When you can claim the father of the blues, the biggest country star ever, and the man who produced the first rock n’ roll records, it’s safe to say, Alabama can claim a rich musical history. Here’s our list of 25 of Alabama’s greatest music icons.
1) W.C. Handy
If you can claim to be the Father of the Blues, you can pretty much claim to be the father of modern music. Reared by a no-nonsense disciple family in Florence, Handy was well educated and teacher by trade until his love of music was too much to resist. It was his travels through the South and parts of the mid-West where he was influenced by African America folk music, which he would evolve into the blues. Through Clarksville Mississippi, he settled in Memphis and became a hit as he helped create the legend that would become Beale Street. In 1909 he wrote a campaign song for local politician Boss Crump. From this, he reworked it into “Memphis Blues” which became a huge hit and its structure would be the foundation of what would become the blues. While a commercial hit, he was taken advantage of and lost out on the publishing rights. He learned for this experience, and set up his own publishing business to retain ownership of his songs, which would include milestones like St. Louis Blues, Yellow Dog Blues and Beale Street Blues.
2) Hank Williams
A musical super star before there was such a thing. He not only helped invent Country music, he laid down the mold that generations would follow. He was born in Butler County Alabama to scraps, and wrote some of the most iconic songs in all of popular music. Easily one of the greatest songwriters of all time, he was covered by all sorts of singers from Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and Tony Bennett. His themes of drinking and being wronged by a woman would dominate country music. His substance-abused life and dying young (29) of an over dose in back of his long white Cadillac has only added to his legend, and set a trend that many popular artists would follow for generations. Like all Southerners he learned his music from two places- the church choir and black street music. As great of an indicator as any of his influence, check out all of his covers.
3) Nat King Cole
It’s hard for younger generations to understand how big Nat King Cole was. A true celebrity he looked as smooth as he sounded. Cole was one of the first African Americans to host a national television variety show, and was huge internationally. Cole's first mainstream hit was his 1943 recording of one of his compositions, "Straighten Up and Fly Right", based on a black folk tale that his father had used as a theme for a sermon. Johnny Mercer invited him to record it for his fledgling Capitol Records. It sold over 500,000 copies, proving that folk-based material could appeal to a wide audience. Cole would never be considered a rocker, but the song can be seen as anticipating the first rock-and-roll records. Bo Diddley, who performed similar transformations of folk material, counted Cole as an influence Cole's success at Capitol Records, for which he recorded more than 150 singles that reached the Billboard Pop, R&B, and Country charts, has yet to be matched by any Capitol artist. his records sold 50 million copies during his career. He’s an ultimate crooner and his record sales alone are credited with saving Capitol Records. As part of his complete celebrity status, Cole was one of the first African Americans to host a national television variety show.
4) Sam Phillips
The founder and owner of Sun Studios in Memphis, Phillips undoubtedly helped launch Rock-N-Roll. It’s said that Phillips stated, 'If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.' It was July 5, 1954 when a unknown nineteen-year-old truck driver named Elvis, came into Phillip’s studio to record Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right”. Popular music as we know it was invented on that day. Beginning his career in Muscle Shoals as a sound engineer and DJ, Phillips clearly had an eye for talent. Elvis Presley, Rufus Thomas, Little Milton, Bobby Blue Bland, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash all made some of their first recordings at his studio. Interestingly, Phillips considered Howlin' Wolf his greatest discovery, and Elvis Presley his second greatest.
5) Lionel Richie/The Commodores
Lionel was fixture of the Billboard Top-10 in the 70s and 80s. The Commodores early 70s hits- Brick House, Machine Gun helped launch Funk. From there Lionel found his niche with ballads that sold millions- Easy, 3 Times a Lady, Endless Love, Truly, Say You, Say Me, Still and many more are engrained in popular culture. An amazing songwriter Richie also penned the mega-hit Lady for his friend Kenny Rogers, and co-wrote We are the World with Michael Jackson.
