Alabama, one of the most iconic bands in country music history, was honored with a television special jam-packed with tribute performances from their fellow country stars.
For more than 50 years, cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry and buddy Jeff Cook performed together, bringing their unique sound to country audiences across the globe. The band, who first went by the name Wildcountry, was easily the hottest group of the 1980s, with 27 No. 1 hits to their credit in that decade alone.
Their success continued through the ’90s, but waned slightly as the end of the century approached, leading them to disband in 2004. By the time of their retirement, Alabama had numerous multiplatinum albums to their credit and had won almost too many awards to count.
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For several years, each band member pursued their own personal interests, but reunited in 2011 for a fundraising concert called Bama Rising. During that reunion, Teddy, Randy, and Jeff realized how much they missed playing together and decided to resume touring in honor of the band’s 40th anniversary.
In 2017, Jeff Cook announced his decision to cut back on touring to focus on his health after receiving a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. Cook died in 2022 from complications of the disease.
Earlier this year, CMT honored the beloved band with a star-studded tribute show, “CMT Giants: Alabama.”
Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Pam Tillis, Lorrie Morgan, Jamey Johnson, and Little Big Town are just a few of the acts who showed up to pay tribute to Alabama. Also in attendance was Riley Green who took the stage to sing the group’s 1983 hit, “Dixieland Delight.”
The song is one that Green has covered at every show for more than a decade. Ahead of his performance he shared his desire to do the song justice, especially when singing it in front of the group that made it famous.
“I was looking forward to coming to see it and when I got a call to do a song and kind of tribute to the group, ALABAMA, it was for me personally, a huge honor from Alabama. Grew up listening to him as a kid. I have a great relationship with Randy over the years. He’s always been a really great mentor to me. So glad I can shine a little light on what an amazing career they had,” Green said ahead of his performance.
Watch Riley Green sing “Dixieland Delight” for Alabama during the “CMT Giants: Alabama” special below.