Remember When Alabama Made Country Music History?
On July 30, 1985, Alabama made country music history when they became the first act in the genre to earn quadruple-platinum status. Thirty-seven years ago, the group were recognized for selling 4 million copies of both their 1981 album Feels So Right and 1982's Mountain Music.
Alabama's sophomore album, Feels So Right, amassed three No. 1 hits, including the title track, "Old Flame" and "Love in the First Degree." All three singles from Mountain Music also topped the charts, including the title track, "Close Enough to Perfect" and "Take Me Down."
Despite this massive success, Alabama singer Randy Owen admits that they were uneasy about their back-to-back chart-toppers.
"I was afraid it would curtail the ability to stay true to who Alabama was, and [we would] just do songs that would be commercially easy for radio stations to put on, spin it and have a No. 1 record," Owen told No Depression. "It concerned me. I’m not sure how the other guys feel about that — but it concerned me because, to me, there are songs that you write that you think, 'This is an Alabama song,' and you just feel, 'This is us.'"
Alabama would go on to score a slew of additional No. 1 hits that include "Dixieland Delight," "The Closer You Get," "There's No Way," "Song of the South," "I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)" and more. The group were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
See Live Photos of Alabama