6) Jimmie Rodgers
According to tradition, Rodgers' birthplace is usually listed as Meridian, Mississippi; however, in documents signed by Rodgers later in life, his birthplace was listed as Geiger, Alabama, the home of his paternal grandparents. Regardless, his childhood was split on the Alabama/Mississippi line with various relatives. Released in the late 20s, "Blue Yodel No. 9" sold roughly 500,000 copies (a huge number then). It was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 1961, when the Country Music Hall of Fame was established, Rodgers was one of the first three (the others were music publisher and songwriter Fred Rose and singer-songwriter Hank Williams) to be inducted. Known for his yodeling, he was one of the first country superstars, and is remembered as the Father of Country Music.
7) Alabama
Simply put, Alabama has sold a ton of records. The band has over 30 number one country records on the Billboard charts to their credit, and have sold over 75 million records, making them one of the world's best-selling bands of all time. AllMusic credited the band with popularizing the idea of a country band, and wrote that "it's unlikely that any other country group will be able to surpass the success of Alabama." Alabama's blend of traditional country and Southern rock that lead to huge success in the 1980s.
8) Dinah Washington
Born Ruth Lee Jones in Tuscaloosa, Washington has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s". Her many other titles include Queen of the Blues, Queen of the Jukebox and Queen of Jam Sessions. Recognized mainly as a jazz singer she crossed genres, always with her roots in gospel. As well as her legendary voice, she was a great piano player and was even directed her church choir in her teens.
9) Rick Hall
If you never have, check the 2013 documentary Muscle Shoals. It does a great job of explaining how such a little place could produce so much great music. It was Hall who was the architect. A record producer, songwriter, music publisher and musician Hall was the owner of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals which recorded more artists and hit songs than we can mention.
10) Tammy Wynette
Wynette was born in Mississippi on the Alabama line, but she called Red Bay, Alabama her hometown. Considered the "First Lady of Country Music", her best-known song, "Stand by Your Man", will probably always resonate across genre’s generations and borders, and is one of the best-selling hit singles by a woman in the history of country music.
11) Big Mama Thornton
Before Lou Reed, David Bowie and The New York Dolls began to push a transgender, androgynous persona in the early 70s, Thornton had already been there done that two decades earlier. Openly gay, Thornton was known to wear men’s outfits in her stage shows and performed risqué songs. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", in 1952, which became her biggest hit, staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1953, and selling almost two million copies. It was unfortunately over shadowed by Elvis’s performance a couple of years later.
12) Sun Ra
Not nearly recognized and appreciated enough in his hometown of Birmingham, Sun Ra is a true jazz great. His flair for the avant-garde would touch all aspects of jazz, and eclectic persona and stage presence would influence all of popular music. Much of his career, Ra led “The Arkestra”, an ensemble with an ever-changing line-up. Born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham, he left to pioneer the Chicago jazz scene of the 1940s. Blount lived behind his stage persona and claimed he was an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, and throughout his life he consistently denied any ties to his prior identity.
13) Jimmy Buffett
No one has gotten more out of one song as Jimmy Buffett has out of Margaritaville. He does have Cheeseburger in Paradise and Come Monday, but Margaritaville is song everyone (and I mean everyone) knows. A pioneer of the good times, his fan base (Parrotheads) are as loyal as any.
14) Wilson Pickett
A major force in the development of soul and its influence, this Prattville native co-wrote and had a major hit with “In the Midnight Hour”. Most of his 1960s acclaim came from Stax in Memphis and Fame in Muscle Shoals, as he was a huge contributor to both studios’ success.
