Music of Alabama
|
|
Template:USstatesmusic Alabama has played a central role in the development of both blues and country music. In addition the blues and country, Appalachian folk music, fiddle music, gospel, spirituals, mariachi and polka have had local scenes in parts of Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute's School of Music (established 1931), especially the Tuskegee Choir, is an internationally renowned institution. There are three major modern orchestras, the Mobile Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra; the last is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in the state, giving its first performance in 1955.
The state song of Alabama is titled "Alabama". It was written by Julia S. Tutwiler and composed by Edna Gockel Gussen. It was adopted as the state song in 1931.
| Contents |
Hall of Fame
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame was created by the Alabama state legislature as a state agency in 1980. A 12,500 square foot (1,200 m²) exhibit hall opened in Tuscumbia in 1990. There is also an Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Styles
Gospel music, especially the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, has been especially influential in the state (see also the Birmingham Sunlights).
The state also has a Celtic music scene, which has produced bands like Henri's Notions and the Birmingham-based harpist Cynthia Douglass, as well as a number of piping bands and promotional Celtic organizations.
Alabama is the leading state for Sacred Harp singing. The B. F. White Sacred Harp is published by the Sacred Harp Book Company of Samson, Alabama. The Sacred Harp/Shape Note Music and Cultural Center is located in Bessemer, Alabama.
Muscle Shoals
The studios of the Muscle Shoals area (Florence, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, and Tuscumbia) figure prominently in the history of rock and R&B through the 1960s and 1970s. Fame Studios, Muscle Shoal Studios, Quinvy Studios, Wishbone Studios, and more like them proved to be fertile ground for local musicians and international superstars alike. Artists like Aretha Franklin, Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Otis Redding recorded there. The studio house bands have even become famous as The Fame Gang, The Swampers, The Muscle Shoals Horns and The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. One broke out on their own to become major stars, known as Shenandoah.
Musicians from Alabama
Members of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame
- Alabama (band) - Country superstar band, based on Fort Payne
- Nat King Cole - Jazz and R&B musician/songwriter, born in Montgomery
- The Commodores - Soul/funk group formed in Tuskegee
- William Levi Dawson - composer, organizer of the Tuskegee School of Music, from Anniston, Alabama
- Delmore Brothers - from Elkmont, Alabama
- Joe L. Frank - country music promoter from Mt. Rozell
- Rick Hall - record producer from Franklin County
- W.C. Handy - father of the blues, Born in Florence
- Erskine Hawkins - big band leader
- Sonny James - Early country star, born in Hacklebug
- James Joiner - founder of Tune Recording Studio, songwriter, from Florence
- Jake Hess - gospel singer from Limestone County
- Buddy Killen - record producer and founder of Dial Records, executive at Tree Publishing
- Louvin Brothers - influential close harmony group, from Section
- Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section - renowned studio band, consisting of Jimmy Johnson, guitar, Roger Hawkins, drums, David Hood, bass, and Barry Beckett, keyboards
- Sam Phillips - founder of Sun Records, born in Florence
- Carly Putnam - songwriter from Princeton
- Martha Reeves - Motown lead singer, Born in Eufaula
- Jimmie Rodgers - Early country star, born in Geiger
- Billy Sherrill - Country producer, with 74 top 10 hits, born in Phil Campbell
- Percy Sledge - 1960s soul star, born in Leighton
- Dinah Washington - Jazz and blues singer, born in Tuscaloosa
- Jerry Wexler - New Yorker with Atlantic Records, responsible for the rise of Muscle Shoals
- John T. "Fess" Whatley - music educator, worked with the Jazz Demons, the first jazz band in Birmingham
- Hank Williams - Country music pioneer, born in Georgiana
- Tammy Wynette - Country singer - Lived in Red Bay
Other notable musicians from Alabama
- Hank Ballard - Early rock songwriter, wrote "The Twist", lived in Bessemer
- Bibi Black - Trumpeter from Huntsville
- Blind Boys of Alabama - Legendary gospel group, based in Talladega
- Brother Cane - Alternative musicians, based in Birmingham
- Jimmy Buffett - Popular singer/songwriter, from Mobile
- Larry Byrom - Rock guitarist, from Huntsville
- Clarence Carter - R&B musician and songwriter, Born in Montgomery
- Nell Carter - Broadway and TV, Born in Birmingham
- Seaborn McDaniel Denson - Sacred Harp teacher and composer
- Thomas Jackson Denson - Sacred Harp teacher and composer
- Cleveland Eaton - jazz musician from Birmingham
- Eddie Floyd - R&B singer, born in Montgomery
- Lionel Hampton - Jazz vibes pioneer, lived in Birmingham
- Emmylou Harris - Country singer/songwriter, Born in Birmingham
- Ty Herndon - Country singer, lives in Butler
- Charlie Hodge - Musician for Elvis Presley, member of the "Memphis Mafia", born in Decatur
- Alan Hunter - Original MTV "VJ", Born in Birmingham
- Merle Kilgore - Country musician, lived in Cullman
- Nicolette Larson - 1970s songwriter, lived in Birmingham
- Eddie Levert - Founding member of The O'Jays, born in Birmingham
- Shelby Lynne - Country music artist, lives in Jackson
- Maddox Brothers and Rose - Influential early country group, from Boaz
- Brian McKnight - R&B singer and producer, Born in Huntsville
- Jim Nabors - Actor and singer of standards and gospel, born in Sylacauga
- Wilson Pickett - R&B star, born in Prattville
- Lionel Richie - Singer/songwriter, see also Commodores, born in Tuskegee
- Tommy Shaw - guitarist and singer from Montgomery
- Ruben Studdard - Winner of American Idol, Born in Birmingham
- Sun Ra - Jazz musician and composer, born in Birmingham
- Take 6 - Contemporary Gospel groum, from Huntsville
- The Temptations - four members: Eddie Kendricks (Union Springs), Paul Williams (Birmingham), Melvin Franklin (Montgomery), and Dennis Edwards (Birmingham)
- Toni Tennille - Half of '70s hitmakers Captain & Tennille, born in Montgomery
- Willie Mae "Big Momma" Thornton - Legendary blues and R&B artist, born in Ariton
- Thrasher Brothers - Seminal gospel group, based in Birmingham
- Hank Williams Jr. - Country music star, lived in Gadsden
External links
- Alabama Music Hall of Fame (http://www.alamhof.org/index.html)
- Download traditional music (http://www.arts.state.al.us/actc/music/index-music.html)