It's been over 40 years since Randy, Jeff and Teddy, left the cotton farms of Fort Payne, Alabama, to spend the summer playing in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina bar called The Bowery. Of the early days and their humble beginnings, Jeff says, "I don't think we thought too far ahead. We were more concerned with paying our bills at the end of the week and playing music."Finally, word of mouth earned the major label deal they'd been dreaming of. In 1980 the band broke through with their first Top 20 hit “My Home’s In Alabama.” ALABAMA is the band that changed everything. They brought country music to the mainstream and from side stage to the main stage. Alabama introduced rock style guitars, lights, pyrotechnics and sounds to the country audience. "We were renegades in sneakers and T-shirts," says Teddy. "We had long hair and played loud and some of the country folks resisted us for a while. But then of course they did accept us and then after that, our success made it lots easier for other bands to try it in country music," concluded Gentry. The band continues to perform to legions of loyal fans, selling out venues night after night. They were honored with the ACM Career Achievement Award at the Ryman Auditorium in the Fall of 2015 and were named “Album Of The Year” at the 2015 Dove Awards for "Angels Among Us" hymns and Gospel favorites.