15) Delmore Brothers
Born to dirt poor tenant farmers in Elkmont, The Brothers did their first recording session for Columbia in 1931, recording "I've Got the Kansas City Blues" and "Alabama Lullaby," which became their theme song. In the 30’s they became a regular and the most popular draw to the Grand Ole Opry. It was their quicker guitar play applied to traditional gospel music that helped build the still formation of country music. Over the course of their careers, the Delmores wrote more than one thousand songs. Some of the most popular were "Brown's Ferry Blues," "Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar" and "Fifteen Miles from Birmingham." Their "Freight Train Boogie" recorded in 1946 is regarded by some as the first rock and roll record. Bob Dylan was quoted as saying "The Delmore Brothers, God, I really loved them! I think they've influenced every harmony I've ever tried to sing."
16) The Blind Boys of Alabama
Together since 1939, this Gospel group has won 5 Grammy’s inspired and influenced a generation of musicians’ musicians including Bobby "Blue" Bland and Marvin Gaye and they’ve recorded with everyone from Chrissie Hynde, Aaron Neville, George Clinton, and Lou Reed.
17) Alabama Shakes
The Shakes are undoubtedly one of the biggest bands around right now. With only two records under their belt, their debut album's lead single, “Hold On" was a huge radio hit (peaking at number one on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart) and was dubbed the best song of the year by Rolling Stone. Sound & Color, was released on April 21, 2015. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the US .
18) Eddie Kindricks/ Melvin Franklin (The Temptations)
The forefront of the Detroit sound, Kindricks and Franklin were Alabamians. The Temptations began singing background for Mary Wells. The Temptations quickly became the most successful male vocal group of the 1960s. Three classic Temptations songs, "My Girl", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
19) Emmylou Harris
Harris is a 13 Time Grammy winner, who has had musicians lining up to work with her for decades. Maybe a more cerebral type of country compared to most of the mainstream country, she and Gram Parsons helped shape a stain of country they considered simply as American music. Her song Boulder to Birmingham is about Parsons.
20) Percy Sledge
Sledge's soulful voice was perfect for the series of soul ballads produced by Ivy and Marlin Greene, which rock critic Dave Marsh called "emotional classics for romantics of all ages". His most famous song is still a fixture in our pop culture-When a Man Loves a Woman.
21) Martha Reeves
This Eufaula native was a fixture on the Motown Sound as the front-woman of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. She got her start as a secretary at Motown offices until she filled in for a missing Mary Wells. After "Heat Wave" became the group's first million-seller, Martha and the Vandellas quickly rose to become one of the label's top draws.
22) Eddie Floyd
Another legend produced by Stax, Floyd was best know for writing and performing the often covered “Knock on Wood”. In Detroit, Floyd co-founded The Falcons, which were a forerunner to groups like the 4 Tops and The Temptations. At Stax, Floyd was one of Stax's most consistent and versatile artists recording and writing many of the label’s other artists’ hits.
23) Arthur Alexander
If you can claim to be the only artist to ever be recorded by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan who certainly put yourself in rare air. Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his contemporaries”. "You Better Move On" was recorded in 1961 at a former tobacco warehouse in Muscle Shoals that would become the legendary FAME Studio.
24) The Swampers
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is easily one of the best-known groups of session musicians in the history of rock-n-roll. They’re credited as crafting the “Muscle Shoals Sound.” They have appeared on more than 75 gold and platinum hits. If you know the lyrics to Sweet Home Alabama, you know The Swampers. “Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers; and they've been known to pick a song or two. Lord they get me off so much. They pick me up when I'm feeling blue. Now how about you?” Respect and Mustang Sally are just two of their classic tunes.
25) Jason Isbell/Drive-By Truckers
Relatively newbies compared to the rest of this list. Isbell seems to really be hitting his stride with his last two solo records- (Southeastern and Something More than Free) A great songwriter, he’s said of his Northern Alabama roots, "I definitely don’t feel like I would be the musician that I am, or the type of songwriter, had I not come from that particular place," he says now. "The soul music that came out of there, and a lot of the soul-influenced rock and roll and country music that came out of the studios in north Alabama in the '60s and '70s had a big influence on me."
