards throughout the years: 1983 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Mountain Music and 1984 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for The Closer You Get. Despite two hiatuses (one from 2004-2006 and another from 2007-2010), they've released twenty-six studio albums since 1976, with the classic Dixieland Delight originally featured on 1983's The Closer You Get. I grew up listening to Alabama, and I still get a big, happy nostalgia swell when I hear their classic fiddle and incredible vocal harmonies anywhere I am. There's a reason these guys are so beloved by country music fans, and I truly believe they're some of the best to play the game.
Rollin' down a backwoods Tennessee byway, one arm on the wheel/Holdin' my lover with the other, a sweet, soft, southern thrill/Worked hard all week, got a little jingle on a Tennessee Saturday night/Couldn't feel better, I'm together with my Dixieland delight/Spend my dollar parked in a holler 'neath the mountain moonlight/Hold her uptight, make a little lovin’, a little turtle dovin' on a Mason-Dixon night/Fits my life, oh, so right, my Dixieland delight
Don't Wanna Fight by Alabama Shakes (written by B. Howard)
Alabama Shakes was formed in Athens, Alabama (about 183 miles north of Montgomery) in 2009. Focusing on the genres of blues rock, southern rock, soul, and roots rock, the band lineup included Brittany Howard on vocals and guitar, Heath Fogg on guitar, Zac Cockrell on bass guitar, and Steve Johnson on drums. Before their hiatus began in 2017, the group won 4 Grammy Awards: 2016 Best Rock Performance and 2016 Best Rock Song for Don't Wanna Fight, 2016 Best Alternative Music Album for Sound & Color, and 2018 Best American Roots Performance for Killer Diller Blues. They released two studio albums between 2012 and 2015, and the award winning Don't Wanna Fight was featured on their 2015 album Sound & Color. This was not an Alabama Shakes song I knew previously (though I am a huge fan of the songs Sound & Color and Hold On), but Howard's unique, intriguing voice and the overall groove of the instrumentation pulled me right in like always. This group had such a cool sound, and at the end of this hiatus I'll definitely be excited to listen to more of their stuff.
My life, your life, don't cross them lines/What you like, what I like, why can't we both be right/Attacking, defending until there's nothing left worth winning/Your pride and my pride, don't waste my time/I don't wanna fight no more, I don't wanna fight no more/I don't wanna fight no more, I don't wanna fight no more/I don't wanna fight no more, I don't wanna fight no more, I
Boulder to Birmingham by Emmylou Harris (written by E. Harris, B. Danoff)
Emmylou Harris was born in Birmingham, Alabama (92 miles northwest of Montgomery) in April 1947. A talented singer, songwriter, and guitarist, she's been a staple of country, folk, Americana, and rock music since 1969. Harris has won an impressive fourteen Grammy Awards: 1977 Best Country Vocal Performance Female for Elite Hotel; 1980 Best Country Vocal Performance Female for Blue Kentucky Girl; 1981 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for That Lovin' You Feelin' Again with Roy Orbison; 1985 Best Country Vocal Performance Female for In My Dreams; 1987 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Trio with Dolly Parton & Linda Ronstadt; 1992 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for At the Ryman with Nash Ramblers; 1995 Best Contemporary Folk Album for Wrecking Ball; 1998 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for Same Old Train; 2000 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for After the Gold Rush with Dolly Parton & Linda Ronstadt; 2001 Best Contemporary Folk Album for Red Dirt Girl; 2002 Album of the Year for O Brother, Where Art Thou?; 2006 Best Female Country Vocal Performance for The Connection; 2014 Best American Album for Old Yellow Moon with Rodney Crowell; and 2018's Lifetime Achievement Award. She released twenty-six studio albums between 1969 and 2011, with Boulder to Birmingham originally featured on the 1975 album Pieces of the Sky. Harris has such a beautiful voice and packs so much emotion into every single one of her songs. She's a really incredible musician with an equally incredible discography.
I don't want to hear a love song, I got on this airplane just to fly/And I know there's life below me, but all that you can show me is the prairie and the sky/And I don't want to hear a sad story full of heartbreak and desire/The last time I felt like this, I was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire/And I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn/I watched it burn, I watched it burn/I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham, I would hold my life in his saving grace/I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham if I thought I could see, I could see your face
Alabama by Gordon Mote (written by J. Tutwiler, E. Gussen)
Alabama is the state song of, well Alabama, and was adopted back in March 1931. With music by organist and choirmaster Edna Gockel Gussen and lyrics by educator and humanitarian Julia Tutwiler, the song does exactly what a state song should do by invoking beautiful imagery of the land to create a sense of pride and love for your home.
