Sunday, August 24, 2003

By John Hayes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The genealogy of country music does not flow unimpeded from Hank Williams to today's country sales charts. Fresh blood was transfused in the 1980s when, after a decade of denial, Nashville finally opened its doors to the influence of Southern and country rock.

	Alabama Where: Post-Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown. When: 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $19.50 to $75; 412-323-1919.

Well, they didn't exactly open their doors. Alabama kicked them in.

In February 1980, Alabama cracked through the Country Top 20 with "My Home's in Alabama," followed by a flood of No. 1 hits from "Tennessee River" to "Feels So Right." When other groups followed the trail, the sound of country radio changed dramatically.

Unlike most hat acts, the guys from Alabama didn't wear hats. And while Music Row likes to mix and match cute faces, good voices and backing session talent, Alabama entered the market as a cohesive band which, in the rock tradition, wrote, recorded and toured as a unit. Most importantly, Alabama borrowed freely from ZZ Top, The Outlaws, The Eagles, Pure Prairie League and more of the country-inspired rock that Nashville had long rejected as not country enough.

While the industry still prefers singers with backing musicians over band projects, much of today's country music owes a tip of its hat to Alabama. A recent Pittsburgh stop of country's hottest summer tour, the blockbuster Brooks & Dunn Neon Circus and Wild West Show, showcased influences that trace directly through Alabama to the Southern and country rock of the 1970s.

It's been 34 years since Fort Payne, Ala., cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry teamed with guitarist Jeff Cook under the name Young Country and won a local talent contest. Twenty-three years after a full-grown Alabama scored its first big hit, the band is crossing the country on an American Farewell Tour (with a stop Saturday at the Post-Gazette Pavilion) signaling its retirement from the road.

Cook is quick to stress that the band isn't saying goodbye forever.

"It's the Farewell Tour, but don't hear the words 'retire' or 'quit' in there," he says. "It means just what it says -- we're not going to tour anymore."

Alabama is at a serious career juncture. More than ever, country radio is preoccupied with new, young talent, and while many of the youngsters continue to rehash Alabama's rehashed riffs, radio sees the band as long in the tooth. Critics whine that the band's music has become increasingly formulaic, and Alabama no longer has the backing of a record label.

"Radio in general hasn't played anything we've released in the last five years," says Cook. "We just thought maybe it's time to stop pushing that part of it. I think we'd like to call the shots about when we make an album, for a change."

Cook says Alabama will take advantage of its professional freedom by retaining the option to record independent albums in the future. Individual members may pursue solo projects. Gentry plans to spend more time producing Burt's Beef, his line of farm-raised cattle. Owen has hitched his wagon to Country Cares, a charity he helped to start that raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Drummer Mark Herndon wants to spend more time piloting Medevac helicopters in rescue flights, while Cook maintains a more public profile, operating a recording studio in Fort Payne, sponsoring celebrity bass-fishing tournaments and touring and recording with an eight-piece horn band.

"The spur project is not meant to replace Alabama by any means," he says. "It's just something I've always wanted to do. It's a variety thing. Our slogan is 'Country, soul and rock 'n' roll.' "

But for now, Cook and his colleagues are still in Alabama mode.

"Our focus right now is to do the tour," he says, "which is a bittersweet thing. But we like to think of it as a celebration of our fans and 42 No. 1 hits and album cuts. This tour is a lot longer than what we've been doing. We play approximately an hour and 45 minutes, take a break and do another hour and a half.

"All of the shows aren't alike; we're changing the songs every night. We have a wonderful problem of having a lot of hits to chose from."

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