Alabama band members and wives images

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    Alabama, Country Music Hall of Fame band, over the years

    MUSIC

    Alabama members Jeff Cook left, Randy Owen, Mark Herdon and Teddy Gentry are in high spirits even though the wind scuttled their hot air balloon ride during the MDJ Records party at the Cajun's Warf Oct. 16, 1980 that is part of Dee Jay Week.

    Dale Ernsberger / The Tennessean

    Jeff Cook, left, Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry of Alabama perform at the 15th annual CMA Awards show at the Grand Ole Opry House Oct. 12, 1981.

    Ricky Rogers / The Tennessean

    Teddy Gentry of Alabama performs at the 15th annual CMA Awards show at the Grand Ole Opry House Oct.12, 1981.

    Ricky Rogers / The Tennessean

    Alabama members Randy Owen, left, Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry and Mark Herndon accept one of their two awards at the 15th annual CMA Awards show at the Grand Ole Opry House Oct. 12, 1981. The group won Instrumental Group of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year.

    Ricky Rogers / The Tennessean

    As Alabama's Mark Herndon, second from right,

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    See photos of Alabama band’s emotional induction into Musicians Hall of Fame

    The Alabama band was inducted this week into the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville, and if photos from the event are any indication, it was an emotional experience for Teddy Gentry.

    Gentry, one of the three founding members of the country group from Fort Payne, appears to be wiping tears from his eyes during the ceremony on Oct. 22 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. In other photos, however, Gentry looks downright jubilant.

    And for good reason. Bassist Gentry, singer Randy Owen and guitarist and fiddler Jeff Cook also received the hall’s first Lifetime Achievement Award.

    “From a band standpoint, I’ve had to play my own music since we got started. I remember me and Randy, when we were growing up, running across the cotton field in the afternoon, to pick out a new Beatles chord on guitar,” Gentry said at the ceremony. “Music was about all we had to lean on and hope for and li

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    Alabama (band)

    American country music band

    For the Canadian band, see Alabama (Canadian band).

    Alabama is an American country music band formed in Fort Payne, Alabama, in 1969. The band was founded by Randy Owen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and his cousin Teddy Gentry (bass, backing vocals). They were soon joined by another cousin, Jeff Cook (lead guitar, fiddle, and keyboards). First operating beneath the name Young Country and later Wildcountry, the group toured the Southeast bar circuit in the early 1970s, and began writing original songs. They changed their name to Alabama in 1977 and following the chart success of two singles, were approached by RCA Records for a recording deal.

    Alabama's biggest success came in the 1980s, when the band had 27 country No. 1 hits, sju multi-platinum albums, and received numerous major awards. Alabama's first single on RCA Records, "Tennessee River", began a streak of 21 country No. 1 singles, including "Love in the First Degree" (1981),