Alabama

Cousins Randy Owen (lead vocalist/ guitar), and Teddy Gentry (backing vocals/ bass) formed the band, and together they recruited their other cousin Jeff Cook (guitar/ fiddle/ keyboard) in 1969. In 1972 the band got a gig playing as the opening act for various other artists at Canyonland Theme Park, however it was not enough to make a living out of, so the three members pursued various other jobs, putting the band on the backburner.

In March 1973 the band decided to pursue music professionally and the trip moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and performed six nights a week at the Bowery. They also took out a loan in order to record and release their own album to sell at their shows, and to send out as demos to labels. In 1977 the band caught a break with GRT Records signing them, but when the label declared bankruptcy after releasing the one record in their contract, the band was also contractually forbidden to record with another label.

It wasn’t until 1979 when the band was able to self-record and release another album entitled “Alabama Band No. 3;” additionally, Mark Herndon stepped in as drummer to replace Rick Scott. They self-promoted their single “I Wanna Come Over” and eventually the band was able to grab the attention of Dallas based label, MDJ Records. Their second single “My House’s In Alabama” was extremely successful as well, reaching mainstream attention reaching the top 20. It also caught the attention of RCA records, with whom they signed a contract with in 1980.

While with RCA, Alabama had the luxury of creative freedom, and was able to tour extensively after the successful release of more singles. Their release of “Mountain Magic” in 1982 was found with HUGE success, going quadruple platinum with over 6 million copies sold, consequently launching the band into super stardom. By January 1986 the band had a number of hits, allowing RCA to release a Greatest Hits compilation.

Despite their albums still reaching gold and silver statuses, and selling millions of copies, the band’s popularity started to decline in the 1990s. Despite the decline, however, the band was still finding continued success with sales of their singles and shows. By May 2002 the band announced a farewell tour, collecting over $15 million in ticket sales alone.

As a child Jamey Johnson was influenced by many country artists such as Alabama and Alan Jackson. Johnson attended the same university as Randy Owen from the band Alabama, but Johnson dropped out of college after two years and joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve where he served for eight years. While in the Marine Corps, Johnson wrote original music and would perform his songs for his fellow Marines. After exiting the Marine Corps he started to perform his music at bars across Montgomery and had the opportunity to open for renowned country acts like David Allan Coe. In the year 2000 he moved to Nashville, US in order to launch his career in country music. By 2002 Johnson self-released his debut album “They Call Me Country”. While in Nashville Johnson started to make connections with well-known artists in the industry, which would lead to the record producer Buddy Cannon helping him get signed to the record label, BNA Records.

In 2006 Johnson released his second studio album and first major label album “The Dollar”. The album reached the No. 20 spot on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and its single “The Dollar” reached the No. 14 spot on the US Country charts. Although the album was a fairly successful album and conveyed Johnson’s talents as a songwriter, the other single from the album “Rebelicious” failed to place on the charts, which resulted in Johnson being dropped from BNA. After his departure from the label Johnson focused on his songwriting abilities and wrote many songs for different artists to perform. During that time he wrote the No. 1 hit “Give It Away”, which was performed by George Strait. In 2007 he also co-wrote the hit songs “Ladies Love Country Boys”, which was performed by Trace Adkins and “Another Side of You”, which was performed by Joe Nichols.

In 2008 Johnson released new material under his name by releasing the album “That Lonesome Song”, which was put out by Mercury Nashville Records. His hit singles “In Color” and “High Cost of Living” both made it on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. “In Color” was the more popular of the two singles and earned Johnson an Academy of Country Music award as well as a Grammy Award nomination. The album reached the No. 6 position on the US Top Country Albums chart and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album has also been lauded by critics. Rhapsody listed the album as the fifth best country album of the 2000s and CMT listed the album under “A Dozen Favorite Country Albums of the Decade”.

Johnson released his fourth studio album “The Guitar Song” in 2010. The album was met with great commercial success as well as critical praise. The sound of the album contained a classic old school country sound that featured songs that were presented in an outlaw country style as well as songs that were presented in a ballad format. The album reached the No. 4 position on the US Billboard 200 chart and reached the No. 1 position on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Many publications such as Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe all highly praised the album as well as placed it in high rankings on their top albums of the year list.

Jamey Johnson has proven himself as one of the most prominent singer/songwriters in modern country music. He has collaborated with many notable artists like Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, and Merle Haggard, as well as embarked on many high profile tours where he has shared the bill with people such as Kid Rock and Willie Nelson.