Alabama, Alabama, we will aye be true to thee/From thy Southern shores where groweth by the sea thine orange tree/To thy Northern vale where floweth deep and blue the Tennessee/Alabama, Alabama, we will aye be true to thee
Hey Good Lookin' by Hank Williams (written by H. Williams)
Hank Williams was born in Butler County, Alabama (about 58 miles southwest of Montgomery) in September 1923. One of country music's most iconic and tragic figures, he also dabbled in western, honky tonk, and gospel music until his death in 1953 as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Williams is a two-time posthumous Grammy Award winner: 1987's Lifetime Achievement Award and 1989 Best Country Vocal Collaboration with his son, Hank Williams Jr., for There's a Tear in My Beer. He released two studio albums between 1951 and 1952, with Hey Good Lookin' released as a single in 1951. I've listened to music from all three Hanks (Senior, Junior, and Hank III), but man, no one sounds like the originally or even really comes close. If you love classic country, this song is an absolute requirement for your playlist.
Say hey, good lookin', what ya got cookin’/How's about cooking somethin' up with me/Hey, sweet baby, don't you think maybe/We can find us a brand new recipe/I got a hot rod Ford and a two dollar bill/And I know a spot right over the hill/There's soda pop and the dancing's free/So if you wanna have fun, come along with me/Say hey, good lookin', what ya got cookin’/How's about cooking somethin' up with me
Cover Me Up by Jason Isbell (written by J. Isbell)
Jason Isbell was born in Green Hill, Alabama (about 226 miles northwest of Montgomery) in February 1979. Since 1995, he's been a fixture in Americana, folk, and southern rock both as a solo artist, front man for The 400 Unit on guitar, and band member for Drive-By Truckers. A musician and actor prominent on vocals and guitar, Isbell is a four-time Grammy winner: 2016 Best American Roots Song 24 Frames, 2016 Best Americana Album for Something More Than Free, 2018 Best American Roots Song for If We Were Vampires, and 2018 Best Americana Album for The Nashville Sound. He's released nine studio albums since 2007, and Cover Me Up was originally featured on the 2013 album Southeastern. My first experience with this song was actually through Morgan Wallen's 2021 cover version, which I do really like, but I loved getting to experience this song as it was originally intended. Isbell has a very specific sound when he sings, and it creates a really nice feeling as you listen to it with its undeniable Americana vibe.
A heart on the run keeps a hand on a gun, can't trust anyone/I was so sure what I needed was more, tried to shoot out the sun/The days when we raged, we flew off the page, such damage was done/But I made it through, 'cause somebody knew I was meant for someone/So, girl, leave your boots by the bed, we ain't leaving this room/’Til someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom/It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood/So cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good
Girl Crush by Little Big Town (written by L. McKenna, H. Lindsey, L. Rose)
Little Big Town was formed in Homewood, Alabama (about 87 miles northwest of Montgomery) in 1998. Now a staple of country music radio, the band lineup includes Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook who all share the responsibility of lead vocalist and create some of the most beautiful four part harmonies out there today. They currently have four Grammy Awards under their belt: 2013 Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Pontoon, 2016 Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Girl Crush, 2018 Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Better Man, and 2018's On the Hill Award. They've released ten studio albums since 2002, with the award winning Girl Crush originally featured on 2014's Pain Killer. I've loved Little Big Town since their first big single Boondocks, but truly Girl Crush is on another level of great. With lead vocals by Fairchild, the pain of unrequited love in the lyrics is tangible, and it's absolutely one of their all-time best songs.
I've got a girl crush, hate to admit it but/I got a heart rush, ain't slowin' down/I got it real bad, want everything she has/That smile and that midnight laugh she's givin' you now/I want to taste her lips, yeah, 'cause they taste like you/I want to drown myself in a bottle of her perfume/I want her long blond hair, I want her magic touch/Yeah, 'cause maybe then, you'd want me just as much/I’ve got a girl crush
Easy by The Commodores (written by L. Richie)
The Commodores were formed in Tuskegee, Alabama (about 39 miles east of Montgomery) in 1968. Possibly best known for helping launch founding member Lionel Richie's career, the band currently has a lineup of William King on trumpet, guitar, keys, and vocals; Walter Orange on drums and vocals; J.Dd. Nicholas on vocals and keys; and Pierre Lewis Sr. on keys. Like with Alabama, I was shocked to see only one Grammy Award for the group: 1986 Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Duo, Group Or Chorus for Nightshift. They released hiatuses (one from 2004-2006 and another from 2007-2010), they've released fourteen studio albums between 1974 and 1993, with the classic Easy originally featured on 1977's Commodores. This is one of those songs you definitely know even if you don't realize it, and Richie's signature vocals make this song almost instantly recognizable. It's a really chill R&B song that easily puts a smile on your face.
Know it sounds funny, but I just can't stand the pain/Girl, I'm leaving you tomorrow/Seems to me, girl, you know I've done all I can/You see, I begged, stole, and I borrowed, yeah, ooh/That's why I'm easy/I’m easy like Sunday morning/That's why I'm easy/I’m easy like Sunday morning
Whether you're an Alabama native or not, I hope you found some great new music to check out today. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!
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